The Past-Life Chronicles

17

"I can't believe people actually thought this was cool." Henry reaches into my bag of Chex Mix, eyes glued to the TV. "The background looks like it's made from cardboard." He speaks through a full mouth. "Like the set of a high school play."

I snigger, turning up the volume with the remote. "Wait—this is my favorite part."

"Why are they ice skating?" demands Mason, who's been laughing through the entire video. "I thought they were zombies."

"You know, this would actually be a good song," Henry's arm bumps mine as he reaches for more, "if the video wasn't so ridiculous."

"You're eating all my Chex Mix," I complain.

"Video did kill the radio star." Mason winks, tossing Henry a bag of pretzels.

Henry snorts. "I wonder if they'll play that one."

"Dude, I hope so." I prop up my back against the headboard, legs crossed in front of me. Henry and I are on his bed, Mason on his own beside us, eating junk food from the hotel vending machine and watching an eighties music video marathon. It's literally the only thing on TV. A thunderstorm of epic proportions hit as soon as we were leaving Joy's house earlier, and with nowhere else to go, we've stayed holed up in our hotel room since.

"I'm going to burst into the operating room and sing this to you," I tease my stepbrother. "Doctor, doctor...!"

"Oh, my God." Henry covers his ears. "Willow, you can't sing." I belt out the next line of the Thompson Twins' song, until he insists, "You're making me want to drop out of med school."

"Shut up." I'm giggling, but my face is hot. "That was so good, Mason wants me to accompany him on his guitar. Right, Mason?"

"We'll sell out Madison Square Garden." Mason pours a helping of Jujubes into his mouth. "Yes," he adds, enthusiastic when the next video begins.

"Okay, I've always liked this song." Henry pulls open the pretzel bag. "But I had no idea it was about a kid and his...teddy bear?"

"Yeah, I thought it was supposed to be a love song." I'm equally confused—and amused—as REO Speedwagon performs "Can't Fight This Feeling".

"Who knew what these guys were on back then?" Mason grins.

We fall silent, listening to the song, and sniggering occasionally at the cheesy video accompanying it. I glance between Mason and my stepbrother. For the first time, are the three of us actually just hanging out as normal young people...as friends?

I wonder why it can't always be like this. Expectations of the past—and the future—have always seemed to get in the way. But at least for the moment, I don't sense the usual tension between us, and that makes me relax more than I have before, around either of them.

Maybe we don't always have to look back.

Maybe we don't always have to look ahead, either.

#

On Sunday, I drove part of the way home. Part, not all. I did drive my equal share. And I did manage without incident.

I won't say the phobia's completely gone. It still nags in the back of my mind. But it's more subdued. At any rate, it's not debilitating anymore. At least it wasn't yesterday. We'll see if it comes back, if anything returns to the way it used to be. Before Susan's grave, before the bridge at the Punitaw Reservoir, before visiting Joy...

Somehow, though, I think Elms Creek has changed us.

Henry and I haven't had a chance to talk since we arrived home yesterday evening. This morning, he left for class and I went back to work. Mason has the day off, and we might hang out later, but maybe we also kind of need some space. It was a long weekend.