The Guidance - By Marley Gibson Page 0,28

satisfaction of helping Rob Breslin cross into eternal bliss, and it's coupled with the fact that Jason believes in me sooooooo much. And he frickin' loves me!

"Did you have fun tonight?"

Emily's in my rocking chair, making it move ever so slightly. I don't even get frightened anymore when she shows up.

"I don't know," I say with a grin. "Did I?"

"I kept my promise, Kendall. You were on your own."

Rolling onto my back, I scoot to the pillows and prop myself up. "It was ... interesting." I fill her in on what happened at the bowling alley, and she seems pleased. "Most of all, I got to spend time with Jason, and that was awesome." A satisfied sigh escapes from me. "He loves me, Emily. Like, said it and all. Do you know how much that means to me?"

"You're very loved, Kendall. You should know that."

I clutch one of my throw pillows to my chest. "This is like real love, though. Not like the love between parents and their kids. Parents have to love their kids. This is someone who picked me out from all the rest and chose to love me. That's ... wicked amazing."

Emily appears to gnaw on her lip, biting back words she seems to want to say. "Your parents love you that way too. That's why you're going to see that doctor tomorrow."

I toss the pillow across the room at Emily, knowing that even if it hits her, she won't feel it. "My mom wants to prove that she's right about my awakening, that it's all in my head."

"You should be grateful that she's so protective and cares what happens to you. Not everyone has that in their life," she says wistfully.

"Was your mom not protective of you, Emily? Is that why you died?"

She waves me off with a flick of her hand. "This isn't about me, Kendall."

Following a long pause, I reassure her. "I do realize that I'm loved and cared for. I'm not stupid. I just want to get this over with, prove myself, and get back to my life. I don't want Mom running the meeting or telling the doctor what he should think about me."

"She won't."

"Yeah, she will. But I understand."

"For what it's worth, Kendall," Emily says, "I'll be there for you too."

My heart pounds hard, like it did when Jason said he loved me. Because I realize that in her own way, Emily loves me too. "That means the world to me, Em."

Chapter Seven

I grab the sissy bar—or in this case, the "oh, shit!" handle—over my head as Mom takes the exit for I-85 off I-20 like she's Kyle Busch pulling in to have his tires changed. "Whoa, Sarah!" I say, only half kiddingly.

Mom shakes her head. "I knew we should have left Radisson earlier. I don't want to keep the doctor waiting."

As a longtime nurse, Mom thinks it's incredibly rude for patients to keep the medical staff waiting when they have set appointments. Of course, she has no defense for how patients always seem to have to sit in the doctor's waiting room for weeks on end, reading year-old Redbooks and back issues of Sports Illustrated.

"We've still got a half-hour to get there."

"Atlanta traffic is always a nightmare."

"It's Saturday," I say.

"We'll still barely make it downtown." Mom switches her Volvo into the left lane and guns it past a rickety old pickup truck doing its best to keep up with the early-morning interstate traffic. "Did you deliberately try to make us late so you wouldn't have to do this?"

My brows knit together as I stare at her over my sunglasses. "Uh. Wha—I can't believe you think that! I said I'd do this, and I'm doing it. Geez."

Mom bites her bottom lip and reaches over to touch me on my blue-jeaned knee. "I'm sorry, Kendall. I'm just nervous about this meeting and what we might find out."

That your daughter's really psychic, Emily says in my head.

I mentally wave her off. "I'm not trying to be the bratty kid, Mom, you know that. Kaitlin has that role down pat. I want this over and done as much as you do."

In no time, Mom zigzags through the I-85 raceway, exiting swiftly downtown and turning onto Peachtree Street. This is really the first time I've been to the city. I'd love to have a chance to explore the Underground, go and visit Coca-Cola World, see the Carter presidential library and Martin Luther King Jr.'s grave, take in a Braves game, or even see my beloved