Love From Beyond - First full chapter!

Have you read Love From Beyond yet? If not, here’s the first full chapter, and it’s available for download here.

Anika

 Welcome to South Carolina.

The big bright sign on the side of the road boasted my progress, but it felt more and more like I was headed nowhere. Or at least, I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. I was supposed to be in mourning. But here I was…crossing state lines in a desperate attempt to feel closer to the friend I would never see again.

The radio, which had been quietly providing background noise for my raging thoughts, suddenly caught my attention. The sound ushering forth was dripping water, plopping methodically on a hard surface. And then a voice swooshed through, singing of golden gates and perfection, of beginnings and endings, seemingly, of the one thing I would never have in this life.

Tears clouded my eyes as I steadied my hands at the wheel and combed the screen for the name of the song and the artist who’d wrenched me apart with her haunted voice. It was NAO, and the song was “It’s You.”

Just seeing the title of the song spelled out in broken analog letters caused the water to burst through the dam. Sounds that sounded foreign to me erupted from my gut as I careened down the interstate on cruise control. I knew all I had to do was stay between the lines. I could fall apart for a moment as long as I just stayed between the lines.

Suddenly, the phone rang. I reached up to wipe the tears from my eyes before brushing my fingertips across the screen of my phone. I knew I couldn’t ignore her call. All she’d do was keep calling until she got what she wanted. There was no use in fighting the force that was Latrelle.

“Hey, Elle,” I said, clearing my throat.

“Anika! What’s up? Are you still on the road?” she checked.

“Yeah,” I answered. “I just entered South Carolina.”

“Oh, okay. That’s good, right? You’re not too far away.”

“I guess,” I supplied somberly.

She paused before replying. “Well, I just wanted to see how you were coming along. And I wanted to talk to you about something else. I know it’s not the best time, but…”

My stomach lurched as I said, “Go ahead.”

“I just want you to think about something. Okay? All you have to do is think about it. With my shop closing and everything, I’m looking into new opportunities. And I think the idea we had of you and I going into business together would benefit both of us a lot. Just hear me out. You are severely undervalued at that boutique, and I have so many ideas that could be executed perfectly with your help. Together, we’d turn this thing around.” She finished in a rush with,“What do you think?” 

“Elle, I ju—”

“No, no,” she interrupted. “I said all you have to do is think about it. You’ve got enough going on this weekend. It is just a weekend, right? You’re coming right back?”

“Yeah, Elle. I should be right back. That’s what I told my boss, anyway.”

“That bitch shouldn’t even have a job working with people, anyway. Her ass is so toxic, she should only be allowed to work with the dead. Has she ever considered a career in mortuary services?”

I started to laugh but choked on the sound bubbling up from my throat. Elle and I had connected, a couple of years back, while working in retail. When Elle quit working at Turpentine & Amber, a boutique which specialized in natural and vegan clothing and goods, she’d carried her hatred for our boss along with her. She’d credited our boss at Turpentine & Amber with giving her the resolve to start her own business—because she couldn’t take “not one more motherfucking order from that old hag.”

“I’m sorry,” Elle added hastily. “That was a bad joke.”

“It’s fine,” I responded.

For the next hour, I listened as Elle regaled me with stories of her recent dating mishaps and her hair disaster. By the time she took a breath, I was ready for a break.

“Hey,” I interjected. “I’m going to pull over and get some gas and use the restroom. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

She balked. “Oh. Okay. You don’t want me to talk with you until you get there?” 

“I think I just want to be alone with my thoughts. You know?”

“Yeah, well…okay. Just don’t forget about what we talked about. Whenever you get a chance, think about it. I’ll be waiting for as long as you need.”

“Thanks, girl. Bye.”

“Bye!”

The call ended and a Lizzo song came bumping through the sound system. On a normal day, I would have been rocking my little curves to the beat. But today was not a normal day. It hadn’t been a normal month.

I lowered the volume on the song as I flicked my blinker on and veered off onto the next exit. Spying that I was down half a tank of gas, I decided to hit up a gas station first. When that was done, I wheeled over to the first fast food restaurant I saw. With my peanut allergy, I wouldn’t be able to partake in the golden-fried chicken bubbling in hot peanut oil. But, at least, I could use the restroom and grab a cup of coffee for the road.

I parked my sedan and strolled inside the brightly-lit restaurant. As soon as my eyes lit on the restroom sign, I headed in that direction. Just as I neared the door for the ladies’ room, my phone began to ring.

Damn it, Latrelle! I said I’d think about it!

I shoved my hand in my purse, rooting around until I found the source of the persistent ringing. When I tugged it out, I looked down at the screen – and I froze.

My blood ran ice cold in my veins as I stared at the screen in disbelief. The letters spelled out Drake, but that couldn’t be. What kind of cruel joke was this?

I looked up from the screen and whipped my head around the restaurant full of customers—all milling around like nothing was wrong. But something was very wrong. I dropped the phone, still ringing, back inside my purse and barreled through the door to the bathroom. Once inside, I sped into the first stall and let the rain fall. Hot tears burned my cheeks as my bones shook, unable to shoulder the pain. I wrapped my arms around my torso and bent forward, opening my mouth to scream without sound. Nothing was right. Nothing would ever be right again. I’d just gotten a call from my best friend Drake…but my best friend was dead.