Chapter 360
HARPER.
The dream feels too real to be a dream.
I’m standing somewhere I can’t quite place. It’s quiet, unnaturally so, the kind of silence that presses in on you until it feels heavy in your chest. There’s no wind, no sound, nothing but an endless stretch of grey around me.
I look around wondering where I am. Wondering if I’m dead or something. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn and that’s when I see him… Andrew.
He stands a few feet away, just… there, like he never left, like death didn’t take him from us years ago. He looks exactly the same as he always did: calm, steady, with eyes that always seemed to see more than he ever said.
My breath catches and for a moment, I can’t move. I just stare at him, my mind struggling to make sense of what I’m seeing.
“Andrew…” I whisper, my voice barely steady.
The last time I saw him was when we laid him to rest. It’s been so long and even during the bad times, I wanted him to appear. To come into my dreams and comfort me, he never did.
It took years to accept that he was gone and even after, there was always this emptiness. This gap I have never been able to fill.
He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t step closer. He just watches me, and something about the way he looks at me makes unease settle deep in my chest.
Without thinking, I run and throw myself at him. Just like he used to when we were younger, he catches me, pressing me tightly to his chest.
A sob breaks free, and I can’t stop the tears as they run down my cheeks.
“I missed you,” my voice breaks. “I missed you so fucking much p>
“I know, Cupcake,” he whispers into my hair. “I missed you too p>
His deep voice is the same and familiar even after all these years.
I pull back a little. “How are you here?” How am I talking to you p>
I fire the questions one after another, desperate to understand how this is happening.
I’ve heard of people seeing their dead loved ones, but I always thought it was nothing but fabricated imaginations to make someone deal with the loss.
He looks at me. “Harper p>
He tries to speak, but I cut him off. “Am I dead? Is that why I can see you? Where is mom and dad p>
He grabs my shoulders, and gently shakes me a little. “Listen to me Cupcake p>
I stop at the urgency in his voice. It makes everything inside me freeze because Andrew never uses that voice unless it’s something really serious.
“You need to go,” he says.
“Go where?” I ask, my brows pulling together. “I just found you… I don’t want to leave you p>
“You need to go, Cupcake or else we’ll lose her,” he says, with a slight edge to his tone. “It’s not her time yet p>
“What are you talking about? Who are you talking about? And go where p>
“The cliff,” he says simply.
A chill runs down my spine.
“The cliff?” I repeat, confusion mixing with the growing unease. “Why would I p>
“Go,” he interrupts, firmer this time. “Now, before it’s too late p>
Something in his tone makes my heart start to race.
“Andrew, what’s going on?” I press, taking a step toward him. “Why are you here? What p>
“Tell her I love her so much and I’m watching over her… Take care of her for me,” he whispers, his voice fading. “And I love you too Baby girl… I’m so proud of you p>
“Wait… Andrew, please p>
The sharp sound of my phone ringing cuts through everything. The world around me fractures, the silence breaking apart, and just like that, he’s gone.
My eyes snap open and for a second, I don’t move. My heart is pounding too fast, my chest tight as I try to separate the dream from reality. The room around me slowly comes into focus, but the feeling from the dream lingers, clinging to me in a way that makes it hard to breathe.
“My love?” Gabe asks, his voice hoarse with sleep. “What is it p>
I turn to him, tears filling my eyes. “I saw him, Gabe. I saw Andrew p>
He stares at me with that penetrating gaze that is so familiar before he pulls me into his arms.
I cling to him crying, “He-He told me t-to p>
I don’t get to finish as my phone starts ringing.
I frown remembering it’s the reason why my dream was cut short. Pulling away from Gabe, I reach for it with slightly trembling hands and glance at the screen.
It’s Lilly.
I answer immediately. “Baby p>
“Mom, has Sierra called you?” Lilly’s voice comes through, tight and urgent.
My stomach drops.
“No,” I say quickly, sitting up straighter. “Why? What’s wrong p>
“She’s gone… She left the hospital.” Lilly says, and I can hear the panic she’s trying to keep under control. “No one saw her leave, and we have no idea where she is… Aunt Ivy and I went to get some snacks and when we came back, she was gone p>
The unease from the dream crashes back into me, stronger this time, suffocating me so much, it’s hard to breathe.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my grip tightening around the phone. “How could she just walk out of the hospital without anyone noticing her p>
“I don’t know,” Lilly says, frustration and fear bleeding into her words. “We’re checking everywhere, but there’s no sign of her p>