"Calm down," he said, which was of course the wrong thing to say as it made me even angrier.

  "I will not calm down!" I yelled.

  Vanessa looked at me and said, "I really need to go and you both need some private time to talk. Then she looked at Kaleb and said, "I'll be in touch," she said.

  I was embarrassed at shouting at Kaleb in front of her and apologized to Vanessa. She understood. "Thank you, Vanessa for coming over to help," I said. She waved goodbye to us and left.

  As soon as I figured she was out of earshot, I went back to yelling at Kaleb. "I can't believe you told me to calm down. Don't you know that is the wrong thing to say to a person when they are worried?"

  He looked mollified and said, "You are right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Let me tell you what happened with Vanessa."

  "Ok," I said reluctantly, not really sure if I wanted to know.

  "I just asked Vanessa to do this as a precautionary measure. It's not like I think your friend is in any danger," he said.

  "Thank you, you just confirmed my worst fears," I said angrily.

  "What?" he said confused. "It's not that I'm saying anything happened to your friend. Maybe her phone broke, so she can't call you back or maybe she lost her wallet or something and one of these things are delaying her."

  "Yeah, but would Vanessa be concerned about helping with something a missing wallet? And you wouldn't need her for the broken phone, because the police department can't do anything about that," I said.

  "You are too smart. My point is that just because I asked her to do that, I don't want you to assume the worst. As a police officer, I was taught to cover all bases even if it seems obvious the answer in a case," he said.

  "But, we have no reason to think she was killed by an injury or kidnapped or something like that," I said. "So why go there?"

  "Listen, if for some reason your friend was alive but injured out there and she couldn't get help, wouldn't you want someone to find her so she could get the help she needs and be ok?" he said.

  "Do you think that is what happened?" I said concerned.

  "Again, I'm just covering all the bases. Another possible scenario is that she could have been injured and is in a hospital and didn't get a chance to get her phone charged, so she couldn't call you to tell you what happened," he said.

  "Or she could be in a hospital unconscious or close to death and that is why she didn't contact me," I said and started to cry.

  Kaleb came over and gave me a hug. I didn't pull back and returned the hug. He stroked my hair gently and said in a soft voice, "Hope, I didn't mean to make you more worried. Please come sit down on the couch with me."

  "Ok," I said softly and followed him.

  "I did an awful job of explaining what I was trying to do and I'm just succeeding in worrying you," he said.

  I was still sobbing and didn't respond, so he continued talking. "Sometimes I act like a cop trying to be rational in a situation and not thinking of the person's feelings. I should have explained better and more gently. Truthfully, I don't really think it's the worst case scenario with your friend, but I learned as a cop, it's better to be safe than sorry. I hope its okay that I call the hospitals to check to see if your friend is there. I have your suitcase, but you can just change into the PJs that Vanessa left you in the guest room. I'll let you know if there is any news," he said.

  I wanted to say that I should go to a hotel right now or that I should help him call the hospitals. This time though I surprised him by giving him a hug. "Thank you. I will do that. He released me from the hug and he looked like he was going to kiss me and part of me wanted him to. But both of us, (I knew I felt that way and he looked it) were disappointed that we were even thinking that in this type of situation. I was ready to run to the room but I didn't want to make it so obvious. So, I turned and quickly walked to the guest room. I changed and lied down. I felt exhausted and thought I would fall asleep, but the stress of what just happened and the worry I had wouldn't let me sleep. Now this dream started to seem like a nightmare. As much, as I wanted to stay with Kaleb, I wanted to just wake up and be back at home, as Olivia not Hope. I closed my eyes trying to sleep, hoping that would be the case, but I couldn't do that. After what seemed hours later, I heard a knock on the door. I bolt out of the bed.

  "I didn't mean to scare you, Hope," he said.

  "It's okay," I said embarrassed. "What happened?" I said cautiously.

  Then he gave me an encouraging smile and said, "I was able to discover promising news about your friend. She was found injured and unconscious at the side of the road not far from your car, it seems from a fall. From what the EMTs can determine, she seems like she will be okay but they won't know for sure until she goes to the hospital and gets tests," he said.

  "We must go to the hospital now," I said forcefully.

  "I know you want to go. But, she's not even there and needs to be checked in and have tests," he said.

  "But I should be there, so I can find out what is going on soon and be there for my friend. We still don't know for sure about her condition," I said.

  "I know, but there is nothing you can do now, and you will probably be more worried just standing there not being able to ask any questions or get any answers," he said.

"I wouldn't be a good friend, if I stayed here instead of going to the hospital," I said.

  "And how would that help your friend? You'd be more of help to her if you got some sleep and took it easy, so you would be in good shape when you would be able to see her. I'm sure she would appreciate that," he said.

  "How would she know!!" I started to yell. But, then I took a deep breath and calmed down and said, "I know you are right, but I feel bad not being there for her and helpless for not having any answers. How did you find out anyhow?" I said.

  "Vanessa put out a message to the cops who out in that area and they looked around and reported to her what they found," he said.

  "You will have to give her a big hug for me," I said excited.

  "Uh, you'll have to do that yourself when you see her," he said jokingly. "But in all seriousness, I have a doctor friend who may be able to get me some information before it would be released to you. I'll see if I can get a hold of him," he said.

  "As much as I want you to find out for me, I don't want you to wake up the poor doctor from sleeping. I'd feel guilty," I said.

  "I can find out from the hospital if he is on call. If he is, I'll leave him a message to get back to me. If he's home sleeping, then yes you are right, I won't talk to him now, sorry," he said.

  "Thank you. That's a good idea and I have a shot of finding out some information soon," I said.

  He left to do that and came back and said, "He's on duty and I left him a message. He might call me during his break, depending on what's going on," he said.

  I was so excited that I skipped around the room like a kid and giggled. Then I was embarrassed as I realized that Kaleb was watching me, laughing.

  I said sheepishly, "Uh, thanks. I guess I got a little too excited for my own good. I'll try to sleep again." I returned to the guest room and fell asleep. This time I woke up and looked around me and saw my own apartment and Esme staring over me and she said, "What the hell happened?"

  "Hey, are you alright?" I said.

  Esme blushed and said, "Sorry, yes I am. I just had a strange dream."

  "Me too. What was your dream about?" I said.

  "You did too? What was your dream about? You tell me first," she said.

  I turned to face her and said, "Fine. I dreamed was going with a friend on a road trip. Our car broke down and my friend had to go get help."

  Esme was startled by my response and exclaimed, "That can't be! I had a similar dream!" She sat down and started to fidget. "Did you look like you?" she said.

  I wondered what she meant by that. "What?" I said.

  "Or did you look like you are someone else?" she said.

  I got what she meant by that. I figured she was just asking to see how similar our dreams were. She probably meant nothing by it.

  Yet, I was still a little unsure when I said, "Uh...I was someone else. You?"

  "Same here. But you have had dreams when you were "you" being someone else, right?" she said.

  "Yeah. But, did you look like someone else too?" I said.

  "Not that I can recall, but I don't remember being near a mirror. What are you trying to say?" she said.

  I wasn't sure myself, so instead I said, "In your dream, did you go get help or stay in the car?"

  "I went to get help," she said. She paused for a second and then continued with her story. "Here's the strange part. I'm walking for a while. So, I foolishly decide to go into the woods and take a shortcut," she said awkwardly and starts to fidget. Now she looks a little scared as she said, "I fall and everything goes black, but then I woke up."

  "Did your dream continue after the friend went to get help?" she said reluctantly.

  Then I smiled as I remembered the part about Kaleb. "You wouldn't believe this part! Someone comes over to the car and knocks on it. I turn around and it is Kaleb from "A Life's Journey"."

  Esme looked surprised and said, "No way! You get to see Kaleb in your dream?!"

  Now, I was feeling a little awkward at this because I know she's a big fan of his character. "It's strange to hear, but it's true," I said.

  "That's not fair!" she pouted. Then she realized how her behavior was and said sheepishly, "What happened next?"

  "We talk for a while and he offers to go to the clubs to look for the friend. He invited Vanessa, to stay with me," I said.

  "Vanessa! Kaleb's ex-partner and ex-girlfriend?!" she said surprised.

  "That was a while ago and they only went on a few dates," I said.

  "Later, he asks her for help to find the friend and he also calls hospitals. Finally, he tells her Vanessa discovered that she was found and brought to the hospital. She had a concussion and was unconscious," I said.

  "Oh wow! I wonder how much of the show we missed. We should replay the show," she said.

  "Let me put on the show. Did you see this part?" I said.

  "Yes, I did," she said.

  I'm about to ask her about the next part, when I looked at the screen and I was shocked at what I saw. I was silent for a few moments. Then I blurt out, "What the fuck!!"

  I noticed that Esme was looking a bit uneasy and said, "Shit! That can't be!" she said. We both stood up and walked closer to the TV, as if getting a closer look would better help us understand what was going on. We were both just standing there, gaping at the TV, when finally I said, "Let me pause this. This can't be right."

  We both sat down and took a deep breath. "That woman looked like the character I was in the dream!" she said surprised.

  I was equally as surprised when I said, "Me too!"

  Then we were both sitting there thinking and trying to make sense of the weird dreams we both had. I shrugged and said, "Maybe we did see this part and we forgot? That's why it got into our dream, it went into our subconscious?" That helped calm us down a little bit.

  Esme said, "Let's just continue the show," she said.

  I was starting to feel a little better when I saw a part I didn't recognize.

  Again, Esme looked shocked and exclaimed, "That was the part in my dream!"

  Now I was starting to feel anxious again and Esme definitely was too. I jumped when I saw the next scene. "There's Kaleb knocking on the window of the car."

  Esme was just staring at the TV in disbelief and I said exhaustedly, "I must stop the show. I can't watch anymore now."

  I paused the show again and we both sat there quiet for a few minutes taking deep breaths. I was looking for wine and said, "I think we both need some wine right now, what do you think?"

  Esme nodded vigorously and I got up to get us some glasses of wine. I was happy to make the escape and have a distraction for a few minutes.

  When I handed Esme her glass of wine, she said, "Let's think about this rationally for a second." She took a moment to think and continued, "So, we're watching the show and suddenly we fall asleep. We have the show fresh in our minds, so we dreamed about it and that we were characters in the show."

  I was still not convinced and said, "But, what the characters said, is just like what I said in the dream and the friend too."

  That got Esme thinking for a moment and she replied, "That's a little unusual, but it could be possible though, we said the same things. We had the show on while we're sleeping and maybe we dreamed it exactly."

  "I've no idea if that is true, but I guess it's possible? Should we watch the rest of the show? I'm a little freaked out by all of this," I said unsure.

  Thank goodness for Esme's calming effect. "I think we should. We'll probably find the rest of the show is different than our dream," she said.

  We sat there trying not to look uneasy as we watched the rest of the show straight through without any more interruptions.

  Neither of us said anything and it made me feel very uncomfortable. I yelled, "So, what's your explanation for this?!" I knew this was the wrong thing to say. It wasn't Esme's fault about this but this dream made me nervous and I didn't know what to do or say.

  "I don't know. Why are you yelling at me?!" she said defensively.

  I frowned  as I realized how I sounded and take a deep breath. Esme also took a deep breath and said, "Let's think about this for a second."

  I was ready for her to reply with some other good reason for us not to overthink this dream, when she suddenly stood up and looked at me scared, "Wait a minute. When I woke up, I shut off the show because you were sleeping. You couldn't have heard the rest of the show!" she exclaimed. She sat back down looking pale and confused.

  I felt a chill rip down my spine and my stomach started to clench. I tried to keep my cool but I couldn't and I blurted out, "How do you explain that?"

  Esme just stared at me for a moment before finally she said, "Let's just watch something else and not think about it for a bit."

  After not knowing what else to say, I replied, "I guess."

  We both watched some other funny sitcom and it calmed us down and we were able to talk again. "You know it probably was just some coincidence that we had the same dream," she said.

  I was still not convinced and replied, "So it's a coincidence, we had the same dream? It's word for word the same as what happened in our soap?" I said.

  Esme was just staring at me again not knowing what to say and I was angry that she didn't have the answers, even though I know I wasn't really angry at her, but the strange situation.

  She picked on this tension and said angrily, "Listen, you are just over thinking this." She also looked a bit uneasy too.

  She said resignedly, "Let's just watch the next episode of our soap and not think about it."

  I was embarrassed at my behavior before and said, "I'm sorry. It is all just so strange."

  Esme responded, "I'm sorry for snapping at you too. Let's just enjoy the show."

  Esme was facing the TV and not my direction, so both neither she or I knew what happened next. I woke up and figured I fell asleep on the couch again. I was worried though that I fell asleep again and murmured Esme's name. I heard someone say, "Are you up?"

  I paled as I realized whose voice that was. I got up and rubbed my eyes, still thinking maybe I was half asleep and that when I was done, I would look up and see Esme not Kaleb.

  I look up and see Kaleb not Esme staring at me. I fell right back into the bed. " Where am I?" I squeaked.