I did get better at driving, eventually.  I'm not sure how long it took, but it felt like a few months.  It didn't help that I could only practice in parking lots and on freeways.  Once I was more comfortable with it, I would do the driving every few days.

One day, I noticed that the few clouds I saw were kind of grey.  "Have they always been like that?" I remarked to Joey.

"Yeah, and there have been a few more lately."

"Huh... Oh, 'Popcorn'!"  I turned up one of my favorite Muse covers, and that was the end of the cloud conversation.

The dreams about Jason continued, and each time I got closer and closer to seeing him.  I even heard his voice every now and then, but faintly.  Somehow, I felt that he was looking for me too.  It's almost as if we were sharing a dream, but something was separating us.  Either that, or my subconscious just knows him really well.

"How did you die?" Joey asked me on one of my driving days.  I nearly choked on my gummy bear.

"That's kind of a personal question," I replied once I had composed myself.

"Well, you know how I died.  I'm curious."

"I... fell."

A pause.  "Fell how?"

"Five-story building."

"Did someone push you or something?"

"No, I was alone."

"So... you just fell."

"Yep."

"You're just that clumsy?"

"Guess so."

"I don't buy it."

He didn't ask me anything else about my death, but I think his curiosity got to me.  That night, as we were laying in our beds, I said, "You awake, Joey?"

"If I wasn't before, I am now."

"It was suicide."

"What?"

"I jumped off that building.  Jason, my boyfriend, died in a car accident, so I jumped."

"Wow.  That's... I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I was being overly defensive.  I didn't really want to say anything, considering the kind of reputation suicide has."

"That's understandable....  Can I go to sleep now?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Thanks."

My dream confirmed my belief that night: I caught a glimpse of feet wearing Jason's favorite pair of shoes, the ones he was likely to be wearing when he died.  I woke up smiling... well, at first.

RATE THIS CHAPTER!

Click to View Author Guidance

Fun Fact: This story is based on a nightmare I had a while ago. Not one part of that nightmare is in this story, or ever will be. In writing this, I'm creating a better ending to the nightmare... otherwise, I'd be an emotional wreck.

updated Dec 29 '10 by abby.r