Ty's head jerked up as a shadow fell across the ground in front of him. For a hopeful moment, he thought that it was Amy. He hadn't seen her for almost a week. He wished that she would come back, if only so he could explain more to her and help her understand, but she hadn't. She still hadn't, he realized sadly as he met Lou's eyes. She tucked her gloved hands into her thick coat and tried to smile at him.
"How are you today?"
"I'm taking horse crap from the barn to the manure pile. I'm having a stellar day. How are you today, Lou?"
"Fine. Um, want to get off the property for a while?"
"Yeah!" Ty exclaimed. "Absolutely."
"Great! Grandpa is feeling a little under the weather today, and since Carl's supposed to call soon, neither of us are able to go pick up the feed order at Maggie's." She pulled a list out of her pocket. "Everything has already been paid for. Just double check that everything is there and load it into your truck and head back."
"Simple enough that even I can figure it out," Ty snorted.
"I would have sent the monkey, but she's currently writing Shakespeare," Lou joked in return, surprising Ty with her flare of wit.
"I'll head out now," Ty said.
"Don't get lost," Lou warned him. She sounded serious, but Ty decided to treat it as a joke; Hudson really only had one street.
He darted to his room just long enough to grab his truck keys. Soon, he was driving down Heartland's long driveway. The new-to-him but ancient-to-everyone-else truck was freezing and any other time, Ty might have complained about the broken heater. But, he'd arrived at Heartland weeks ago. This was the first time he'd been off the property. It just felt good to be driving.
He was almost off the property when, "Where are we going?"
Ty slammed on the brakes, the truck squealing at him and sliding a little on the icy driveway, as it frantically halted. His chest heaving and his heart hammering from the shock, Ty turned his head to the passenger seat. Amy was staring at him, rather innocently considering the surprise she had given him. Her eyes, set against the semi-transparent black veil of death that now covered her skin, glinted brighter than he had ever seen them before.
"How did you get in here?" Ty demanded. "How long have you been in here?"
Amy shrugged. "A few seconds … I thought you were the answers guy. I just felt confused, so I thought of you and then I saw here."
"Confused about?"
"How can I be … dead," her voice dropped to a whisper on her last word, "and not know it all?"
"I have no idea," Ty admitted, feeling as if he'd let her down. "You were probably just in extreme denial."
Amy bit her lip and sighed deeply. She fidgeted with her hands, and then side-eyed Ty. She looked surprised to find that he was looking back at her. "Drive. I need to think."
"You're coming?"
Amy shrugged, readjusting her little black sweater over her shoulders. "What else am I going to do?"
Ty switched his foot over to the gas. "We're going to Maggie's," he informed her.
"Maggie's?" Amy gasped.
"Yeah. Lou wanted me to get the feed order."
"Ty, what day is it?"
"It's Saturday."
Amy hung her head. Ty glanced at her, but he couldn't tell if she was happy or sad that it was Saturday; her hair was completely obscuring her face. After a few more minutes of driving, Amy spoke.
"Soraya's probably working," she whispered.
"Who's Soraya?"
"My best friend. I haven't seen her in two weeks!" Her voice held all the excitement that a normal girl would have after not seeing her friends for weeks. Then, her head popped up. "I mean, two weeks before I … before it happened."
"Sorry," Ty murmured, because there was nothing else for him to say.
"No one will know I'm here, will they?"
"No," Ty confirmed. "I'll just look like a crazy guy talking to himself."
Instead of laughing, Amy asked, "How do you know you're not?"
Ty didn't answer. He pulled up in front of Maggie's and jumped out of the truck. He grabbed his wallet, just in case, and then he watched as Amy tried to grab onto the door handle. Her fingers just went through it. She let out a desperate cry. Ty closed the truck door and left her alone. He didn't know how to comfort her right now; he didn't know if she would want to be comforted.
He entered Maggie's, blinking as he realized it was both a store and a diner. It was a little strange to look to one side and see saddles, then look to the other side and see fries. Behind the counter was a young girl, about Amy's age. She had light brown skin, dark brown eyes, and brown curls that were tied tightly against her neck. He approached the counter, sticking his hand in his jacket pocket and curling his fingers around Lou's instructions.
The girl glanced up, putting on a people smile for him. "Hi, welcome to Maggie's! What can I do for you?"
"I'm here to pick up an order," Ty said. He glanced at her nametag. Soraya; Amy's best friend.
"Sure. For who?"
Before he could say anything, Amy was at his side, distracting him. He could see the top of her blonde head bobbing in his peripheral vision.
"Just say Heartland," Amy instructed absently. She waded into the counter, getting close to the oblivious Soraya, who was still waiting for an answer from Ty. "Hi Soraya. I missed you."
"Heartland."
Soraya glanced at him, through Amy, looking confused. "Really?"
"I'm the new stable hand. I just started. I'm Ty Borden."
"Oh yeah. Lou called about you … Sorry, I've just been lost in thought."
"No worries." Ty tried to smile at her, but she just looked sad. It wasn't hard for Ty to guess what she was thinking about.
"How is everyone?" Soraya asked, after gesturing to one of the other employees to fetch Heartland's order. "I haven't been to Heartland in a while."
"I'd like to tell you that they're all doing great, but the truth is as well as you could expect."
Soraya glanced down at the counter, and Amy took the opportunity to wave her fingers under Soraya's eyes.
"Can you hear me?" Amy shouted, loud enough to make Ty wince. "You have to notice something." Amy spun around, still standing in the counter, turning her liquid eyes to Ty. "If I touch her, will she feel anything?"
Ty shook his head as subtly as he could. Most people on earth would never notice Amy, not even if she walked through them. She was dead and, now that she knew it, her ability to manipulate the world of the living was gone completely. She glared at him and dropped her hand onto Soraya's; it sunk through the other girl's skin. Soraya didn't flinch.
"So you know?" Soraya murmured. "About Amy?"
"Mallory isn't exactly a quiet girl," Ty remarked.
Soraya looked up at that and laughed softly. "An understatement. I used to be at Heartland all the time. It was like a second home for me. But ever since the accident, I haven't been able to make myself go."
"You should," Ty encouraged her. "I think they'd like to see you. It might make Lou feel better. I doubt anything would make Jack feel better."
"I see them when they stop in sometimes. They both like to stop and talk." Soraya bit her lip and then leaned toward Ty. "Um, I have a question."
"Fire away," Ty said. He glanced at Amy, who was swatting at Soraya – slaps that would injure her best friend if she could actually do anything – and growing increasingly angry at the fact that she couldn't touch her.
"I haven't seen Marion since, well, two weeks before the accident. I was on vacation. I just want to know that she's okay."
Amy stopped cold at the mention of Marion's name. "When was the last time I saw Mom?" She sounded horrified with herself.
"I haven't seen her since I arrived. I really can't tell you anything," Ty said apologetically. "I know she's not taking any clients. I don't think she leaves her room all that much."
Soraya seemed to curl in on herself. "I was afraid of that."
"Mom," Amy whimpered. She then collapsed, completely disappearing within the confines of the counter, although Ty could still hear her sniffling.
"Sorry."
"It's hard," Soraya revealed. "I saw her nearly every day. I was going to see her in just a few days. And I came home and immediately went to her f-f-f-funeral."
Tears began streaming down Soraya's face. Ty grabbed napkins from a nearby dispenser and offered them to her. She dabbed at her face, but it did no good.
Amy popped up from the counter. "Soraya, don't cry," she begged, and she went to put her hands on her friend's shoulders, but her arms fell through her body.
"I'm sorry," Ty told her, feeling as if this conversation had been full of those words. He wondered if he should tell her that it will be okay, but Soraya was already talking.
"Me too," she managed. "I shouldn't be saying any of this. I'm working and you didn't even know her."
Ty looked away from her face to watch Amy – who was still desperately trying to hug her best friend. "I feel like I did … You know, from how often people tell me about her."
It was a lie, and a blatant one. Aside from Mallory, people at Heartland avoided talking about Amy. She was a wound still too raw to touch.
"She was one of a kind," Soraya whispered, lost in a memory.
Amy suddenly spun away from Soraya, standing directly in front of Ty. She begged, "Can't you tell her? Tell her I'm okay and that I'm standing right in front of her. I can't watch her cry."
Ty shook his head. He couldn't do that.
"I hate you," Amy told him coldly, and then she sunk back into the counter and out of view.
Ty blinked, focusing on the conversation he was supposed to be having with the living. To Soraya, he said, "She sounds like it."
Soraya nodded, and then attempted to smile at him. "Your order is ready to go. I don't want to keep you."
"Thanks," Ty said. "You should stop by Heartland. I'm sure it would be a help for them to see Amy's friends … Sorry, that was probably out of line."
No, it was definitely over the line. He'd only known Jack and Lou for a few weeks – he'd never so much as seen Marion. He'd only met Soraya a few minutes previously. Amy, in theory, he'd never met at all. He wasn't in a position to offer advice about their lives and how they should proceed in Amy's absence; particularly since she was so present for him.
Soraya, though, didn't seem offended. "Thanks, I think I will. It's nice to hear that someone else thinks visiting is a good idea."
"See you around, Soraya."
"Bye, Ty."
Ty turned and accidentally on-purpose dropped his keys. Amy was still sitting in the counter – he could see the toe of her shoe sticking out next to one of the stools.
"Are you coming in the truck or are you teleporting home?" He asked her, keeping his voice low.
The shoe disappeared.
Fine. If she wanted to be stubborn, she could be stubborn. He wasn't going to make himself look like a loon by talking to the counter in some vain attempt to get her in his truck. He picked up his keys and headed out the door with the employee that had fetched Heartland's order. It took only a few minutes for Ty and the employee to get the order into the bed of Ty's truck. As Ty jumped down from the tailgate, thanking the man as he landed, Amy stalked out of Maggie's front door. She climbed through the truck door and into the passenger seat.
Ty got into the driver's seat. He waited until they were out of the parking lot before speaking. "Are you okay?"
Amy crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to look as upset as she was. Instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own. "Why don't I fall out of your truck?"
"Huh?"
"I can stick my arm straight through the truck door. I walked into the counter at Maggie's. I can stand inside of Soraya and she has no idea that I'm there. But I can sit in your truck like I'm normal."
"I don't know. I don't pretend to understand everything. The spirit world and the human world can interact in strange ways."
"Helpful." Amy set her jaw. "I hate this. It's like I'm a ghost."
"You are." Ty tried to say the words gently, but he couldn't detract from the reality of what he said.
"Damn," Amy yipped, and then she vanished.
Ty glared at her suddenly empty seat and then he slammed the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, feeling utterly inadequate. Why did he have to be the one to meet Amy? He had spent his life trying to avoid the dead and his ability to see and speak to them. He knew nothing of the rules of death; he had very limited experience with it. What limited experience he had with spirits was easy. He had encountered people who already knew they were dead and who were ready to move on – they just needed a little bit of prompting and guidance from him, something that he had some grudgingly given them. Amy, though, had just discovered her death – the black veil on her skin was still scary and new to her. She wasn't even close to thinking about moving on, let alone actually wanting to do it. But Ty had no idea how to get her ready for either of those transitions. He wasn't compassionate enough or knowledgeable enough to be the kind of guide that she undoubtedly needed him to be.
The kind of guide that he undoubtedly wanted to be for her.
