Alive If

Chapter 16

"Sofie, there are a lot of people walking toward us, but I don't see a little girl. I'm sorry. As much as I want to, I don't see ghosts or time travelers like you do. But I believe you. They're walking among us."

Claire stands up, trying to act casual, but the tension in her voice betrays her. Her hands are shaking a little as she dusts cake crumbs off her pants.

"Fie, please—don't go back there. I know how this starts..." she pleads.

She's freaked out. I can tell because it's the same way she was when I thought I saw the ghost of my dad. She's always like this when it comes to anything supernatural. But how dare she dismiss this so easily? She's my best friend—she should see her!

"If you need me, I'll be at the water dispenser, refilling this bottle," Claire mutters, stepping away like she's trying not to bolt. Her sneaker crushes a slice of cake into the grass.

I want to break down and cry, but I swallow it down, biting my lip so hard it stings.

A small voice cuts through the fog of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Mom."

Santhy.

She stops in front of me, and for a moment, the world tilts sideways. Seeing her again crushes me. After everything, it's too much.

I shake my head, trying to hold back tears, dabbing at the corner of my eye with a scrap of cake wrapper. "Do you know why she can't see you?"

Santhy nods slowly, the sadness in her eyes almost too much to bear.

I'm desperate for an answer. "Why can't she see you?" My voice shakes. "What's wrong with her? What's wrong with me? Why am I the only one who sees this?"

Her voice goes cold, distant.

"She will suffer. Notice her, before it's too late."

Claire suffers?

My stomach drops. The words cut deep—sharper than I expected.

My best friend won't be part of my daughter's life, and someone who will be... might eventually kill me.

I shudder, trying to piece it all together.

"Why? What did I do to deserve this?" My voice cracks. "Did I turn into a terrible person in the future? Am I evil?" I whisper it more to myself than her.

Santhy's eyes are unreadable.

"I was back in the future... seeing your memories, making sure you're on the right path." She giggles, but there's no lightness in it.

"You're making me paranoid," I snap, finishing off the cake in frustration. I throw the wrapper in the trash like I'm throwing away my sanity.

"I can't stay long anymore," Santhy says. "The time machine fries my brain every time I come here, but I will visit again."

She says it casually, like it's nothing, but it hits me like a slap.

This is her life.

This is what my daughter's life has become.

And I can't stop it.

"Wait—so the memory reader, you are interfering with my memories... that's what's killing you?"

I almost can't process the words, but they pierce through the fog.

The scanner.

The one that lets her view my memories.

It's cooking her brain every time she jumps.

And I let this happen to her?

She shrugs. "You sound stressed. Let's play a game. I've been getting really good at hide and seek, so this should be fun." She tilts her head as if to challenge me, but it's not a game anymore.