"Good Morning, Eileen"

Part Six - The Removal

He hadn't remembered driving at all in the past few weeks, yet that didn't hinder his memory on how to drive. It was odd at first, but he quickly got used to it as he headed to the doctor's office for what he had hoped to be one of his final Eileen meetings. There was no plan to contact Eidetic Corp. He didn't care what they had to offer him. He wanted out.

Bobby drove along a long and mostly empty road, still exhausted from his cumbersome use of Eileen. His eyes closed for a second, and when he opened them he was driving off the road. He couldn't get control of the car as it rolled towards a ditch. He hit it. The car flipped several times. He heard the car crash and crush and crunch. He felt the glass break and tear through his skin. He felt the imminent end of death.

"No," he heard himself whisper. He looked up, and he was still driving, safe on the road. Side effects, he thought. Don't worry about them.

Billboards loomed above. He rolled down the window, letting cool air in, and read them to try to stay awake. One caught his attention in particular. It had him from the chest up on it. The Bobby on the billboard was smiling down at the real one driving. Beside him were the words: Come to Eidetic Corp. We'll give you all that your heart desires.

Bobby shook his head as he passed the billboard. There were several of them, all the same. All of Bobby's eyes on the billboards were looking at the real him, following him. The last one struck him the hardest. It was Bobby, but he was no longer smiling. His face on the billboard was full of fear. The words next to him read: You've made your choice, so we've made ours. We'll see you soon.

Bobby looked away. "Side effects," he heard himself whisper. "Just side effects."

He made it to the doctor's safely.

"Bobby," he heard Sandra say as he sat in the waiting room. He rose and tried to smile at her, but he couldn't even feign a smile.

"You don't look so good," she said as he approached her.

"Yeah. I'm not feeling great. Trying to get this thing out of me," he said, pointing to Eileen. She brought him back into the hallway.

"I'm sorry." She led him down towards the room. "I see you're not with your fiancée this time? She was bragging so much about the ring to Dr. Jenkins."

"Really?" Bobby said. "She's not one to brag."

Sandra grinned. "It sounded like bragging to me. I personally think I'd be a better choice than her. In another life, you'd be mine."

"Pretty ballsy of you to say," Bobby said. They stopped at the door to one of the rooms.

"Not ballsy if it's true." She winked, opened the door, and let him in the room.

"What do you mean?"

"I read that you broke up with her. Didn't you?" Sandra smiled.

Bobby glared at her. "I didn't think you were allowed to read my journal entries."

"I work for Eidetic Corp. Why wouldn't I be?"

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I didn't break up with her. It was a faulty memory."

"It wasn't a memory. It was another life."

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "It happened, just not in this reality." Bobby had no idea what she was talking about and he knew that she could tell by the look on her face. She didn't press on. "Nothing's changed since the last time?"

"Nope."

"Good. Dr. Jenkins will be in soon." She closed the door behind her.

He waited on the exam table, his legs still and his eyes barely open. Dr. Jenkins opened the door and took one look at Bobby before frowning.

"I want it out," Bobby said. "I want it out now."

Dr. Jenkins nodded. "I read your journal entry last night." He closed the door and sat down beside Bobby in a chair. "How bad has your memory been?"

"I honestly don't remember anything since before day 16... I don't even know if I remember that day." He held back his tears. He didn't want his future father-in-law to see him break down.

"You should've gotten rid of her before."

"I know," Bobby said. "Eidetic Corp. emailed me last night." Bobby took out his phone and pulled up the email. He passed it to Dr. Jenkins who quickly read it to himself.

"Gerard Moriarty himself, eh. That's amazing." He looked up from the phone to Bobby. "You going to respond?"

"No. I just want this thing out. I don't care what they say."

"Understandable."

There was a moment of silence between them before Bobby spoke up again. "There are side effects from not using Eileen."

"Like what?"

"Last night, after I turned her off, I was lying in bed with Dia. I was looking at her and when I blinked, she was gone. But, when I blinked again, she was back. And on the way here I had this dream of me crashing and wrecking my car. And then there were these billboards--"

"Billboards?"

"Yeah. They all had me smiling on them next to the words, 'Come to Eidetic Corp. We'll give you all your heart desires.' The last one was different. My face on that one looked like I was looking at a demon. This one said, 'You made your choice, so we made ours. We'll see you soon.'"

Dr. Jenkins wrote everything down. "Anything else?"

"That's all I remember at the moment. Not much happened since last night."

Dr. Jenkins nodded. "Are you sure these are side effects and not just exhaustion?"

"I felt my death in that car crash. I felt every tiny glass shard. It was as if it all happened."

"As if you really died on the way here?"

Bobby nodded. "I'm honestly surprised I didn't. It felt like it happened. Like it was real. This must be a side effect. There's nothing else it could be." He pointed at Eileen. "I want her out. Now."

"I can do that for you. I'll send some guys in to disconnect her from your TV sometime later on, and we can disconnect her from your phone right here. You'll be wiped clean and back to the old you."

The realization struck Bobby. He glanced down in disappointment. "Dia didn't like the old me."

"If she hadn't she would've never moved in with you." Bobby knew he was right. "Besides, she really doesn't like the new you. Which one do you think she'd rather?"

Bobby smiled. "Take her out. I'm ready."

Dr. Jenkins smiled. "I've been waiting to do this for quite a while." He patted one of Bobby's leg. "I'll be right back."