Page 18 of Cole's Command

She heard the smile in his voice, even though his facial features weren’t easy to discern.

‘You can hear me, Ede. You’ve always been able to.’

A low shiver traveled along her spine at his words. Ede. He’d called her Ede. No one else in the world had ever got away with calling her anything except her full name, and nobody else ever would.

“This isn’t really happening,” she decided, falling back on the one consolation that had helped her feel safe since her visions had begun: science. “You’re not really here. You’re dead.”

‘Ede.’ His voice grew louder as his aura drew closer. ‘You cannot dismiss what your senses know to be true.’

“I’m under a lot of stress,” she started, aware that it wasn’t a lie. Her heart was thundering at full pelt, the palpitations making it difficult to think straight, but she wasn’t cowered by her physiological response to fear. Her body was acting instinctively; that was all. It didn’t mean the presence was really her father come from beyond the grave. “That’s all this is,” she went on. “A manifestation of my stress.”

‘You do need to be kinder to yourself.’ A sigh escaped the lips she could barely see. ‘That’s partly why I have come.’

“Yes.” Eden seized on the comment, rationalizing it the way she liked to justify everything. “That’s a good starting point. Why are you here?”

If she could only account for his presence with logic, she knew things would be okay. If his presence was the result of mental illness, then composing herself and getting a hold of her own thoughts would help.

I know that’s not right, she chided herself as she stared up at the outline of her father. If I’m suffering with mental illness, then I need diagnosis and help.

But that would never happen. Admitting she needed psychiatric support would effectively end the career she had strove so hard to achieve. She refused to let that be the outcome of all of her hard work.

‘I’m here to warn you.’ He hovered a foot from her, the bottom of his body blurring into a mist-like essence where his legs and feet should have been.

“To warn me?” The tiny hairs on her arms rose as the air around her cooled. Why am I entertaining this delusion? Why acknowledge physical symptoms that I’m surely conjuring to suit my own story? “To warn me about what?”

‘This.’ Ray’s voice was serious. ‘The way you torment yourself, this pressure you’re putting yourself under, Ede. You need to slow down and breathe, or...’ His words trailed away, leaving only the empty silence of the chilly room and the pounding of her heart.

“Or, what?” Stroking the edge of the pen, she stared into the mist purporting to be her parent. “What will happen to me if I don’t heed your caution, Dad?”

She had no way of knowing what was happening neurologically, but if Ray’s silhouette was truly a warning, then it was possible it was a product of her own mind, an attempt to keep herself safe. Eden had seen the way her father had folded under the stress in his life. Perhaps this was her way of avoiding the same fate? Yes, that made sense, and as the arm of the aura reached toward her, it was no longer fear that grasped at her chest but concern.

‘You’ll end up like me.’ His voice was solemn as his words echoed around her. ‘Stuck in this realm instead of living the life you’ve built for yourself. I do not want that for you, Ede. You deserve to live!’

“Oh, stop it,” she hissed, raising her hands to her ears as if the gesture could somehow block him out. “You’re not really here, and we both know it.”

‘Of course.” Ray’s tone was resigned. ‘You lack the faith required to understand.’

“This isn’t happening.” She snorted, vexed by the apparition’s inference. There was nothing wrong with her faith. She just trusted science. “You’re not really there.”

Steeling her nerves, Eden was relieved to see the apparition of her father had vanished.

“Of course, he’s gone,” she muttered. “That’s because he was never there.”

She glanced around, anxious to confirm her statement was true. Ray was no longer anywhere to be found and she couldn’t hear his voice.

Thank God.

Whatever she thought she’d seen or hadn’t seen, it was over, but her racing pulse confirmed the experience had been sufficient to shake her. Gulping back her anxiety, she turned away from her notepad and closed the laptop. Work would have to wait. She was far too rattled to concentrate now, and in truth, Eden didn’t want to stick around and see if the presence returned. Whether psychological or paranormal in origin, the phenomenon was exhausting her, and she had endured enough for one evening.

Jumping to her feet, she grabbed her car keys from the counter before she pulled on her coat. She’d go for a drive. It wasn’t the safest time for a woman to travel solo, but since logic was so quick to abandon her, she decided to ignore its rational caution. She’d head out of the city where it was only her and the empty road.

Just go, she concluded, opening the door to her apartment and heading into the well-lit corridor. I can’t be here anymore.

Stalking down the hallway, she gripped her keys for grim life. Wherever she chose to drive, one thing was for sure: Eden was going to need to clear her head before she could even contemplate sleep.

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