Sean could vaguely hear the taxi driver running after him and talking on the phone at the same time. The man was probably calling 911. Sean dug in his pocket, pulled out fifty dollars, and thrust it in the direction of the man, who refused to take the money, so Sean turned and left. He had to find
Sean did not know what would have happened had someone not stopped him before he got to the burning doorway. He supposed that he ran mad that day for a little while and would have charged straight into the burning building without any hesitation whatsoever. However, just before he got to the door
That was the beginning of the end of his marriage to Joan. The funeral took place less than a week after the incident. Although the time frame between the tragedy and the funeral was quite short, many of his family’s acquaintances and even their neighbors were present at the funeral. Sean did not e
Prior to the huge fight that Sean and Joan had which changed everything, he decided to humor her a couple of times by going to a therapist that she suggested. He did not put his mind to it but only went as a way of pleasing her and shutting her up, and needless to say, the sessions had gone horribl
It turned out that Sean was very wrong about everything being fine now because everything changed that same night and nothing was ever the same again. Joan fell asleep right after they finished having sex, but he remained awake because sleep suddenly eluded him. Now that the high of the lovemaking
"What the hell did you just say to me?” Sean asked Joan incredulously, but she was not backing down at all. She faced him defiantly and continued to talk angrily. All the pent-up resentment and issues that they had been relegating to the background and ignoring, instead of discussing came pouring o
On that fateful day, Sean was sleeping fitfully when his phone began to ring. Before he slept off, he had dropped the phone on a table close to the window in the guest room where he was sleeping. The thought of getting up from bed to pick up the phone made him want to ignore it altogether, but on a
There was a small crowd when he got to the street that showed on his phone as her location. Before he even got to the crowd, Sean could hear the loud cry of his daughter. People were talking over themselves and one woman whom he had never seen before was holding the crying Amanda. Joan was nowhere
“You’re here again.” She states, rolling her eyes without so much as a good morning when she opens the door and sees me standing there. “Good morning to you too. Yes, I’m indeed here again. How are you doing?” I ask her, resolving not to let her hostility get to me. She has every reason to be hosti
I have not been to Nora's apartment for several months since Sally disappeared. In the first month of Sally's disappearance, I used to come here a lot, so much so that I’m sure that I must have begun to look like a desperate creep to Nora. Each time I came here back then, I would plead and plead wi
“No! I want to go with you and Aunt Sally!” He protests angrily when he sees the nanny and realizes that I’m about to leave him with her. “Honey, you must be very tired from running up and down with me these past few days. That is why I want your nanny to take you home so you can rest. Besides, you
SEAN Somehow, Sally allows herself to be convinced to come back home with me, which as even her doctor agrees, is the best decision for her right now because she needs all the help that she can get. We’ve finally been able to reach Nora and Austin, who have arrived at their honeymoon destination a
SALLY I can tell that Sean is surprised at my blunt tone and sharp words, but I couldn’t care less. I vaguely remember how I had pleaded with my boss to get in touch with him after she told me that she could not reach Nora and Austin no matter how many times she tried to reach them. I had been ter
The small bundle feels incredibly light as the nurse places it in my arms. Every single iota of sleep flees from my eyes as I hold and look down at my daughter. The nurse helps me adjust the baby in my arms while smiling at me in approval. Immense love for this tiny human floods my entire being and
I smile unsurely at the doctor, certain that I must have misheard what she just said. She doesn't smile back but instead continues to stare back at me with a measured look that says that she's not messing around. “I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you're talking about. What do you mean by expectant f
SEAN I have to admit that I am not thinking straight, but I'll blame that on the lack of sleep and the thought of seeing sadly again after all these months. Sally is lying on a bed in a very tiny room and she's being placed on oxygen. She looks so small and defenseless in the hospital bed. I appr
“There has been an emergency involving Sally and she's requesting for you.” A female voice had said over the phone mere seconds ago. “Is she OK? What's wrong with her? Where is she?” I ask in quick succession without waiting for an answer to each question. Taking deep breaths, I remind myself to be