It's Not Over

A week later

Brian had left and Sam was till going to the hospital everyday. It was routine, she had her own pass now, just so she won’t get stopped anywhere. She brought doughnuts to the nurses each morning. She smiled at them and went into the room.

The bruising had gone down. She sat in her set, “So you’re still not up? Fine, I’m gonna keep reading your book,” Sam said as she opened where she had left off.

Chapter 2 – Memory
I was in high school; I was a boy crazy teen who saw tattooed singers as gods. Morning noon night I would listen to them. Everywhere I went, I wanted to meet them.

A smile spread across Sam’s face, this was the Jo she had remembered. Her cell phone rang, she looked at the caller ID. It was Brian.

“Hey, sweetie,” Sam said as she pressed the button.

“Hey, babes,” Brian said.

“She’s not up yet,” Sam said, making it sound like she was just sleeping in. She answered his question before he could ask it.

“They’re still in a trance,” Brian answered hers.

“What are we going to do?” Sam asked pushing back her hair from her face.

“I miss you,” Brian said.

“I miss you too,” Sam said.

They talked for a couple more minutes, then Sam hung up she needed to leave, she was working with the Windsor Star. And on the side doing jobs for Rolling Stones but she needed to focus on being in Windsor.

She left the hospital and cold air hit her straight in the face making her shiver. As she got into her car, turned on the ignition and turned up the heat, her cell phone rang again. She didn’t recognize the caller.

“Hello?” Sam said.

“Hello, may I speak to Joana Soiman,” the woman on the other line said.

“Um, she’s unavailable right now, may I take a message?” Sam said, remembering she had all of Jo’s calls forwarded to her cell phone.

“This is Margaret, I’m calling regarding the new book, I am an editor and we are very interested in signing it,” Margaret said.

“I’m sorry but Joana is a coma,” the words come out in a sharp fast breath.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Margaret said.

“Yes, but I believe I might be able to help you,” Sam said. They exchanged details and Margaret said she would get in touch with Sam as soon as she knew if she was allowed to talk about the book.

“You know that’s wrong,” Sam didn’t look at the source of the voice in the passenger seat. “Fine, ignore me, but I’m not going away.”

Sam gritted her teeth; she took out a smoke, and lit it. “I thought you quit,” the voice said again, at a stop light Sam threw a side glance at the source of the voice.

“Fuck you,” Sam said.

“Now, now you know you love me,” the source smiled at her.

“You’re just my imagination,” Sam shook her head as if she was trying to make the apparition go away.

“So, I’m still real.”

“No the real you is at the hospital hooked up to those machines,” Sam said as they went into the parking garage of the building.

“You can talk to me, how are things between you and Brian,” The ghost of Jo said.

“What?” Sam said as she put the car in park.

“You can talk to me about Brian and how things are going, I know you want to,” The ghost smiled.

“This is creepy,” Sam said.

“I thought by now you’ll get used to me,” Jo said.

“I can’t talk to you.”

“But you are.”

“But you’re not real,” Sam said.

“I’m as real as you want me to be,” Jo said.

“No I want you gone,” Sam said.

“Are you sure?” Jo asked.

“Yes I’m sure.” Sam watched as the ghost disappeared. “By the way I love Brian.”

“I knew it,” Jo’s voice rang into Sam’s head and a smile spread across her lips. Even thought she knew that wasn’t real it felt her better to have Jo’s voice ring through her head.