Sadie's Spirit, CB Samet [book club recommendations .TXT] 📗
- Author: CB Samet
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Book online «Sadie's Spirit, CB Samet [book club recommendations .TXT] 📗». Author CB Samet
She transported herself back to Asher in the hospital’s visitor parking lot. He was resting in the driver seat with his head back and eyes closed. She remembered glancing at the clock in the library when they left. It had been two a.m. She needed to let Asher get some sleep, but first they needed to grab the laptop.
She leaned through the driver side door, moving her face close to Asher’s. She could have kissed those soft, succulent lips or run a hand through his dark hair. Only she couldn’t.
“Asher,” she said softly.
He jumped. “What?” He stared at her body, which was still leaning through the solid door. “Okay, okay. Stop that.”
“Too creepy?” She grinned, pulling her torso outside the vehicle.
“Yes.”
He exited the truck, and they walked through the parking deck together.
“I don’t suppose you can do anything about all these cameras catching me on video?”
“Oh yeah, I think so.” If she could manipulate an electronic lock, she ought to be able to obscure a camera feed.
She led him through doorways and down hallways as she floated above him, interfering with each ceiling camera along the way. They reached the outer door that led to her department’s offices.
She raised and lowered her eyebrows at him as she wiggled her ghostly fingers in the electronic lock.
When the door clicked, he opened it.
Sadie sashayed through the doorway.
“You’re enjoying this way too much. My bank account doesn’t feel safe anymore.”
She looked over her shoulder and winked. “I got skills.”
“I already knew that.” His tone was playful, and he wasn't scowling for a change.
She kept walking, trying not to enjoy this moment of levity too much.
When they reached her office, Sadie walked through the locked door and depressed the handle from the inside to let him into her office.
He walked around her.
“It’s in the drawer under the desk.”
The room was dark except for the faint light spilling in from the hallway. She felt like her heart beat nervously, fearful of Asher of getting caught.
He felt around for the drawer with gloved hands since it wasn’t visible in the dim light. He pulled the drawer out and gingerly lifted the computer as though it were made of porcelain.
“Oh, and the charger. In the drawer over there.”
Asher fetched it.
They quickly made their way back to the parking deck the same way they had come in, with Sadie blocking the cameras streams as Asher moved through the corridors.
Asher rubbed his eyes and blinked at the dashboard. It was three a.m.
“Let’s find a motel. You need some rest,” Sadie said.
He nodded.
Within fifteen minutes, he had checked in, paid cash, and entered the motel room.
He appraised the small space. The bathroom was barely large enough to turn around in, much less change his clothes.
He felt bone-tired. The stress of seeing Sadie and wanting to help her, combined with worry about her situation and fear for his own implication had taken a toll on him. He couldn’t think clearly, which was evidenced by the fact that he desired nothing more than to curl up on the bed with Sadie in his arms.
He recalled the many opportunities he’d had to watch Sadie in her element as a physician treating patients. Her ICU had always been overflowing with the sickest patients: those suffering from pneumonia, multi-organ failure, bleeding disorders, anaphylactic shock, flu, respiratory failure, and septic shock from overwhelming infections.
She was a decisive physician, and was respected by the nursing staff. He had glimpsed her having compassionate discussions with patients’ families. He had watched her skillfully performing critical intubations.
She had given every ounce of her energy to patient care during her ten-hour shifts, continually arriving home exhausted. While they were dating, they never planned activities after one of her shifts because they both knew she would be too tired. For this reason, he had liked the addition of research to her schedule. Less time spent in the intensive care unit meant a change of pace for Sadie and reduced the likelihood of her suffering career burnout.
He dropped an overnight bag onto the chair.
“I’ll let you sleep. What time do you want me back to wake you?”
“Eight. Thanks.” He slipped off his shoes.
She stuck her thumbs into her waistband. “Too bad I can’t bring you coffee.”
She was glowing again, and looked truly radiant. Her dark hair hung in loose curls, her full lips slightly parted.
He stepped towards her, itching to grab and kiss her.
“Promise me you'll come back. Eight a.m.”
“I promise.”
“I wish—”
She vanished before he had a chance to finish his sentence.
I wish things were different. I wish you were alive.
Asher stood staring at the empty space where she had stood. The room felt cold without her. He crawled under the covers, and he fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed.
Sadie returned to the woods. She hated the thought of her body lying alone in the cold autumn air. Perhaps she could sit near herself and keep her body company. It was a ridiculous notion, but she walked along the trail looking for her corpse.
The darkness around her seemed terribly dense. She had no flashlight, and there was barely a sliver of moon to light her way. She didn’t find her body, so she supposed the killer must have hidden it well. She realized she had left the scene of the crime too soon the day before, and as a result she didn’t know precisely where her cadaver had been left to rot. She placed her hand on her heart, trying to use the same trick she had used to find Asher, but she wasn’t pulled to the location of her cold, lonely body.
Downtrodden, she half-climbed, half-floated to the peak overlooking the forest. She sat there quietly, staring at the horizon and waiting for sunrise.
As the sun broke in the distance, she was dazzled by its brilliance. She sat in awe of the orange and white light. When was the last time she had taken the time to do nothing? Sadie couldn’t recall the last time she had enjoyed a sunrise, a sunset, or an ocean view without sensing the seconds ticking round into minutes; without wondering what time it was and thinking about the long to-do list waiting for her at work. She had spend years of her life making every detail fit into a fixed time limit.
She hadn’t undertaken any slow leisure activities since dating Asher. Before him, her life had been filled with the same hectic days measuring accomplishments: medical school exams, residency rotations, board tests, and fellowship certification.
She had planned to slow down her life, but the deadlines and goals and publications had been never-ending. Asher had helped bring balance to her life until she snuffed out their relationship.
They had been dating for a year before he trusted her with his secret.
They had picnicked near a waterfall at Raven Cliff Falls. They finished eating and were soaking up the sun, lying on a rock with their heads close together and their bodies stretching away from each other.
“Sometimes when I see you turning the ring on your finger, I think you're missing your grandmother,” Asher had said.
Sadie smiled softly. “I do miss her. She raised me more than my own mother did.”
“Because of your mom’s work?”
“My mother was career-oriented when I was growing up. I don't think she ever possessed nurturing traits.”
“Your grandmother would perhaps have suggested that she didn’t try hard enough.”
Sadie turned to look at him in an attempt to make sense of his oddly familiar comment. “She probably would have. She said on more than one occasion that Mom should spend less time at work and more time with me.”
“There are thousands of jobs out there, but only one Sadie Crawford.”
She sat up. “Okay. That’s exactly what my grandmother said. How did you know that?”
Asher sat up and scooted close to her on the rock. He pulled her into an embrace, so that her back was against his chest. He kissed her neck. “Would it help to know your grandmother watches over you and that she’s proud of you?”
Sadie answered with hesitation. “Such a thing could be assumed but never known.”
“I can hear ghosts, Sadie. Sometimes I see wisps of them or feel their presence. It began when I was thirty. All the men in my family receive this unusual
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