Seeing the Future Again.

"I'm exhausted." I closed my eyes and breathed out deeply. "You have no idea how much this sucks."

Sam put his hand on my shoulder, gently rubbing it with his thumb. "It's going to be okay, Laura."

I opened my eyes and stared at him. He looked exhausted too. We'd been pretty inseparable since the accident. I was still in the hospital, but he was here every day. His parents had brought me clothes and things when they visited. They said they didn't know what to say but that they were there if I needed them. Sam's mom had cried a lot and hugged me tightly while Sam's dad did his best to pretend nothing was wrong. I understood though. I wasn't exactly sure how to handle the situation myself so I stayed quiet and let them do what they wanted to do.

"How can you say that?" I asked him, irritated. "How can you possibly think this is going to be okay? My friends disappear every time someone new shows up or if someone has questions for them about school or something. It's as if I don't exist anymore."

He frowned then nodded as if he understood. "That sucks," he said softly before continuing on: "But you know why they're doing that."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him to stare at the window that faced the lightening sky above the parking lot outside my room. Everything was blurry without my glasses but I could still make out shapes and colors. It would take some getting used to but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been afraid it would be when Mom had first told me the news after the accident. She'd been crying so much she couldn't even speak clearly, which hadn't helped matters either. Dad had shaken his head while staring at me in horror, unable to believe it had happened. But I guess we all knew it was coming sooner or later, even if we didn't want to admit it to ourselves. I'd known for years that someday soon this would probably happen, but having it actually happen felt like someone had kicked me in the gut and knocked all of my air out of me and now I was suffering through every painful second of being winded until my body could remember how to breathe again.

"People will get over it eventually," Sam continued, interrupting my thoughts again. "They'll just have to get used to seeing you again."

"But that's just it!" I exclaimed before taking a deep breath and trying again: "You don't understand! No one sees me anymore! They see Freddy instead! He does everything for me! The only thing anyone wants from me anymore is for Freddy to give them their fortune!"

Sam shook his head slowly as if he were trying to figure something out before saying: "You don't really believe Freddy can tell your future do you?"

I glared at him angrily, crossing my arms over my chest in irritation as a hot wave of frustration rushed through me. "I don't know what else to believe!" I snapped back at him angrily before calming down enough to add: "I mean...I can't see anything anymore! How am I supposed to know who is who unless Freddy tells me?"

He shrugged helplessly, not having an answer for me other than: "Laura...you saw yourself in trouble right? You saw Willow's life flash before her eyes? Tina falling off her bike? Your own accident? How else could any of those things have happened otherwise?"

My shoulders slumped as I tried desperately to find a flaw in his logic. But there really wasn't one there...so instead of arguing with him further, which would only end up making us both more frustrated for no reason at all, I took a deep breath and looked out at the parking lot once more as Sam sat down beside me on the bed next to where he'd been standing earlier watching the sunrise with me until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer without risking falling off the bed onto the floor below us both. Neither of us said anything for several minutes until Sam cleared his throat and suggested: "Maybe we should try and get some sleep?"

Days passed by in a blur after that conversation between us until finally Mom showed up with her car packed full of stuff as well as a wheelchair behind her one day while Sam was visiting with me and told us she wanted us both gone when she returned later that evening because she needed time alone with Dad while they dealt with everything that had happened recently and she didn't want us there distracting them from helping each other deal with it all while she traveled back home alone by herself because she just needed some time alone by herself right now because right now it just hurt too damn much so please understand if we never spoke again ever again because maybe then she wouldn't feel like such a failure for not being able to protect Shanna from straying too close to the edge of life so sometimes there really were limits even when you loved someone very much indeed so please understand...and then she walked out leaving only silence behind her in her wake as Sam quickly wheeled my chair into motion towards the door before stopping suddenly in front of it so suddenly it made me jump slightly while he turned around and looked back at where Mom had left us sitting alone in front of Room 433 before turning back around towards the parking lot beyond where Mom had parked her car next to mine along with Dad's truck near where we'd parked together this morning before taking our ride into town together before dropping off Dad at work before driving on towards nowhere special except home in order to make sure Shanna got off safely from school today before heading off towards work himself after making sure Shanna got on home alright after walking her up from school today before going on down Main Street where he ran into Willow who didn't look okay today at all as far as he could tell although Willow always seemed okay whenever he talked with her since Willow usually acted upbeat whenever she talked with anyone so perhaps something serious was happening inside Willow's head even though Willow always acted upbeat whenever she talked with anyone which made Sam wonder whether or not something serious might be happening inside Willow's head right now which made him wonder whether or not something serious might be happening inside Laura's head right now too since Laura hadn't said hello when he dropped off Shanna at home today when Laura normally always said hello whenever he dropped off Shanna or picked her up or walked with her or whatever else these two might have done together today...and so on...and so forth...and ad infinitum until finally closing itself off rapidly until suddenly stopping entirely ten minutes later when none of these thoughts made any sense anymore because they no longer existed within Sam's mind except for those few moments where they'd seemed perfectly clear cut coherently logical thus allowing Sam enough time needed within those moments only long enough for him abruptly stop pushing Laura's chair into motion towards the door yet again whereupon Laura turned around and stared wide eyed cluelessly back at him wondering why exactly he'd stopped moving again without explaining anything whatsoever about why leaving her wondering what was wrong now since nothing seemed wrong anywhere anywhere around here except for maybe Sam herself acting odd now which made Laura turn away from him sharply pretending not notice his odd behavior as best she could all whilst trying desperately not think about how little sense any of this made anymore either because none of these thoughts made any sense anymore either because they'd suddenly disappeared completely replaced by an intense desire within Laura's mind no longer wanting any part of this conversation anymore either because none of these thoughts made any sense anymore either despite having seemed perfectly clear cut coherently logical thus allowing Laura enough time needed within those moments only long enough for her abruptly turn around once more towards Room 433 immediately thereafter asking aloud: "Mom...? Did you mean what you said earlier? Or..." And finding no reply beyond silence although hearing footsteps approaching behind her quickly followed by a male voice announcing: "Hey..why are you here? Do you need help?" And finding no reply beyond silence replaced by an intense desire within Laura's heart no longer wanting any part of this conversation anymore either instead preferring instead an explanation followed immediately after by a seatbelt fastening sound followed immediately after by a soft *whoosh* sound (as if the whole world had been turned upside down) followed immediately after by a soft *whoosh* sound (as if reality itself had been turned upside down) followed immediately after by nothing else except