The Ghosts in You (A Zak Bagans Fanfic)

Chapter 79

Zak lay curled up next to her form, his arms wrapped around her. He was careful not to hurt her still-bruised body. All he'd been able to think of while watching the chase unfold on TV was that he just wanted to feel Sara in his arms again. Here she is – right here, right now.

Sara listened to Zak's breathing. When she was certain he had fallen into a deep sleep, she slipped out of his arms and out of bed.

She needed to think, she needed ice, and she needed some Tylenol. The day's events had really angered her back. She found a bottle of water, some Tylenol, and a tray of ice which she dumped into a large Ziploc. She took two of the Tylenol and made her way into the living room and onto the sofa, where she picked up a throw and draped it over her legs. She pinned the ice between the sofa and the middle of her back. Sara liked sitting in the dark, looking out the wall of glass there, at Zak's yard and the view in the distance.

She had so many thoughts colliding in her head that she didn't know where to start. One more floated to the surface at random: her stalker intoning the words "kill her". Who was he talking to? He seemed almost...possessed. Is that really possible? 

"Every breath you take and every move you make..." Why is this one lyric looping in my head? 

"Sara?"

Surprised, she turned around to see Zak walking over to the sofa.

"What are you doing sitting here in the dark?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep."

He took a seat next to her. "Talk to me," he coaxed.

"I can't shut my mind off." She stared out the glass wall. "I saw my Dad tonight, Zak."

And at this, Zak startled. "What do you mean?"

Sara took a breath, steadying herself. "When we were on the Interstate, I tried to talk Dwayne down, but that only agitated him more." She thought she might have to struggle with her words, but found she was numb to this much of the experience.

"In my mind, I said to my parents, 'Mom, Dad, I'll see you in a few.' The wall of patrol cars came into view and Dwayne drove faster. I knew he meant to slam us into them. I don't know why I pulled down on the steering wheel. Instinct, maybe." She shrugged. "When I made it out of the car, that's when I saw my Dad. His arms were outstretched to me. But then I blinked and he was gone." And in voicing this, the tears finally cascaded.

She almost died. Again. That's why her dad was there and that's why Gracie was acting the way she was when Sara came home. Zak did his best to calm her down: "It's okay, Sara. You're safe now."

"You don't understand, Zak." Sara got up from the sofa, letting the Ziploc of ice fall to the cushioned seat. Crying fairly hard now, she walked over to the windows.

"Help me understand, Sara," he said gently as he walked up behind her.

Sara struggled with her thoughts and felt a wall begin to crumble. "My Dad was murdered, Zak. If only I had been there for him, gotten to him sooner, I might have been able to stop it from happening. But I wasn't. I wasn't there for him when he died, but tonight he was there for me, waiting for me." The wall fell away and Sara sobbed uncontrollably.

The pain that Zak had felt in Sara over the past couple of weeks suddenly made a great deal of sense. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Your Dad loves you, Sara, very much. That's why he was there waiting."

His own words felt hollow to him. He had not a clue of what to say. But he saw Sara nod ever so slightly, and he hoped his words might suffice. For the moment, anyway.