Buried in Sunshine (21 page)

“That must be terrible,” Emma says as she lets
out a sigh. “I don’t even know what I would do in your position.
I’d imagine though that since they haven’t done anything wrong
you’d be able to reconnect with them at some point, right?”

“I think so,” Justine says. “I think I’m just
angry at myself and that it carries over to them.”

“You shouldn’t be angry at yourself, you didn’t
do anything wrong.”

“I know,” Justine says as she taps her
fingertips against her bare knee once more in a silent rhythm.
“But, it’s hard to un-convince yourself of something you’ve managed
to believe.”

“I know that all too well,” Emma says as she
pauses and places her head in her hands. As she emerges moments
later, she decides to lay it out there—“Can I tell you something,
without you thinking that I’m completely bat-shit crazy.”

“Of course Emma,” Justine says as she nods.
“We’re friends, right?”

“I would definitely like that,” Emma says as she
takes in heavy breathe of air and exhales. “That night, when I
remembered everything—I was warned that I only had seven days left
before the sun would come for me.”

“Come for you how?”

“Like, come down to the Earth, and
basically—take me? Burn me away, I suppose. When I woke up the next
day, there was this clone of myself—she said that the sun had sent
her there to prepare me, that I needed to be whole before its
arrival, that I needed to face it, but…there was no way of stopping
it. I’ve seen these other versions of myself around different
places, they’ve led me to the truth about my mother and her
affair—they led me to this underground tunnel that kept appearing
in my nightmares.”

“And they…” Justine begins, and then pauses. She
rubs the side of her narrow face as though she attempting to come
up with some kind of response. “Are they really there? I mean… I
believe you.”

“You believe me?”

“I went through a rough time as well,” Justine
says as she nods. “There are things about my recovery that I can’t
explain. “…that day that you came to the shop and you asked if I
saw you with someone?”

“I was talking to a young version of myself on
the pier,” Emma admits as she feels relieved that Justine does not
think she is completely mad.

“So they’re helping you work out your issues and
revealing the truth about your past?”

“Yes…however, there is also that end of the
world in seven days…three days from now actually. I would not
believe this part of the whole situation—but the weather seems to
be kind of…cooperating.”

“Did you know, perhaps, of the weather
beforehand and your mind may have slipped it into this whole
equation?”

“My mother feigned a life of simplicity—she
didn’t keep a television or anything too modern more than a
microwave in the house. I destroyed all of my stuff, laptop, mp3
player, and most of my stuff in general when I kind of lost it—I
would have had no way of knowing,” Emma says as she thinks back.
She does not recall ever caring enough to check the newspaper—she
cannot figure out where she could have picked up the information.
“I had no way of knowing, that is what scares me.”

Justine jumps to her feet and heads towards the
window. She begins to pace back and forth with her fingertips
against her chin. “This time of year…there are usually a hundred
people out there on the beach at this time of day.”

Emma gets up from her chair and looks to the
empty beach. Not a single soul is in sight. The sky is a cloudless
cerulean blue, the lake is calm—if it weren’t for the oppressive
heat, it would be the perfect day to be out. “I keep telling myself
it’s just a coincidence.”

“It’s a hell of a coincidence,” Justine says as
she looks blankly to the open water.

As Emma’s eyes wander to the pier, she spots a
short girl sitting at the edge. “Hope!” Emma announces, catching
Justine off guard.

“What?”

“I’ll be right back,” Emma says as she points
off to the pier. “One of my...well, one of me—is out there.”

“I’ll come,” Justine says as he places a hand
upon Emma’s shoulder.

“I should go alone,” Emma says as she nods with
a short smile. “You can’t see her, can you?”

“I can’t…” Justine says as she nods once. “Just
be careful—I’ll be watching from up here. Don’t stay out in the
heat too long. Remember, you’re still on the mend.”

“I will,” Emma says as she heads out the door
and turns to Justine. “Thanks.”

As Emma exits the apartment door her feet hit
the hot sand. The searing air fills her lungs and instantly makes
her feel dizzy. She begins a slow jog towards the pier. By the time
she reaches the edge, she is covered in sweat. As she attempts to
fan herself with her hand she begins to realize just how terrible
the weather has turned.

“Hope…” Emma exhaustedly says as she reaches the
short blonde girl dressed in white.

The girl continues to sit; she does not even
turn her head to face Emma. “Why did you send Elizabeth away?”

“I didn’t,” Emma objects as she sits down next
to her younger self. “She disappeared.”

“She left,” Hope says as wipes away a tear from
her eye.

“I did not know that you even knew her,” Emma
says as she feels guilty. “I didn’t mean to, I just let my anger
get the better of me. I want her back. I miss her.”

“Of course I knew her,” Hope says with an
offended tone in her usually soft voice. “We’re all connected. You
shouldn’t have become like
her
.”

“Like who?”

“You know,” Hope says as she looks off into the
water. “When you act like her—she gets stronger.”

“What do I need to do?”

“You need to be strong,” Hope says as she looks
up to the bright sun and allows it to dry the tears that stain her
cheeks. “You need to realize that you are strong. If you
don’t—she’ll only get stronger and we’ll become weak.”

Emma begins to feel dizzy from all of the heat.
“I have to go now—“

“I know,” Hope says as she nods. “You have to
try though, or I’ll disappear too.”

“I promise I won’t let that happen.”

Emma gets to her feet as an overwhelming
sickness overcomes her. She wheels forward and uncontrollably
collapses into the deep blue water. She panics as she has attempts
to swim upward and back up to the surface. It feels as though
something is pulling her down. Perhaps she is too weak. Just as her
vision is starting to fade, a ripple of displaced water is seen
above her. She feels herself being pulled back up and onto the
pier.

“Emma…” Justine says as she hoists her up and
lifts her completely onto the pier.

“I’m okay…”

Justine places Emma’s arm around her shoulder
and begins to carry her back to the apartment. “We need to get you
back inside.”

*

Emma awakens on an unfamiliar bed. She has a
cool washcloth upon her head. Her clothes have been changed to a
long white and yellow sundress. Justine sits by the bed; she smiles
as Emma regains consciousness.

“You really scared me there,” Justine says as
she hands Emma a cold bottle of water. “Drink…”

“I’m sorry,” Emma says as she takes the bottle
and drinks half of it and then places it on the nightstand next to
her.

“Sorry about the dress, I know it’s a little
obnoxious with the giant yellow hibiscus flowers—but it’s all I had
that would fit you.”

“Its fine,” Emma says as she attempts to get up.
“Thank you for coming for me—I would have drowned otherwise.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Justine says as
she nods and places the back of her hand against Emma’s forehead.
“Did you at least find anything out?”

“I think I have an idea,” Emma says as she
attempts to figure out what she is exactly supposed to do. “I’m not
sure though. One of the versions of me is—it’s stronger than the
others. Stronger than I am, I think. I have to level the field,
although… I don’t know how.”

“Perhaps we should contact Julie,” Justine says
as she attempts to come up with a helpful suggestion. “She can help
in some way, yeah?”

“I don’t think so,” Emma says as she shakes her
head. “I don’t think she’d understand.”

“Well, how can I help?”

“I need to get something from my house,” Emma
says as she begins to formulate an idea.

“Do you feel well enough to drive?” Justine asks
as she slips into her sandals.

“I think so,” Emma says as she shrugs away the
dizzy feelings in her head.

“Where are your keys?” Justine asks.

“Purse,” Emma answers as she slowly gets up to
her feet. She is still a little bit dizzy—but she knows that she
has to do something. She cannot let Alexis get too powerful. She
does not know, or understand, why it matters. She just feels that
she cannot let Hope down. She already feels incredibly guilty for
her part in the death of Ethan’s parents. She does not want to
become any more like Alexis.

“I’ll start the car and get the air going,”
Justine says as she pulls Emma’s keys from her purse and heads out.
“I’ll be right back.”

“Alright,” Emma says as she sits back down on
the bed for a moment to regain her bearings. “I’m strong too…” Emma
whispers, although she does not feel it. She does not exactly
understand what Hopes wants her to do—she felt strong when she was
confronting Brian Metcalfe, but that felt wrong. That felt strong
in the same way that Alexis looked strong when she forced Brian to
write his own suicide not and slit his own wrist.

“Do you need help?” Justine asks as she returns
from the parking lot.

“I can manage,” Emma says as she gets to her
feet once more. The dizziness is gone and she feels much more
stable. “Thank you again.”

“I didn’t have any other plans, what with the
world ending heat—“

“Let’s hope that’s just…me being crazy.”

“I just want to help you find what you need to,”
Justine says as she gestures towards the door. “Let’s go find what
you need.”

Emma and Justine rush through the scorching
parking lot and enter the sanctuary of the cool car. Even with the
air conditioning on high the car seems to be struggling to keep it
from being too terribly hot.

Just as Emma is about to put the car into drive,
a chime announces itself from her purse. She quickly digs into the
purse and retrieves her cell phone. A small notification on the
bottom says that she has received a text. It is from Ethan.

Emma. I am so sorry. I do not know what to do
or what to say to fix this. If you do not want to hear from me any
further I completely understand. I did. I do care about you. I am
so confused. Again, I am so sorry for what my father did.

“Do you text?” Emma asks as she hands the phone
over to Justine.

“Doesn’t everyone?” Justine asks as she reads
over the message.

“I…don’t know how?”

“Sorry,” Justine says as she unsuccessfully
attempts to hide a small chortle of laughter. “I can text for
you.”

Emma puts the car into drive and sighs heavily.
“What should I say?”

“This is the son of the guy who tried to kill
you?”

“Yes,” Emma says begins to drive away from
Justine’s apartment. “He’s also kind of my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Justine says in a whisper. “That
is…difficult isn’t it—well it looks like he doesn’t hate you. This
is the guy that you and Julie were talking about…right?”

“Yes,” Emma says a she attempts to think of some
kind of response to Ethan’s message. “I was so sure he was going to
hate me.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong though…”

“I confronted his father, I told him that I’d
tell Ethan about the affair—“Emma begins as she takes a turn and
heads out of the city. “I was angry. I was pretty cruel. I set him
off—he wouldn’t have attacked me or committed suicide if I had been
a bit more compassionate.”

“But…” Justine says as she looks blankly at the
phone. “He was a murderer.”

“He must feel so alone right now,” Emma
whispers.

“If you still care for him,” Justine begins as
she touches the screen to keep the phone from going into sleep
mode. “He probably needs you.”

“I do…” Emma says. “I just feel so guilty.”

“I’m writing that you’re sorry for what happened
and that you care for him as well,” Justine says as he quickly
thumbs through the on screen text.

“Ask him if he blames me?”

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Justine says as she
shakes her head. “I’ll add it. Is there anything else you would
like me to add to this?”

“Just that I really like him,” Emma says as she
feels an overwhelming sadness. “That I’m sorry for his loss…that
should be all.”

“Sent,” Justine says as she hangs onto the
phone.

A few minutes later the phone chimes back.

“What does it say?”

“Can I see you?” Justine reads from the
screen.

“Ask him to come to the house,” Emma says as she
nods once.

“Right now…?” Justine asks as she types in the
message.

“Yeah,” Emma says softly. “I think I can do
something that will prove that I’m not crazy, if that makes any
sense. If I can do it—then I want you both to see it. Maybe with
your help, and Ethan’s help, I can stop this from happening. I
mean, I hate to drag you into this.”

“Oh well if it means the end of the world,”
Justine says as she sends the text message. “You can count me
out—burning to death sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Emma lets out a short burst of laughter. “I’m
serious.”

“I know,” Justine says as she nods and places
Emma’s phone back into her purse. “Promise me one thing
though—“

“Alright….”

“If this doesn’t work out, and you don’t find
what you want—or expect,” Justine says as she changes her demeanor
to one of deadly seriousness. “That you will come with me and see
Dr. Riley.”

“I promise,” Emma says as she nods once. “I
thought you believed me though?”