Ryan Spires

Chapter 4 “Roger.” Her voice penetrated his light sleep and bolted him out of bed. He snapped on the light, his chest heaved up and down. Maddie looked up at him, her blue eyes clear and focused. “Roger.” Her voice sharp and urgent. He couldn’t move or speak. Her eyes darted around the room in a panic before dulling over, and the old Maddie faded like a ghost in the night. “Maddie,” Roger croaked. He leaned over and grabbed her shoulders. She looked up with a sleepy expression. She smacked her lips a couple of times and continued to stare at him. Had she not spoken his name a second time he might have convinced himself it had just been a dream. The second time, he possessed his faculties and had been looking right at her. Perhaps even more astonishing, remained the fact that her old self had peered up at him from those blue eyes. She had looked frightened, as if snapping awake from a nightmare. She closed her eyes. Roger snapped off the light an...

Chapter Three Roger finished the email to his boss and read it over a few times before hitting the send button. The light hum of the air system and clicking keyboards provided the soundtrack of his typical weekday. He stood up in his cube and blinked a few times. It had been a couple of hours since he last moved and his body reminded him that it liked to change position every once in a while. He walked around the corner to Chrissy’s cube. Her long legs were crossed under the desk and she wore a look of concentration as she typed away. Roger glanced down at her ample chest, forced his gaze back up, and cleared his throat. Chrissy looked up with a startled expression that turned into a genuine smile parting her thick lips. “Hey, Roger.” He looked at her pursed lips for a moment. “Never got a chance to ask how your weekend was.” She crossed her legs towards him. “It was alright. I drove up north to my parent’s cabin and spent most of it up there. How about you?” R...