The Saddest Song - By Susie Kaye Lopez Page 0,10

made me freeze. I was listening as Max relaxed his hold and continued.

“If we go, we can make sure they don’t break her. She’s so fragile Rainey, and I’m scared. I’m scared for all of us, but her most of all.”

“This is crazy. We are all going crazy Max.” I felt my warm, numb cocoon that I worked so hard to construct, painfully rip away. I felt hot and my heart ached deep within my chest.

“Please Rainey. She wants us to go. Let’s just go and when she sees it is not real she’ll get over it. Maybe she’ll get better. Maybe she will begin to realize he won’t be coming back.”

I flinched at his words and the guilt I felt for killing Garrett flooded my body. How could I say no to Max or his mom? I would go with them, it was the least I could do. “Okay Max, I’ll go.”

Max exhaled loudly and I realized he had been holding his breath while he waited for me to decide. I reached out and clutched his fingers and he gave me a kiss on the top of my head before pushing the door open and leading me inside.

“Rainey! You’re here! Did Max tell you? We’re going to talk to Garrett today!” She smiled, looking happy, like her old self before the accident. I nodded and gave her what I hoped passed for a smile but probably fell short. She didn’t notice. She was manic, nervous and excited and probably a tiny bit afraid. Max and I looked at one another, both of us definitely afraid and wondering how much more we could take.

We were quiet as we drove over to the appointment. Mrs. McKinley had put the address on her Volvo’s GPS and I watched in dread from the passenger seat as we grew nearer to our destination. The psychic lived in an older neighborhood near the beach with a beautiful view of the ocean. I knew one thing, psychics, or at least this one, made a great living taking advantage of people’s grief. I knew another thing. Max and I wouldn’t let her fool us or his mother. We were here to protect Mrs. McKinley. Max and I looked at each other knowingly over his mothers head as the three of us headed up the walk. Before we even got to the door it opened and a pretty older woman greeted us dressed in a navy blue suit. She looked like a lawyer or an executive.

“Welcome. I’m Melissa. Please come in.”

She shook each of our hands and we followed her in to an all white living room. It looked like one of those model homes my mom loved to drag me through so she could get decorating ideas. When we declined her offer of water or tea and were seated stiffly on the sofa, Max in the middle, she got to the point. I looked at her pleasant, friendly face and steeled myself.

“You three are here because you have lost your loved one and I hope I can assist you in communicating with him today. I will do my very best, but these things are not absolute. The best way to begin is for us all to breathe deeply and try to relax. Close your eyes and think of him. Try to remember his smile, his laughter, his love. Now as you concentrate on him, I will try to reach out to him.

I closed my eyes and went along with the exercise. Not that I thought it would work, just that I spent most of my days doing it anyway. I took in a deep shaky breath and pictured Garrett laughing at some witty remark I had made and then watched as he broke in to his easy laughter. Then suddenly, I wasn’t in control of the thought any longer and his face turned serious as he whispered, “I miss you Rainey.” My eyes flew open and my heart slammed in my chest. Wow, my imagination was better than I thought. That had felt so real, as if he were really here. I felt Melissa’s eyes on me. I looked at her and she kept eye contact as she spoke.

“Garrett is here with us now and he wants me to tell you how much he loves and misses each of you, and his father. He wants you to know how sorry he is for causing you pain and he wants you to know that he is alright. He