The night that followed that meeting seemed long and full of gloom. The moment Brent stepped out of Dr. Love’s office, reality set back in. When he walked through the door of his house, he didn’t even bother to flip the light switch. In Brent’s mind, anything that he could step or slip on in the darkness would cause him nearly as much pain as the grief that plagued his mind. Brent couldn’t help but wonder if meeting Nat was worth all the stress. Jeff had offered to buy him a drink at the club, but Brent refused. He just wanted to be left alone with his thoughts.

  Brent collapsed into the recliner and felt around the arms for the remote. When he found it, he just rested his hand on the power button. His mind filled with all manners of questions and fears. Was he really ready to be married to Katie? Were they really meant to be together? Memories played through his brain like a slideshow. He remembered the first day he met her. She was a new face at his work. He’d just left his morning meeting at the thrift store after hearing whispers about a new girl that was starting work in his department that day. He caught a glimpse of her as she was opening up her locker. He didn’t linger for more than a few seconds. She was having a hard time remembering her combination for her locker. He’d shrugged it off. His mind kept telling him to talk to her, but it gave him nothing to say. Jeff spent that entire day trying to convince Brent to talk to her, but to no avail. The memory forged a smile across his face that lasted all of 2 seconds. His hand had slipped and knocked the remote off the arm of the chair. He leaned over, feeling around on the carpet for it. He curled his brow after hearing the rattling of the pill bottle that he forgot was in his pocket. He patted the cushion of his seat with his right hand as his left came to rest on the remote. He tapped each button lightly until he was sure that he’d found the power button. He grasped the bottle in his hand, holding it up right as the light from the tv flickered on.

  The bottle gave off a brilliant sparkle in the light of the television. Brent found himself mesmerized by it. He rotated and spun the bottle between his fingers. He could hear the doctor’s voice playing over and over in his mind. “One capsule before he went to sleep and he’d wake up with a second chance.” All Brent had to do was think about the past before he went to sleep. The whole thing sounded crazy to him. What could a complete stranger do to help him fix his relationship? And how would they even be able to help? Brent pressed his palm to the top of the lid and twisted it off.

  The faint sound of a tick emanated from the pill bottle, disrupting the sound of the tv. A confused expression washed over his face and he lifted the bottle closer to his ears. The sound grew louder and louder until it was all he could hear. The ticking continued in his brain, leaving him frozen by curiosity. He quickly pushed the top back down on the lid the moment he heard the sound of keys jingling outside the door. The hour that he had before Katie got home had come and gone without him even realizing it.

  He shot a glance up at the door as the dread began to creep back into his mind. He needed more time to think. He wasn’t ready for the inevitable conversation that would come once Katie realized he was home. He stuffed the pills in his pocket and scrambled to his feet, darting off into the kitchen and opening the back door in a mad dash to get out. He stood there on the back porch contemplating what he should do. Brent didn’t feel nearly ready to have this conversation, but he knew that he’d have to face it eventually. He could see the light from the front room flicker on through a small corner in the back window. He could make out the figure of his fiancé walking into the living room and his nerves set in. Brent could hear her call his name out. He panicked in a moment of indecision dashed across the dying grass of the terrace, planting his food in a small crack in the masonry and pulling himself up over the fence.

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  He stumbled onto the green grass of his neighbor’s yard, alerting what sounded like two dogs. “From one problem to the next,” he muttered to himself as he dashed toward the chain link fence and lifted himself over it. The pain of a hard landing started to irritate his heels, but he pressed on anyway. He darted through their front yard and back into his, slamming into Katie’s truck the thud left a pain in his nose, but he didn’t have time to nurse it. He grabbed his keys from his pocket and hastily unlocked his car door, climbing in and starting the vehicle.

  Soon he’d pulled into Jeff’s apartment complex and turned off the ignition. To Brent’s relief his friend wasn’t even home yet, and Jeff had given him an extra key to use in case of emergencies. The house was empty, which meant Jeff wasn’t home from the club yet. Brent took advantage of the opportunity and climbed onto the couch of the darkened room. He sat up taking the pills from his pocket and opening the bottle again. He reached over and flicked the lamp light on, holding them up again and watching as the sparkle emanated from the bottle. All He had to do was think about the past after taking one and he would get a second chance. What did it all mean? His thoughts began to race once more, lost in reflection. He thought about Katie, then about the club that night. He could recall the thought that had popped into his mind. “What if the right one is still out there?” He stared at the pills, almost mesmerized by their glimmer. The white walls and red shag carpet seemed just a blur to him.

  The lid popped open, without Brent even realizing where his fingers had landed. A capsule fell out and landed in his palm. The ticking sound filled the silence of the empty apartment. He thought about the feeling he’d gotten the night before he messaged Katie after he’d moved away and broke up with her. “What if I've already met the one that I'm meant to be with for the rest of my life?” The words echoed through his mind as he swallowed a gulp. He felt something slide down his throat, but he was too lost to give it any heed. The ticking grew louder and louder in his brain. It was as if it was coming from inside his own brain. He sifted through memories of his exes until his thoughts fell to one. Brent toppled over on the couch, the only sound he could hear was the ticking. A glimmer started from the edges of his closing eyelids and shift to one side of his eyes, then the other. His torso, heavy and motionless, began to fade, slowly disappearing from the dimly lit apartment. The light from the lamp seemed to turn itself off. It was as if He was never even there. It was as if he had vanished from the timeline completely.