Have I Got a Deal for You!

The song cut off mid-lyric.

I took the stairs two at a time.

I didn’t want to think about what it meant.

My hand was already on the doorknob before I realized I’d reached it. I swallowed. Forced a breath. Listened.

Something had moved in there. I’d heard it. More than once.

Rachel was gone. Sasha was losing her mind. And now this.

I turned the knob.

Unlocked.

“Sam? Jessica?” I called.

Nothing.

Louder. “Sam! Jessica!”

I stepped inside. The linoleum was slick, freshly waxed, my footing just off enough to notice.

“What?” a voice called from the back.

Jessica leaned out of her bedroom. “I’m here.”

“You…okay?”

For a second, I expected something else. The floor giving way. The music starting again. Something unseen pushing back.

Instead, Jessica let loose a string of curses that could strip paint.

“Sorry,” she added, stepping into the living room with a broom and dustpan.

The TV lay face down in a glittering pile of broken glass.

“What happened?” I asked.

“TV fell.”

I followed the arc back to the wall. The bracket hung crooked, one side ripped clean out.

“Bracket didn’t hold, huh?”

“Nope.”

She swept without looking at the floor. Her eyes flicked to me instead. Quick. Measuring.

“Through the coffee table?” I asked.

“Yep.”

I crouched, studying the damage. “Do you think the screen’s cracked?”

She snorted. “About as sure as a bear in the woods.”

“So…there’s a chance.”

A small laugh escaped her. It didn’t last.

“Wanna flip it?” I asked.

“Nope. But it can’t stay like that.”

I stepped forward. The front door hung open behind me, just enough to feel wrong. I resisted the urge to shut it.

Whatever had been in the garage—

“Someone following you?” she asked.

Casual.

Her eyes weren’t.

“What? No.”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Her gaze slid past me. Not at me.

Past me.

I forced a smile. “Long day.”

“You’re not worried about the holes in the wall, are you?”

“No.”

She held my eyes a second longer than necessary. Then nodded.

We flipped the TV.

The screen was spiderwebbed. Cracks branching out from the center, thin and sharp, catching the light in uneven lines.

I stared at it.

Something about the pattern—

My stomach tightened.

It wasn’t exact. Not clean. Not something you could point to and say there.

But if you looked at it the wrong way—

Too long—

It looked like a face.

A woman’s.

Not fully there. Just enough. The curve of a cheek. The suggestion of eyes. A line that could’ve been a mouth if your brain wanted it to be.

If my brain wanted it to be.

I swallowed.

“Do you see that?” I asked.

Jessica leaned in a little, studying the screen. Head tilted. Eyes moving across the cracks like she was trying to solve something.

“See what?”

I hesitated.

Because saying it out loud would make it real. Or stupid. Probably stupid.

“The cracks,” I said. “They kind of… look like someone.”

She squinted. Took another second.

Then shook her head.

“No,” she said. “I don’t see it.”

Too quick? Maybe. Maybe not.

I looked back at the screen.

Still there.

Or still in my head.

Same difference.

“Yeah,” I said. “Never mind.”

Silence settled between us for a second.

Not awkward.

Just… waiting.

“You miss her,” Jessica said.

Not a question.

I didn’t look at her.

My eyes stayed on the screen, on the cracks, on the shape that wasn’t there and wouldn’t go away.

“Yeah,” I said. “Every day.”

“What do you think happened? Like, really.”

I let out a breath. “I don’t know. I’ve tried to move on. Tried to wait. But not knowing…” I shook my head. “It doesn’t let you.”

She nodded once. Not sympathy. Not comfort.

Just acknowledgment.

Jessica nudged the broken TV with her foot. “I hate when Sam is right.”

I sat on the couch. “How is Sam right? Did she predict gravity?”

Jessica’s shoulders tightened, then relaxed.

“She doesn’t know about this,” she said, waving at the mess on the floor. “I bought it even though Sam said we didn’t need it. Wanted to surprise her. But now I’m thinking she was right.”

“You bought it?” Now it was my turn to ask the questions. “With what money?”

Jessica deliberately paused.

“Sold a story,” she said. “Nothing big.”

She watched me take that in.

I nodded, but didn’t push. As a man who made his livelihood off of fiction, I could spot when it had made an entrance.

“Let’s go get another one,” I said. “My treat.”

She exhaled slowly. Almost like she’d been waiting for that.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.”

A beat.

“Okay,” she said. “But I’m driving.”

The drive was fast.

Too fast.

Lights blurred past us. Jessica laughed, sang along to the radio, one hand loose on the wheel—but never out of control. Not once.

Everything she did looked effortless. Everything she did was exact.

Sasha shifted in the backseat, restless. Low growl. Then stillness.

Jessica noticed. Didn’t comment.

“Something bothering you?” she asked.

“No.”

“You get this look,” she said, brushing a finger across my brow. “Like you’re carrying something you can’t put down.”

I swallowed. “Just tired.”

She studied me. Then let it go.

For now.

The store was massive. Walls of televisions, rows of sound systems—everything bright, loud, and just a little too much.

Too many screens.

Too many reflections.

Jessica slowed near the entrance. “That’s him,” she said.

I followed her gaze. A guy in a store polo leaned against a display like he’d been there long enough to start collecting dust. Jessica had mentioned Tyler on the drive over.

“That’s Tyler?”

She nodded.

“He’s the one you’re going out with?” I asked.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” she said. “But he knocked a couple hundred off the price, so… yeah. Friday.”

She said it like it didn’t matter, but she didn't quite look at me when she said it either.

I watched Tyler more closely than I meant to.

“Yeah,” I said. “He seems… generous.”

Jessica glanced at me. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“I know you. I don’t like whatever that tone is.”

“Tone? I don’t have a tone.”

“I mean it.” She grabbed my sleeve. “No.”

“Why not?”

“He’ll think I’m ditzy. Let’s just find someone else.”

“Why? He works on commission,” I said. “He doesn’t get paid to think. Besides, guys like Tyler prefer ditzy girls.”

A flicker of a smile.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

I glanced at the TVs.

One of them—

I swore—

She was there.

I blinked. Looked again. Gone. Just glare and bad reception.

I nodded once. Too fast. “Right. Good. Great system.”

She studied me for a second.

“You okay?”

“Perfect,” I said. “Love fluorescent lighting. Big fan of walls watching me.”

A beat.

“…what?”

“Nothing.” I gestured forward. “Let’s go meet your date.”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Watch,” she said. “Then follow my lead.”

We walked up.

“Tyler,” she said.

He lit up immediately. “Jess! Hey—yeah, I got you a great deal—”

I stepped in before he could finish.

“Bodhi.”

Tyler blinked. Reset.

“Jessica said you gave her a discount,” I said. “I’d like the same model.”

Simple. Direct.

Too direct.

Jessica didn’t move. Didn’t help. Didn’t need to.

Tyler shifted his weight. “Uh…yeah, I mean—probably—”

“I mean, it’s only fair, right?” I cut in, already nodding like we’d agreed on it. “Customer loyalty, repeat business, word of mouth—huge for you.”

I stepped a little closer.

Then a little closer than that.

Tyler leaned back without meaning to.

“I’ll wear something nice,” I said. “Make it a whole thing. Candlelight, soft music—really respect the process.”

He blinked.

Opened his mouth—

I kept going.

“Maybe bring flowers. Do you guys do flowers? That feels like a premium package thing.”

“Uh—no, I—”

“Because I’m open to upgrades,” I said quickly. “If that’s where we’re headed.”

It took him a second.

Then it landed.

His smile tightened. Shoulders pulling back just a fraction like he was bracing for impact.

“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Yeah, same deal.”

“Perfect,” I said, too fast.

I reached out—grabbed his hand.

Shook it.

Once.

Then again.

Held on a second longer than necessary.

“Appreciate that.”

I let go.

Didn’t step back.

Just stayed there. Smiling.

Too wide.

Too much.

Tyler pointed us toward the model like he was redirecting a situation he didn’t understand.

“Right—yeah—this way.”

Jessica’s hand brushed my arm.

Light.

Deliberate.

Everything stopped.

Not gradually.

All at once.

I blinked.

Stepped back.

Cleared my throat like I’d just arrived in my own body.

“Sorry,” I said, quieter now. “Got excited.”

“Glad you followed my lead,” she murmured.

I nodded.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “You are an excellent leader.”

The drive back was quieter. I was quieter. Middle-school-me would’ve pulled my hoodie over my head and told my parents not to speak. I didn’t. I also didn’t look in the side mirror.

The last thing I needed was to see Rachel keeping pace on the highway.

Sasha seemed to get it. She nudged her head against my shoulder and occasionally licked my ear.

Jessica’s eyes moved constantly—mirrors, road, me. Cataloging.

“That was quite the performance. I’d love to see what you do for a new car.”

“Well,” I said, “it involves a bit of burlesque. You may want to hold off on car shopping with me.”

She laughed. “Please tell me you have the tassels.”

I smiled. After the smile faded, I let silence settle for a beat.

“Hey,” I said finally, “sorry for… being extra. Long day. Maybe low blood sugar or something.”

“Something bothering you? Wanna talk about it? I took a psychology course sophomore year,” she said.

“No. Thank you.”

“Would you if I were Sam?”

I didn’t answer.

She nodded like that told her enough.

We pulled into my driveway.

Sasha had gone still. Too still. Then a low whine slipped out of her.

Soft. Nervous.

Jessica turned off the engine but didn’t move right away.

“Thanks for helping,” she said.

“Yeah.”

Her eyes held mine. Something shifted there. Not her expression. Something underneath it.

Like she was waiting.

I almost said something. Didn’t.

Her eyes flickered. The smile came back. Normal.

We carried the TV upstairs.

Sasha stretched, circled once, then dropped to the floor. Watching the room. Not sleeping.

Jessica handed me a pillow. “Set it there.”

I did.

She stepped back, studying the placement like it mattered.

Like everything mattered.

“I’m going to grab the Shop Vac,” I said. “Be right back.”

I stepped outside.

The air felt cooler than it should have.

The sun dipped low, washing everything in gold that didn’t reach as far as it should.

Inside, I could hear Jessica moving. Measured and deliberate. Like she knew exactly what was going to happen. Like an actor hitting their marks.

I leaned against the railing and closed my eyes.

The garage.

The voice.

The crash from above.

The way it had all just…stopped.

Something had interrupted it. Something close.

My eyes opened.

Inside, Sasha barked once.

Sharp.

Focused.

From the other side of the door, I heard Jessica say, “Good girl.”

And for a second—

I had the distinct feeling that whatever had been in the garage hadn’t followed me.

It had been waiting here.