The Psychic Within

Chapter 15: Past

I blinked hard, hoping he would disappear when I reopened my eyes. But when I did, he was still there staring at me through the glass. And all I could do was stare back, frozen in place.

"Rachel? You there?" Polly's voice echoed through the phone. She sounded alarmed. "What's going on?"

I started, jolted back to reality. "Uh... I..." I sputtered, unable to find the words.

The spell over Rick seemed to have broken too. His whole body jerked, then he lunged forward, running to the café's door and throwing himself inside the small café.

"Rachel!" he gasped, somehow out of breath.

"Who is that?" Polly asked.

"Rick," I murmured, not sure to who. Was it a greeting? An explanation? Or maybe it was an attempt to convince myself that he really was standing there, right in front of me.

"Rick?!" Polly growled. "Rick as in Rick the Cheating Dick? Are you fucking serious?"

I am fucking serious, I thought, though I couldn't make my mouth work to pass that message along.

His hazel eyes trailed over me, his mouth hanging open like he was witnessing someone coming back from the dead. He had changed. He wore glasses now, thick frames that dominated his soft freckled face. His light brown hair had been shaved down to a close crop. But some things were the same, unchangeable, like the deep double-set dimples in his cheeks.

I was surprised by how well I remembered his face. I hadn't seen him since that one last brief encounter at our old apartment, when I told him that I never wanted to see him again.

So much for that request.

"I can't believe it's really you," he mumbled, taking two staggering steps towards me. 

I flinched back from him and he stopped, his face tightening.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"Are you talking to him? Let me talk to him, I'll tell him exactly what I think of his slimy ass—" Polly continued to jabber in my ear, but her voice drifted away as my stunned brain couldn't keep focus on two things at once.

"I just moved into one of those new condos, you know, one block over." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "Are you living around here too? Hayden said he saw you nearby."

Not sure what to do, I just nodded stiffly.

"I was hoping I might run into you," he continued, oblivious. He smiled at me then. I had forgotten how much I liked his smile.

Used to like, I quickly corrected myself.

Polly kept talking. "—up his ass. You hear me?"

"Uh..."

"Rach?" Polly replied. "Are you listening? Are you alive?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine... I just..." I finally managed to answer. My brain kicked back into gear and it finally occurred to me. I needed to get the fuck out of here. "I... I need to go." I made a move for the door, pushing past Rick, focusing on the exit.

He grabbed my arm, jerking me back. "No, Rachel, wait—"

"Let me go!" I whipped around, my cheeks flaring to red. I wrenched my arm free—

My phone went flying. It soared across the small café, smashing into the side of the counter—making the barista jump—before clattering on the floor.