Brent tried his best to keep his composure on the drive back to Jeff’s, but despite his best efforts a tear or two managed to escape from between his eyelids. He made his decision not to take the eyedrops. He already felt bad enough for his actions and, from what Dr. Love described, these visions would only make him feel worse. When he pulled into his friend’s apartment complex, he wasted no time in getting the drops and getting out of the car. The more he moved in the school boy uniform, the more it tore at the seams. At this point, he’d lost a few buttons in his car and the Jacket was halfway torn from the hem up. And the hole in the seams of his pants grew bigger with every step he took toward the door.

  He rushed toward Jeff’s bathroom without a moment's hesitation as soon as he got in the apartment. He removed the Eyedrops from his pocket and looked it over carefully as he proceeded to struggle with the few buttons still left on the coat of the uniform. Brent removed the lid and brought the tip up to his nostrils. The scent that hit his nose reminded him subtly of Katie’s favorite perfume. Instantly the memories rushed back to him. He set the bottle on the top of the sink and carefully attempted to push the holed up pants down. Though it took some effort with his more slender figure, he had only managed to get this around his ankles, still distracted the path of his thoughts.

  Brent hobbled around the bathroom floor struggling to get the pant legs over his ankles. He’d lost the battle with the uniform pant legs, causing him to topple over onto the bathroom floor. The room seemed to rumble just enough to knock the eyedrops off the counter. Brent squinted in pain for a half second only to feel the liquid drops hit his eyes.

  The trance set in almost instantly, leaving Brent laying on the floor of Jeff’s bathroom in a mesmerized stare. The room around him began to shift until it seemed like he was no longer staring out his own eyes. He could feel the sharp pains in his own body that Katie had experienced during the car accident. The picture in front of him was blurred and he heard a familiar voice, though he couldn’t put a finger on whose it was.

  In his thoughts, he cried out in pain. “Where am I? I don’t need to see this!” He paused to listen, but nothing came. “I already feel bad enough for what I did. I don’t need to feel any worse.”

  “That’s not what this is for.” Dr. Love’s voice echoed through Brent’s head. “You’re seeing flashes of a timeline that’s crystallizing into the sands of time. “You’re seeing through Katie’s eyes and hearing the whisper of her thoughts.”

  “What do I have to learn from this?” Brent cried out inside his own mind. A flash changed the scene to where Katie found herself in the hospital. Brent immediately recognized the officer that sat next to Katie’s bedside. “That’s the guy. I recognize him. He’s the cop that always drug tests me every time he’s pulled me over.

  Another flash came and he saw the same cop sitting across from Katie at the dinner table. He could hear the echoes of Katie’s thoughts as she listened to the recollection of the story of the cops work day. Moments later he felt the pain from the cop losing his temper and taking it out on Katie.

  “Calm down Mr. Moore, there’s nothing you can do here.” Dr. Love’s voice echoed through Brent’s thoughts. “You are only a spectator here. You can’t control her actions or thoughts.”

  Brent’s mortal heart rate rose in frustration. At that moment there was nothing Brent wanted more than to strike him back. He’d never let anyone touch Katie and he could never imagine wanting to lay a hand on her. After a few moments his thoughts gave off a sigh that spoke of his displeasure. “This isn’t fair! Why am I seeing this?!!”

  “So you can see from a point of view that’s different from your own, Mr. Moore.” Aeryn’s voice replied. “This is the life you created when you both took the time capsules.”

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  “Those things?” Brent asked in a puzzled demeanor. “I can’t even find that bottle, I didn’t even take them. I thought about taking them but I never did.”

  “Yes, you did Mr. Moore!” Aeryn retorted sharply followed by a momentary pause. ”You created a different timeline for yourselves, but I had to erase the timeline in order to avoid causing an overflow.”

  “And what would happen if the current overflowed?” Brent asked as he watched the scene in the bar take place. He could hear the whisperings of Katie’s thoughts. Some of them put a smile on his face while others made the smile run away from it. “And why can’t I remember this?”

  “Because as each timeline is erased, so are the memories of that time.” Aeryn’s tone changed following a deep sigh. ”From what my mentor told me. . if time overflows, the fabric that holds reality together starts to unravel. People end up with memories that aren’t their own. They find themselves in places they weren’t meant to be.”

  “Wait!” Brent interrupted with a look of amazement. “That's me, Katie is kissing me . . and we’re kissing? She sounds so happy. . and. . she saved me.”

  “I can fast forward if you want me to Mr. Moore.” Aeryn said with an inquisitive tone. “ There’s another alternate timeline to see, but I can just take you to the end of it.”

  “No.” Brent said, admiring the vision in front of him with each flash of light. “I want to see this . . I want to see all of it.” He said, watching closely and letting the whispers of Katie’s thoughts fill his head.” Brent could hear the worry in the dread in her thoughts. “Katie told me about this. This was when he died. To this day she blames herself for his death.” Brent could feel the pain that came with the news of the car accident. It hit him on a deeper level, leaving a sinking feeling in his mortal heart. “Can you fast forward through this one?” He asked instantly once he realized he was watching the woman he loved now getting into bed with her ex boyfriend.

  Aeryn responded with a chuckle and proceeded to speed up the scene in front of him. When he stopped, Katie’s eyes were closed, her body had been rendered motionless. Though she wasn’t conscious he could hear the voices in the background. It didn’t take the blond man long to figure out what was happening.

  Katie didn’t resume consciousness till later. When the news of Mark’s death came to her, Brent could feel a break in his own heart. Her grief hit him so hard that tears streamed down the cheeks of his mortal face. He could feel the grief as it consumed her. He could hear the sound of her cries. The thoughts in her head that cursed the fates. He even saw himself late that night when he climbed into the bed with her. Katie held a lot of reservations in cuddling with a stranger that it only felt like she had known from somewhere. He could hear her arguing with herself. She didn’t want to see him then, but he was there and she needed someone to hold.

  Years passed by between flashes. He watched everything with the utmost interest. The things she did to keep him around, because she just didn’t want him to leave. Turning down Dan when he offered to take her in to live with him. To see the life and sacrifices she made just to take care of him. The things she did throughout each flashback to ensure his success. It brought hope to a scared mortal man. His appreciation and admiration grew as he watched.

  Then the night came. The night where Katie’s sickness took her. The feelings in her stomach projected on his own. Her thoughts of admiration and gratitude for him. Without realizing it, his cheeks had flushed a deep red color. The beauty of the moment brought him a feeling of closure that he didn’t believe was possible. Then she closed her eyes one final time. The thought scared him. The thought that she could just stop existing on this earth left him feeling like his heart had just been ripped out. He woke up from the vision with a feeling of unbelievable emptiness. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he sat up in the bathroom.

  “Dude, Crying in my bathroom?” came Jeff’s voice. “I know that outfit is a little tight, but I didn’t think my old clothes could hurt that much. Did you cut the seams out? You totally ruined it!”

  “It was ruined long before you lent it to me.” Brent replied, pulling the pant legs from his toes and rising to his feet. “You ruined it when you bought it to get the captain of the cheerleading squad to sleep with you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jeff smirked, using his strength to pull his friend up. ”I don’t feel ruined at all.”

  “You remember her right?” Brent replied, subtly hurrying his friend out the door of the bathroom. “Don’t you remember that kid Derek saying she was the only person in school that played with more balls than the entire football team.” The door closed before Jeff could respond.