No need for alarms as I had acquired the ability to wake at convenient times, I woke before Lexi. Since my death, on any day that would come to mark an important milestone in my task, I found myself, mysteriously woken at the crack of dawn. Some would rationalize that it was stress, but I thought it was a lot more pleasing to believe that some invisible force was helping me. It meant I was on the right track and that my day would be successful. If it in fact was just stress... There was room for failure. Lots of room. I didn't want to think about that possibility.

      As if to fill this empty space, I was making sure that every controllable part of the day was executed perfectly. Starting with breakfast.

      Tiptoeing around the room, keeping the volume at a minimum despite my blind crashing into furniture, I managed to get dressed. Quietly, Lexi still fast asleep, I left the room and headed for the complementary kitchen.

      Topping the waffles with various fruits and whipped cream, I balanced Lexi and I's plates, moving down the breakfast buffet table.

       "No signs of back pain," someone spoke behind me. Coming up beside me, Amir replenished the cereal bar. "You obviously didn't sleep on the floor."

       Heat rising to my cheeks, I huffed. "I made a pillow wall."

       "You made a pillow wall?" he confirmed distastefully.

       I nodded.

      Shaking his head, Amir pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why? Did you not trust yourself—"

      "Of course, I trusted myself," I replied indignantly. "I didn't want her to be uncomfortable."

      "I don't think she would have minded."

       "She might have, and she wouldn't have told me otherwise," I contended. "And I made a promise to her parents. I'm not taking any risks."

      Blinking in surprise, Amir studied me. "She must be special," he concluded. "You stress yourself out anymore and I genuinely think you might explode."

       I shrugged, making note of relaxing my tense shoulders. Grabbing utensils, I ignored the pair of prying eyes burning into my side.

      "No give?" Amir criticized. "Not the slightest background story or hint related to your stress?"

      With an exasperated sigh, I turned the nosy receptionist's way. "I've got a lot riding on this trip."

       "Such as?" Amir inquired.

       "Do you always take this much interest in your guests?"

       "Just the cute ones." Amir popped a cheerio in his mouth.

       Cheeks flaming again, I spluttered wordlessly.

      "Relax," he laughed. "I'm not flirting with you."

      "Ok..." I said slowly, ungracefully making way for the exit. "Are you following me?"

      "The desk is on the way to the elevator."

      "So..." Amir urged. "What is it?"

     "What's what?"

       "The big secret?" he encouraged. "I'm quite intuitive. There's some big mystery to you Mr. Scott. Probably what's stressing you out."

      Amir was right. I nodded, pressing the elevator button.

      "Still no sharing?" He prompted, standing by as I waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor.

      "You really want to know?" I asked following a few moments of contemplation. Elevator ringing as the doors slid open, I stepped inside.

       Amir nodded urgently.

       "I died," I admitted. "And I've been brought back to life. I travelled to the past to complete this task before I once again reach my death day."

       Amir blinked at me. Briefly taken-a-back, he finally erupted in laughter. "You're funny."

      Returning a half-hearted grin of my own, I waved, elevator doors shutting to finally separate us. It was the last I ever saw of the man. He was a pain and unbearably nosy, but I hoped he lived much longer than I did.

       Quietly dropping our meals on the bedside table, I smiled faintly at the soft sound of Lexi's breathing. I pulled the patio blinds open, just enough to allow the entrance of a small beam of sunlight. Sunshine painting Lexi's skin, I knelt by the bed, brushing the brown curls from her face. Drawing my lip tightly between my teeth, I bit back a laugh. Curls sitting in a knotted mess atop her head, her lips were parted, a small drop of drool accumulating at the corner of her mouth.

       "Lexi," I whispered. When she didn't respond, I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. "Lexi," I tried again, this time more loudly.

       Eyes shooting open, she inhaled sharply and flinched backwards.

       "Sorry." I laughed aloud. "Didn't mean to scare you."

       Moaning tiredly, Lexi failed to rub the sleep from her eyes. "So, early," she mumbled.

       "I know," I chuckled and brushed another curl behind her ear. "We—"

       Inching away from my hand, she swatted my arm away. I inhaled indignantly, studying her with a mixture of amusement and puzzlement.

      "Too early," she complained, drawing the covers up to her eyes. "I'm all sleepy and gross; morning breath and stuff."

       "I don't care—"

       "Well, I do." She held onto the sheets for dear life. "So, until I brush my teeth, step away."

       Brows flicking into my hairline, a smile played at my lips as I did what she asked.

       "You're different in the morning," I noted amusedly. "A little blunt."

       "I think I'm still half-asleep," she slurred.

      "Will the waffles help?"

      Eyes that had been threatening to close, darted open, fully awake. Brown eyes that had blown wide searched the room, while her small nose twitched. "Waffles?"

      Laughing, I handed her a plate, taking my own to the other side of the bed. Settling atop the white sheets, I popped a strawberry between my lips.

      "I'll sit over here," I said through a mouthful. "Far out of the potential breath zone."

      "Thank you," she spoke through her own mouthful. "But we can take this down." She removed the nest of pillows and blankets between us. "I'm not opposed to you looking at me."

      "I do like looking at you."

      Nose crinkling, she smiled in spite of herself. "It's too early for this level of cheesiness."

      "My apologies." I chuckled. "In the future, I'll wait until at least 12 o'clock."

       "That would be appreciated."

       I made do of amplifying the cheesiness the moment the dashboard clock struck 12. Turning up the car radio's volume, I serenaded her with the most awful love songs from my playlist. Though she hid the warm skin of her face between her hands, her shoulders shook with laughter. Every giggle that escaped her pink lips, boosted my confidence that the trip would be successful.

     The confidence didn't last.

     Looking at the time and passing the same beat-down church, I gnawed my lip to the point of drawing blood.

      "Are we running late?" Lexi asked, studying my behavior.

       "Maybe." I regarded the passing street names with immense irritation.

       "Maybe as in you're afraid to tell me? Or maybe as in you genuinely don't know."

       "The second one," I said dreadfully. "I don't know if we're running late because I have no clue where we are."

       Biting back a laugh in response to my dramatic display of panic, Lexi patted my leg reassuringly. "Don't panic," she requested. "I'll get the map. We'll figure this out. And if we don't, we'll reschedule."

       "We can't reschedule. This is a one-time thing."

       Lexi shot me a worried side-glance.

       "Map," I reminded gently, before she could question me.

        Rummaging through the glove box, she retrieved the crumpled paper. She struggled to open it fully without obscuring my view.

       Lip drawn between her teeth; Lexi studied the map. I tried to be patient; gave her a few moments to find our location. But as moments turned to minutes, and she still didn't hint at an inkling of hope, I grew restless. Fingers drumming nervously on the steering wheel, I didn't miss the subtle glance she shot my way.

       I groaned. "Your silence is loud."

       "Just thinking," she muttered. Pulling the map closer to her face, she squinted her eyes.

       "I messed up badly, didn't I?"

       "I don't know."

       "You don't know?" I repeated. "As in you're trying to spare my feelings, or you genuinely don't know?"

       Deeply concentrated, eyes still glued on the map, she didn't answer. Studying the route a few moments longer, she finally huffed in defeat. She turned towards the passing city sign, a sign we'd passed three times now.

     "Glasmar isn't even on the map!" she finally exclaimed.

     "What?" I cried. How had I messed up this badly so quickly? Forget thinking the universe would have my back in this important mission. The almighty forces were trying to make me look like a fool. In their defence, I was doing a good job of making myself look like a fool, all on my own.

      "Don't panic," Lexi tried to calm me. How many times would she have to make that request during this trip?

       Though I appreciated her attempt of comfort, my grip remained tight on the steering wheel, shoulders bunched together. There was no use hiding it, my internal panic may as well have been plastered to my forehead in neon colors.

       "The town may be so small that they didn't bother putting in on the map?" Lexi tried.

       I eyed her skeptically. Lips puckered in defeat, I pulled over. Eyes on me, Lexi's lips twitched, as if she was biting back a smile.

       "You think this is funny!" I accused.

      Lips pressed in a ridiculous thin line; she shook her head.

      "Lexi!" I protested.

       This time the giggle slipped through. "I'm sorry," she laughed. "But, you're kind of cute when you're exasperated."

       "You think this is cute?" I asked ridiculously. "I ruined the best day of your life!"

       Bushy brows shot into her hairline. "Best day of my life?"

       "Well... Basically. I may be exaggerating a tiny bit. I've been known to be dramatic."

        "Is that so?" she laughed. "Still, I wouldn't want to risk it. If this might basically be the best day of my life, we'd better figure this out."

       I smiled appreciatively as Lexi reopened the map.

      "What's the last turn you remember?

      "Um, Glasmar."

       Lexi chuckled. "Before that?"

      "Right. That makes a lot more sense." Brows knitted I tried to remember the street that I had led me to this dreadful dead-end. Recounting the towns and street names I could remember, Lexi traced her fingers against the paper, in attempt to go back on our steps.

      Only few, torturous moments passed before Lexi cheered triumphantly. "Found it!"

     "Great!" I allowed myself a moment of relief. "But... How do we get there?"

     Lexi's smile faltered. Scratching the back of her head, she chewed her lip. "Good question."

     "Any way you could back track?" She asked. "If we can find Rosebury, we shouldn't have a problem."

      "I can try." At the nearest driveway, I pulled a U-turn.

      "Once we're back on County Road, it should be smooth sailing," Lexi said, nose nearly pressed against the window as she studied the passing street signs. "The route's pretty well highlighted."

      "My grandpa helped."

      As much as we back tracked, still I couldn't find my way back to the correct route. We searched endlessly to no success.

      "I wish he were here." I sighed. Grandpa would have known the way.

      "Who?"

      "My grandad. He's travelled all over the place."

      "Can you call him?"

      I perked up immediately. Of course, why hadn't I thought of that?

      While I retrieved the phone and dialed the number enthusiastically, the action was anticlimactic. The phone rang until it went to voicemail, a voicemail box that hadn't even been set up yet. Grandpa had never been big on technology.

      "We can always stop at a gas station," Lexi grimaced, as if afraid I would lose all hope. "Someone might be able to help."

       It could take forever to find someone who was able to help us. I didn't want to waste that valuable time. We were already at risk of running late. Grandpa would know how to fix this. He could barely be paying attention, knuckles deep in his barbecue ribs or grandma's desserts, and still, he would direct us in the right direction in the blink of an eye.

      "Apple pie!" I finally exclaimed.

      Lexi startled in her seat, facing me with wide eyes.

       I resisted smacking my head against the steering wheel. "Um. Well, you see..." I struggled to find an explanation for my outburst. "My grandma made the best apple pie."

      "Oh?" Lexi replied politely, still very much not understanding my train of thought.

      "That woman crossing the street just reminded me of her." My reasoning didn't really serve as a proper explanation for my interruption, but Lexi didn't question it; nodding and smiling politely. If I kept this up, she'd break up with me before the end of the weekend.

       Taking advantage of the moment of silence and red light, I tried to summon grandpa. Thinking of the crispy crust and fresh cut apples in Grandma Coleman's famous pie, I focused intently on my favourite cuisine until the stench of old cigars marked my success.

       "Thank god," I breathed, spotting the old man in the backseat.

       "What?" Lexi asked.

       "I think I remember the way back," I lied swiftly.

       Grandpa laughed in the backseat. He was always laughing at my misfortunes. Not exactly the confidence booster.

      "That's great!" Lexi smiled.

      "I suspect this is going to prove to be a bad idea," grandpa commented, looking pointedly at the girl who couldn't hear him.

      My lips twitched as if to argue that this was the only idea that didn't lead to failure, but I took one glance at a still very confused Lexi and shut my lips firmly.

       "On second thought." Grandpa smirked. "This might be great. You don't get many silent moments in the presence of Jaxson Scott."

      I rolled my eyes, again drumming my fingers impatiently, hoping he would take a hint. We were on a tight schedule, and I had already wasted enough time.

       "I can't believe you managed to get lost in spite of my detailed instructions." Grandpa inched closer to the window to get a better look at the street name. "On the bright side, you've only cost yourself a minor detour."

      I heaved a sigh of relief, once again earning myself an odd glance from Lexi.

      "Turn right at the next gas station," grandpa instructed.

      I did as he asked, already grinning as my plan fell back on track.

       "Would you look at that," grandpa commented smugly after a few minutes. "You can follow direction."

       I huffed. "Have I ever told you how infuriating my grandfather is?"

       Lexi turned my way curiously. "The one you live with?"

      I nodded, watching said man through the mirror. Grandpa rolled his eyes, lips turned upwards.

      "Yeah," I answered. "He's a real pain."

      "This pain came to your rescue," he reminded playfully. "Turn left."

       I turned left.

       "I thought you got along well with him." Lexi frowned. "Didn't you say he was one of your favourite people?"

       I puffed my cheeks, refusing to sneak a glance in the backseat. "I suppose I did say that," I begrudgingly admitted. "But I wouldn't want that getting to his head."

       "Too late," grandpa sang.

       We reached our destination with plenty of time to spare, but I didn't share that fact with Lexi. I decided against driving up to the building right away. I made sure to get a good look at it, and then drifted into a side road before Lexi could see the University's logo. While I had been sure we would be late, we had hours to spare.

       Looked like everything would work out.