Science or Fate

by frecklesarebetter

After three years of being off the island, Kate still can't seem to catch a break. Living all alone with nobody left, she finds herself getting ready to fall apart. Until one day, she receives a message from someone she hadn't seen in years. Kate's path begins to change and she finds herself confused. About feelings she thought she thought were gone. She learns to love again.

The rain was coming down hard on the roof of the small yellow house in the barracks. Kate Austen tossed in her bed, pulling the blankets over her head. She groaned in aggravation, accepting the fact that she wasn't going to sleep any time soon. Getting up out it bed, she walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, looking out into the darkness. The lightening struck far out in the jungle, illuminating the old play set. A little girl with curly brown hair sat, her back to the house. Kate gasped and hurried out into the yard, rain soaking through her grey T-shirt.

"Hey!" She called out, her bare feet slipping on the wet grass. She reached the play set, only to find the little girl vanished.

"I'm loosing my mind." Kate sighed, pushing a lock of tangled wet hair behind her ear.

"You have to go back." A small voice said from behind her. She turned around, the little girl standing inches in front of her. She gasped at the younger version of herself that stood before her, taking a few steps back.

"You made the wrong choice." The younger Kate said, thunder roaring overhead.

"You have to go back."

Kate shot up in bed, rubbing her eyes. She took in her surroundings and looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand, it read ten forty. She sighed and pulled the blankets off of her, her bare feet touching the cold hardwood floor. She slowly walked to the kitchen, turning on her radio as she went. Patsy Cline blared through the house, echoing through the empty hallways. She opened the fridge, reaching for the milk. The heavy gallon slid straight through her fingers, dropping on the tiled floor and spilling milk everywhere.

"Shit!" She cursed loudly, grabbing the paper towels off the smooth black countertop. She quietly cleaned up the mess and threw away the heap of soaked paper towels. She opened the fridge and hesitated, staring at the single beer that sat by itself in her fridge. She sighed, closing the door and turning on the coffee maker. She turned of the radio and sat quietly, sipping her coffee at the table that she, Aaron and Jack once use to have dinner at. She sometimes hears the quiet patter of Aaron's feet running down the hallway, but she quickly realizes that he's not there. He's with Claire, where he ought to be, but she can't help but miss him. She walked back to her room, the answering machine was flashing, 10 messages. She pressed the play button and sat on her unmade bed, going through a stack of unopened letters. Most of the messages and all of the letters were junk. Mostly press wanting to speak to her. She thought after four years after being off the island they'd let up. The last message caught her attention, the familiar voice echoed through the room. Sawyer.

"Uh, Kate? Shit, is this even your number? Anyway, it's been a while, huh? I'm in town and I though maybe we could meet up, get some coffee or something. Do you even like coffee? I don't know, call me back when you can, if you can." The line went dead but Kate still had goosebumps. It's been four years since everyone went their own way, she didn't expect to hear from anyone, ever. She pressed the dial button and after two rings, she hung up.

"Don't do this, Kate." She said, talking herself out of it. "You're fine delete the message." She turned and pressed the dial button again, this time, he answered.

"Hello?" He asked, his voice sounding groggy, like she'd woken him up.

"Hey." She said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "It's Kate."

"Oh." He said, as if he'd forgotten he called her.

"I, uh, I got your message." She said, quietly.

"Yeah, listen." He said. "If you don't want to see me, it's okay."

"No, it's not that." She said, smiling to herself. "It's just been a while."

"I'm sorry about that." He sighed.

"But, I can meet you for coffee." She said, changing the subject."

"Today?" He asked, sounding surprised.

"How does noon sound?" She asked, tapping her fingers on the desk.

"That sounds great." He said. "SouthStreet Coffee at noon."

"Sounds good." She said.

"See you at noon." The line went dead. She hung up the phone and let out a deep breath. What did she just do?