Cassie arrived at the bar late that afternoon. She had meant to go straight there but somehow her feet had taken her in a different direction. She had needed time to think without anyone offering their advice and had gone to the one place she knew that no one would look for her, the riverside.
She still hated the water and shivered as she recalled the night she had almost drowned. Harrison had pulled her out of the water and saved her life. She knew it was no exaggeration either. She had only found out later that his sister Tru relived days and that she had in fact died the first time around. She still found it difficult to get her head around the fact that she had actually died so she tried not to think about it too much.
Harrison had offered since that night to teach her how to swim but it was something they just hadn't got around to doing. She felt regret that if she did leave for New Orleans he never would teach her and she wondered whether any business opportunity was worth the sacrifice of losing him.
She hovered outside of the bar, hesitant to enter. She wanted to fix things but was not overly confident that she could. She knew what Harrison was like and she knew his faults too, he wasn't exactly big on commitment and if it were not for the job offer she would never have considered pressing the issue so soon in their relationship.
"Pull yourself together, girl," she told herself as she pushed open the door to the bar and walked inside.
Harrison wasn't behind the bar and she wondered briefly if he had decided not to work today. She was about to turn to leave when she heard his voice from the opposite side of the room near the payphone.
"Hey Lindsay, come on, let's get you back to my place."
Cassie halted in her tracks as she spotted Harrison as he coaxed his ex-girlfriend away from the phone. She hadn't even known Lindsay was back in town and she wondered how long Harrison had known she was back. Apparently long enough for Lindsay to know where he was working and stop by for the afternoon, she thought.
"It'll be jus' like old times," Lindsay slurred as she put her arm around Harrison shoulder.
"Yeah, just like old times," Harrison agreed as he tried to stop her heading back to the bar again.
Cassie swore under her breath and cursed herself for her own stupidity. She had thought she knew all his faults but apparently she had been wrong. She hurried from the bar, her mind made up, she would take the job in New Orleans and make a new start. She'd just stop by the diner and say goodbye to her friends there then after a quick farewell to Tru and Davis she would get the first flight out of town.
Tru finished telling Davis about what had happened and waited for him to offer his much needed advice.
"Well, you know I'm no expert on relationships, but I think maybe you should leave them to make their own mistakes," he offered.
"They made plenty of those when they were together," Tru replied.
"I don't remember things being that bad between them," Davis said with a frown.
"I do," Tru said. "I remember quite a lot of days that you don't."
"Ah," Davis nodded knowingly.
"I love them both but…" Tru hesitated.
"But they're not good for each other?" Davis guessed.
"Exactly," Tru replied. "When they were together I'd spend half my time on rewind days steering Harrison in the right direction each time he had screwed things up the first time round."
"And you don't want to do that again," he stated.
"It's not so much that I don't want to help them. It's just that with Jack interfering with things when the day rewinds I am barely able to keep this up as it is. It's getting harder, he's getting better, and I just don't have the time to waste fixing every problem Harrison and Lindsay have as well as stopping Jack."
"Then don't," Davis interrupted. "Let them make their own mistakes. You can't live their lives for them."
"I know that. But I can't stop myself from wanting to help them either. I hate to see either of them hurting and when I know I can help. It's just hard not to."
Davis nodded and poured them both a coffee.
"There're two other people you have to consider in all of this as well," he said as he took a drink.
"Randall and Cassie," Tru replied with a nod.
"I don't know about Randall, but Cassie's definitely going to be hurt when she finds out."
"I guess I should cough," a voice said in the doorway. Tru jumped guiltily as she turned to face Cassie.
"How much did you hear?" Tru asked before she could stop herself.
"Just that last," Cassie replied. "It's okay though. I already know."
"You do?" Tru asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I stopped by the bar earlier and…" her voice trailed off.
"I'm so sorry," Tru said as she jumped up and steered Cassie into the room.
"It's okay," Cassie replied as she sat down. "I'm leaving town tonight anyway."
"What?" Tru asked in astonishment.
"New Orleans," Cassie said as she accepted a mug of coffee from Davis. "I got this great business offer. I've been thinking it over for nearly a week now and I've had my lawyer check it out. Your dad looked it over too and everyone thinks it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"And Harrison?" Tru asked, wondering how her brother would have taken the news.
"He agrees it's a good offer."
"And?"
"And he said I should go."
Tru frowned slightly. She knew her brother well enough to know that that didn't sound like him. She loved him dearly but he did have a bit of a selfish streak in him and somehow the thought of him wishing his girlfriend the best as she left him for pastures new wasn't exactly his style.
Or maybe it was, she reconsidered silently. With Lindsay back in town maybe that was what had prompted him to encourage Cassie to leave.
"And you really want to take this offer?" Tru asked.
"It's a really great deal," Cassie repeated enthusiastically and proceeded to fill Tru and Davis in on the details.
Tru listened carefully and she agreed that it certainly sounded like the offer was one not to be missed. Cassie was certainly excited about the idea and seemed eager to leave as soon as she could.
"So you're definitely taking the offer?" Tru asked when Cassie had finished.
"I'd be a fool not to," Cassie replied with a shrug.
"Well good luck with it," Tru said. "Be sure to stop by if you're in town and let us know how you're doing."
"Definitely," Cassie said as she stood up to leave. "I'm heading out to finalise the paperwork right away but I'll be back soon to sort out everything for the move. I'll let you know how I'm doing."
Cassie looked at her watch, "Well I better run. I've got a lot to do if I'm going to make my flight."
"Take care," Tru said as she gave her a quick hug.
"You too," Cassie replied as she turned to hug a mildly embarrassed Davis before leaving the morgue.
"Well she seems to be taking things quite well," Tru said to Davis after Cassie had left. "She'll be too busy with the move to be upset over Harrison."
"You think so?" Davis asked.
"You don't?" Tru replied.
"I don't know," Davis replied with a frown. "But I think I should take my own advice and let them live their own lives."
"You're right," Tru agreed. "We have enough problems with the dead."
"Speaking of which…" Davis gestured towards the door where their first body of the day was arriving.
"What do we have here?" Tru asked as she went to greet the man who had just wheeled in the body.
"Diane Miller," the man replied as he turned to leave. "Shot in a convenience store when a robbery went wrong."
"Damn," Tru said as she read through the notes that had come in with the body and took her first look at the woman. She had barely glanced at her when the corpse turned its head to her and whispered the familiar words "save me".
Time slowed down and Tru felt herself catapulted back in time as the day rewound.
