Free Reclaiming Souls by Arielle Caldwell

down that day. Don’t know why. I always wore it up for work.
    “Knock, knock,” a male voice called out.
    “I’m coming!” I bolted out of the front door and Kale was smiling at me. I smiled politely back at him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
    “Just thought it’d be nice if I walked with you today. I didn’t get to see you after you dropped me off with Jackson. Kind of felt like a little kid,” he laughed.
    “Yeah, you’re going to be busy while you’re training so we won’t see much of each other for a while.” I glanced around and Lexie was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Lexie?”
    “She wasn’t here when I got here but walked off,” he shrugged.
    I put my hands in my pockets as we walked to get our lists for the day. “Hey, I’m sorry if I’ve seemed kind of off since you got here. I’ve just got a lot on mind and I’m still trying to figure you out. Most of my memories haven’t come back and I honestly don’t know if they ever will which means...I don’t know if my feelings will either,” I whispered, looking at the ground.
    “I understand. It sucks, but I understand. I don’t want to force you into anything you’re not comfortable or ready for.” He grabbed my arm and pulled it out of my pocket, lacing his fingers with mine. “This was your favorite thing to do; to walk down the road and make everyone jealous of the perfect couple. They all wanted to be us.”
    My eyes floated down to our joined hands and it made me smile to think about what he said. “I do like this,” I replied shyly.
    We walked in silence with our hands clasped together until we were at the doors where I snatched mine back without thinking. I didn’t want Kellin to see and rub salt in the wound. We waited in two different lines for our lists.
    Kellin saw me and smirked a little. “Good morning, Devalynn. Here’s your list. You’ve got a load today. Seven total. Don’t wear yourself out.”
    I got lost in his eyes and couldn’t move. “Morning, Kellin. Glad to see you’re well today. Seven, pffft, I won’t even break a sweat with that,” I grinned.
    He leaned in, “I know I said I would give you space, but can we talk later after you’re done?”
    I smiled, like freakishly big, at his request. “Sure. Are you okay?”
    “I will be after I see you,” he winked.
    My heart fluttered...wait, no it didn’t, that was me wishing it did. I sighed. “See you later.” I took the list from him and walked out to where Kale was waiting on me.
    “You seem like you’re in a better mood.”
    “I like having a lot of work to do. It makes the day go quicker.”
    “You don’t have to lie to me, Dev.” He dipped his head and stuffed his hands in his back pockets.
    “What do you mean? Lie to you about what?”
    “I see how you look at him. I already told you, I understand.”
    My heart sank- if it could’ve- to the floor. “I’m sorry, Kale. I was kind of starting to see him before, well, before you came back into my life. I mean my afterlife now. We aren’t going anywhere with exploring a relationship. He’s just a friend now. You and I on the other hand, need to figure out if we have a spark because if not, we don’t need to waste the other’s time.”
    “I’m not worried at all. I’m not trying to say you’re sneaking around.” He took my hand again. “I want to try and get back in your heart. You loved me at one point. And I love you still.”
    “Thanks. I’m sorry I lied,” I looked away.
    “Hey, I’m not some uptight guy and I’ll get you to remember that. I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want. I want you to fall back in love with me on your own.”
    “Well, how about before work tomorrow, you come over and tell me about the memories you have of us. Maybe it will trigger some to come to mind for me.”
    His face lit up with a smile from ear to ear. “Sounds good.”
    “Kale! Come on! It’s day one and you have a lot to learn, bro,” Jackson waved for