The Love of My Afterlife(8)

I look down at my hand, the one that was just holding his.

It’s empty.

No, no, no!

I think…I think I might have just met the only person I was ever truly supposed to meet.

And now he’s gone.





4





I stare at the space where Jonah just was, blinking dumbly, my brain trying and failing to process what the hell just happened.

“Well, well, well!” Merritt drawls, brushing off her hands. She wiggles her eyebrows, a know-it-all smile on her face. “Even the mighty Nora Roberts herself would sell a kidney to get that kind of chemistry on the page.”

“That…that was…Who was that? He was…And now he’s…”

“He’s gone, sweet girl. Back in the land of the living once more. Admin glitch—it happens. Such a shame. You would have had a much nicer time at Evermore if he’d been hanging around. From what I saw on his file, he’s a genuinely great guy. I’m so sorry, Delphie. Hate to see it.”

I gasp and look directly into Merritt’s big green eyes. “Wait a minute…you just sent him back. Send me back too! You have the power to do it. I just saw it!”

Frantically, I grab her thumb and press it against my head. “Come on, just do it! Do that thumb thing! I really don’t want to be here. I can’t stay here! Mr. Yoon needs me. I…I have a job! You just sent Jonah back. Send me!”

Merritt snatches her thumb away from my head, holding it protectively to her chest.

“Anyone can send accidental unconscious visitors back to Earth—they’re just an admin error.” She shrugs as if it’s no big deal that she literally just disappeared a whole entire beautiful and interested-in-me human. “But for people who are actually supposed to be here? No can do.”

I sink down onto one of the plastic chairs.

“I’m sorry.” Merritt grimaces. “You two really did have some kind of spark, right? Were you holding hands? Even though you only just met? That’s bonkers. What a shame he had to go. For you, I mean. He’s a very popular man on Earth, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

I bury my head in my hands and let out a low groan. This is what eternity looks like? Stuck with this woman?

“Oh, wait a hot sec…” Merritt says thoughtfully. “What if I…? Maybe I could…And then you would go back and…No…it wouldn’t work…Hmmmm, unless…”

I lift my head, ears pricked up like a dog’s. “What did you just say? Maybe I could go back what? What wouldn’t work? What are you thinking?”

Merritt plops down onto a chair opposite me and taps her beringed hands against her thighs. “Well, I guess there is the Franklin Bellamy Clause. Maybe that could work…”

“The Franklin Bellamy Clause? What’s the Franklin Bellamy Clause?”

Merritt pushes her glasses up her nose and sits forward in her seat. “So. There’s a clause in the Evermore handbook, written by this higher-up called Franklin Bellamy. It was back in the nineteen nineties, I think. He introduced a rule stating that within three hours of arrival—providing they’re not yet known to be deceased—a Dead can be sent back to Earth by an Afterlife Therapist. Under certain conditions, of course.”

“What conditions?”

“They can return to carry out an important favour for a staff member. If they do it, the Dead gets to remain on Earth.”

“They get to stay alive?”

“If they successfully complete the given task, yes. Franklin Bellamy created the clause so that he could have someone return to Earth and tell the woman set to cure IBS in 2028 that she had a carbon monoxide leak in her apartment. He prevented her death, and in 2028, the world will become a happier and more comfortable place for many.”

“Why didn’t he just go back himself? If he had that kind of power? Why did he need to send someone else to go?”

Merritt rolls her eyes. “Did you not hear me, babe? There has to be a provision of the returning Dead not yet being recognised as deceased. Can you imagine? Me rocking up on Earth after being gone for five years? As careful as I might be, there’s always the chance that someone who knew me might see me wandering about. It would be a potential disaster in the very fabric of space and time, not to mention highly embarrassing.” She shudders at the thought.

“So you can only get new Deads…I mean…arrivals to do the ‘favour.’?”

“Yeah. The rules are that it can only be done once, it needs to be for something important, and it can never directly involve someone you knew on Earth.”

“Why not?”

Merritt’s eyes widen. “Oh, if we were able to manipulate the outcomes of those we knew and loved on Earth, it would send us crazy. Everyone would break the rules and risk revealing the existence of Evermore. Nightmare!”

“Do you still have your send-back?” I ask, almost breathless.

Merritt nods. “Yeah, I’ve been saving it.”

“For what?”

“For bargaining power, what else?” She raises an eyebrow. “We can gift our send-backs to other staff members, trade them for promotions or perks. As long as I hold on to mine, then I have a little something in my back pocket, should I ever need it.”