"I don't understand you." Courtney crossed her arms over the back of the chair, staring at Alex. "You're being stupid about all of this."

"How am I being stupid about any of this?" he asked in a dead voice, looking up, staring at a point right beside her cheek. His eyes looked so blank and distant. She couldn't stand it.

She stood, almost throwing her chair to the ground. "The drugs!" She held it in balance with one hand, staring at him furiously, her breath fast and shallow. She was not going to tear up. Not here. But with him like this...

"There are no drugs, Court'." Those eyes. So... so empty. So devoid of life. How could there not be drugs?

"Of course there are, and I want you off them."

A miniscule shake of the head, which the eyes didn't move to follow. "No drugs, Court'."

"Don't bullshit me!" And she really did knock the chair over this time. "I saw the white powder!"

"That's sugar, Court'. Confectioner's sugar. There was a big order for the bakery, and some of it stayed on my clothes."

"Then why are you like this?! Why aren't you looking at me?!"

"Because you're not there."

Those eyes. So empty. As if someone had died. As if he had lost. As if there was nothing left to lose.

"I'm here, Alex. Don't treat me like I'm not."

"I can hear you, so I know where to look, but you're not here, Courtney." That slight shake of the head again. "Please don't make me go crazy, Court'. Just go away now."

"I am not going away! You have a problem, and I need to help you fix it!" She shook her head, already feeling that burning sting in her eyes that meant she might not be able to hold back tears. She tried to focus on picking the chair back up. "Maybe you're on a prescription," she proposed as she began to lift it into place. "You just need to talk to the doctor, and tell him to put you on some different medicine."

"Maybe I should be on drugs, if I'm hearing you, Court'."

"And maybe you should be on drugs if you think you shouldn't be hearing me, Alex." She turned to face him again, face set in a stubborn, angry expression. "And your eyes checked, too. If you can't see me standing right here..."

"There's no one there."

"I'm here, you idiot. Anyway, if you're having vision problems..." Maybe that was why his eyes were so blank. Maybe he'd gone blind. Oh, crap, that was bad. Had this just happened? Just now? His retina could have disconnected for some reason, like she'd seen in this old movie once. Maybe she should call 911.

As soon as she thought it, she determined to do it. If it was drugs, they could take him off them, and if he had some major eye problem, she could get doctors over here to take care of it.

His eyes did not follow her as she headed for the phone. His head turned, jerkily and slowly, as if he moved it every time her footsteps got loud.

She picked up the receiver and dialed.

"911 Emergency."

"Hi, my friend just suddenly went blind, and I need you guys to call an ambulance or something – I think he might be on drugs. The address is—"

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi. Is there a bad connection? Anyway, it's my friend. He—"

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi, are you listening to me?" Maybe the person was hard of hearing. She decided to try shouting. "My friend is—"

"The computers say that you're calling from 187 Parks Place in Juniper. We will send an ambulance to assist you."

The line went dead.

"Well, look, the ambulance is on its way, okay? Now might be when you want to hide your drug stash."

"Court', why are you here? Why are you talking to me?"

"Because I'm your friend, and because you need someone to talk to."

"Am I schizophrenic?"

She whirled. "Are you hearing voices now?"

"Just your voice, Court'."

"Well, my voice isn't in your head, you idiot."

"The chair fell over, and the phone lifted in the air." Suddenly he stopped pretending to look at her, and his dead eyes stared down at his hands. "Oh, God, did I snap?" His voice broke on the last word, and tears began to fall, one after another, as his cheeks grew puffy and his dead eyes grew red. He pulled himself into a huddle.

"Alex? Alex, it's going to be okay. The ambulance is coming. I'll tell them what's going on. You're going to be alright."

"Oh, God, I'm hearing dead people." He tightened around himself, hands clutching his knees. "I'm hearing dead people..."