Stars and Satellites Read online

  Stars and Satellites

  By Terry Reid

  First published on Amazon Kindle in 2013

  First published in the UK by Amazon Kindle in 2013

  Copyright © Terry Reid 2013

  Terry Reid asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  This novel is a work of fiction.

  The names, characters and events portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

  Monopoly is a trade mark of Hasbro © 2013

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 1

  A light sprinkling of snow drifted on the ever so gentlest breeze, sinking slowly downward into the hectic city below. Unlike the people who occupied the streets, the first snowflakes of winter were in no hurry to get to where they were going. Drifting idly on the slightest breath of wind, they allowed mother nature to decide where they would eventually settle.

  The people marching the pavements were different though. They knew where they wanted to be and would do anything to get there as fast as possible.

  Hayley Foster was no exception to the impatience of human nature, but she was an exception when it came to fate.

  Having finished another day at the coffee shop, she was more than desperate to get home. She hated her job like most people in the city did. But there were a number of things that disillusioned her more than most people though. First and foremost, she had split up with her boyfriend only a few days earlier. That very morning she had also received another rejection letter from a college she had applied for. And on top of it all, a week earlier she had realised that she had become a victim of identity fraud and was now five grand in debt.

  Her mind had gone over the edge from the endless disappointments and bad fortune and now all emotional and conscious functions had shut down completely. The only operation her mind still performed without objection was the one that navigated her home. In every other respect she had truly become numb.

  Hayley was given a stark wake-up call as she lost her footing on the slick icy pavement and tripped. Before gravity had the opportunity to guide her falling body to the floor though, someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back upright.

  Hayley turned quickly to the person who had saved her.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, checking her over.

  A little shocked by how fast it had all happened Hayley struggled to regain herself for a moment. “Yeah...yeah, I think so.” she replied in a trembling mutter.

  The man smiled at her warmly. “I hope so.” He said with an over familiar, over caring sincerity for a stranger. “These pavements are very icy.”

  Hayley squinted at him curiously as she was struck by a powerful sense of déjà-vu. “Do I know you?” she enquired warily.

  His face lit up. “Sort of, yeah.”

  But his response only made her feel more uncomfortable and nervous. “Sorry...my mistake.” She apologised before hurrying away.

  The stranger watched disappointedly as she ran off.

  “See you later Hayley.” He called after her.

  Hayley stopped at the sound of her name and turned back. But he was gone.

  Even by the time Hayley had returned to her door, she found herself still shaken by the experience on the street. The question of who the person was who saved her from falling lingered in her mind. Oddly, she found herself undisturbed by the fact that a stranger knew her name, but was far more occupied with trying to figure out where his face was from.

  As the evening wore on the question became increasingly irritating. For some reason it kept nagging at her and she could not seem to forget about it. After watching some TV she decided to retire to bed in the hopes that some sleep would allow her mind to escape from the constant nagging thoughts that circled endlessly in her mind.

  Hayley awoke with a start. She had heard a noise, a noise which was unfamiliar at such a time in the night. She sat up, unsure for a moment or two whether she had actually heard anything or simply imagined it in her sleep. There was another clatter from the kitchen. She had definitely heard it! Her heart began to pound with panic. Someone was in the flat. She sprung out of bed and grabbed the heaviest object she could see, which happened to be a vase.

  She crept out into the hallway and tip-toed towards the kitchen, clutching the top end of the vase as if it was a handle – ready to swing if she had too. The light in the kitchen was on and she could see the shadow of someone moving around, which fell across the wall in the hallway.

  Hayley carefully made her way to the edge of the kitchen doorway and pressing her back against the wall drew a deep breath to steady her frayed nerves. She was at a loss at what to do. Should she make a run for it? A voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to do so, but her stubbornness demanded that she stay and face the intruder. She didn’t know which one to listen too.

  After a few minutes of arguing with herself, her courage finally prevailed. Clutching the rim of the vase as tight as she could, she sprinted into the kitchen and smashed it downward onto the intruder’s head. The vase shattered to a thousand pieces, clattering to the wooden fall in a shower of porcelain. But something was wrong. The intruder who stood with his back to her didn’t even seem to flinch from the strike. He casually turned to face her.

  “Hello.” He said with a warm smile, before taking a bite out of the piece of toast that he was holding. It was the man from the street.

  Hayley was paralysed with fear, unable to move and unable to speak.

  The young man with spiky black hair glanced down at the broken pieces of vase that had scattered across the kitchen floor as he continued to chew idly on his bit of buttered toast. He then glanced back at Hayley. “That’s not the welcome I was expecting.” He said with his mouth full. “Do you attack all your guests these days?” He asked.

  Hayley bolted for the door, but it slammed shut before she could reach it. Grabbing the handle, she wrestled with it in desperation. But for some unknown and peculiar reason it refused to open. Giving up, Hayley turned back to face the intruder, her eyes swelling with tears.

  The stranger was a little surprised by her reaction. Putting his half-eaten toast onto the plate, he sat it down on the side and folded his arms. “You don’t remember me do you?” He asked, clearly disappointed.

  “Stay the hell away from me!” She shrieked, as she backed even further away into the corner.

  “Ok...” He said gently, holding out both his palms in front of himself to show her that he meant her no harm.

  “Who the hell are you?” she demanded to know.

  “Alex.” He said hopefully, with that big smile of his. But she still stared at him without any kind of recognition.

  His smile faded. “Alexander? Your guardian angel.”

  Something in Hayley’s eyes changed. “No...” she said, shaking her head. “No.”

  “Oh yes.” Alex assured her, a warm sm
ile creeping back across his face.

  “You’re not real. You never were.” Hayley muttered, jabbing a finger at him, as if doing so would make the ghost from her past disappear so easily.

  Alex raised an eyebrow at the peculiar allegation. As far as he was consciously aware he existed and being accused of being imaginary was a new experience to him altogether.

  “What makes you think that I’m not real?” he asked curiously, folding his arms.

  “My therapist when I was fifteen.”

  Alex rolled his eyes in disbelief. He gave a long winded sigh and began again. “You told people about me? What did I say about telling people about me?”

  Hayley was affronted by his reaction. “Excuse me?” she exclaimed. “You have no right to talk to me like that. You have no idea what it was like going to school and being treated like a nutcase!” She bellowed at him furiously, suddenly regaining her courage. Her bravery vanished just as quickly as it had surfaced and she shrunk back away. “Oh god, I’ve lost it again...” she said to herself in horror.

  Alex rolled his eyes again. “You haven’t lost it.” He assured as he approached her.

  “Stay back!” Hayley shouted, retreating further into the corner.

  Alex stopped and stared at her in disbelief. “Hayley will you please stop being ridiculous.” He pleaded.

  “No, not until you go away!” she demanded.

  Alex looked at her as if she was nuts.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m your guardian angel, I’m bound to your side remember? Or have you forgotten all that since you were brainwashed by those damn therapists.”

  Hayley shook her head, clearly offended by what he was saying.

  “I was not brainwashed!” She was quick to defend.

  Alex folded his arms again, his eyes narrowing. “Oh yeah? How come you didn’t recognise me on the street earlier then?”

  Hayley stared at him blankly. “I don’t know...”

  “Huh, because they tried to make you repress me, that’s why.” Alex accused her knowingly.

  “Alright then.” Hayley said, standing up to him. “If you are real, then where have you been for the past eight years then?”

  Alex suddenly turned meek, any former humour or protest he had, deserting him. He gazed at her sullenly for a long time before he finally answered; “I can’t tell you that. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Oh so it’s just ok to have disappeared without saying goodbye or anything? That was so typical of you...” Hayley muttered furiously, folding her arms and looking away.

  “Oh so you do believe that I’m real?” Alex asked again, jumping on it.

  Hayley kicked herself as she realised that she had fallen for it once again. “Super, my imaginary friend’s back and just when I thought life could not get any worse.” She scoffed, severely disappointed with herself.

  “I keep telling you, I am real.” He insisted.

  “Of course you are.” Hayley echoed sarcastically as she sat down at the breakfast table. She was so fed up with arguing with him that she had forgotten how scarred she had been.

  Alex walked over to the table and lifted the empty cup which had been sitting on it since that morning. He gazed into it thoughtfully. “Oh yeah, I made you a cup of tea.” He said.

  “Good luck I’m out of tea bags.”

  Alex sat the cup back down in front of her. It was filled to the top with freshly boiled tea.

  “No you’re not.” He smiled.

  Hayley stared at the cup, mesmerized.

  “That’s not really filled is it?” she asked sceptically, looking back to Alex.

  “Of course it is why shouldn’t it be?”

  He folded his arms, turned away and paced across the kitchen for several seconds before abruptly stopping again and turning back on his heels. He pointed at her, his expression jubilant. “I know how to prove to you that I’m real!” He declared victoriously.

  “You’re going to shut up?” she asked.

  Alex looked at her grudgingly. “No. This!” He said. Flexing his shoulders, two large magnificent, snow white, feathery wings spread out wide behind him.

  Alex folded his arms. “Believe me now?”

  Hayley fainted.

  She woke up late the next morning. Finding herself lying in her own bed the best she could figure was that the events of the previous night had all been a dream. Her memory was blurry and her head felt a block of lead. Although there was an overwhelming sense within her that what had happened really did, she decided it was best to pretend that it had not. For a couple of minutes she felt much more secure, succeeding in convincing herself that she was not going crazy.

  But her denial was short lived as the bedroom door creaked open and Alex stepped in carrying a cup of tea. “Good morning.” He smiled brightly as he forced the cup of tea into her hands. Hayley looked at it dubiously.

  “You didn’t have your tea last night.” He continued.

  “And oh look, it’s still warm.” Hayley remarked with an air of cynicism.

  “Magic cup.” Alex laughed.

  Hayley did not share his humour though and giving the cup another dubious look, then turned her attention back to him. “What happened last night? Did you knock me out or something?” she asked.

  “You fainted.”

  “Yeah, of course I did.” Hayley mumbled before bravely taking a sip of the piping hot tea.

  “Alex, why are you really here? Why don’t you just go?”

  Alex grew flustered by the repetitive questions. “I told you, I can’t leave. It’s my responsibility to protect you.”

  “Yeah, see this is something I never understood. Why me? Why don’t you go protect some little old blind lady down the street who needs to be saved from being bumped into by a car or something?”

  “It doesn’t work like that. Besides I’m not Superman.”

  “So does everyone have a guardian angel or what?” she quizzed him, before taking another slurp of tea.

  “No, only some people.”

  “Why?”

  Alex gave a sharp shrug of his shoulders. “There just isn’t enough to go round.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Yeah well life is not fair. You just have to make the most of what you’ve got.”

  Hayley decided not to push the matter any further. She remembered that he hated talking about such things. Instead she decided to lie back and just enjoy her hot drink.

  There was a long silence before Alex grew bored and piped the question, “What do you want to do today?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. Unlike you, some of us have to go to work.”

  Alex frowned. “On a Sunday?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You may as well take the day off.” He suggested.

  “Why, because God will be mad?”

  Alex glanced at his watch. “No, you’re an hour late for work.”

  Hayley looked at the clock by the bedside. It was rolling onto 11am. “Shit!” she shouted, leaping out of bed. She forced the cup into Alex’s hands as she ran out of the room in her pyjamas. Alex glanced at the half-drunk, once more abandoned cup of tea.

  He idly made his way back to the kitchen, while Hayley rushed back and forth trying to find her bag and mobile phone. Rinsing out the cup, Alex lifted a tea towel and began to dry it.

  “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” Hayley shouted from behind the bathroom door.

  “Because you were sleeping properly for the first time in weeks, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  The bathroom door was flung open and Hayley emerged, fully dressed in her work gear. “You still could have woken me!” she sneered furiously as she stomped into the kitchen and grabbed snatched phone off the table. “My boss is going to kill me for being late.”

  Alex took a seat at the breakfast table. “I don’t know why you are so bothered, you hate your job.” He casually observed.

  Hayley sh
ook her head at him. “Yeah, if you haven’t noticed most people do. But you know why I do it, because I have to pay the bills.” With that said she turned away and stomped back across the kitchen. But something nagging at the back of her mind forced her to stop and turn back to look at him one last time. It annoyed her how he just sat there with a pleasant grin across his face.

  “What?” she snapped at him.

  “That’s the point; you don’t have to go if you don’t want too.” He explained.

  “Yeah, whatever Alex.” Hayley dismissed him as she hurried out the door. “You better not be here when I get back!” she shouted, slamming the door behind her.

  ******

  It was rolling onto half past twelve and Hayley was rushing around the coffee shop like a headless chicken. The queue extended nearly all the way to the door and with only Elaine to help her behind the counter, they simply could not keep up.

  Hayley grabbed another cardboard cup on her return to the coffee machine, having managed to send another one of the ever increasing queue away with their order. Elaine appeared alongside her at the second machine where she hastily began mixing a mocha latte.

  “You may as well have taken the day off if you had known that it was going to be this packed, hey?” Elaine commented.

  “Yeah, maybe I should of.” Hayley conceded drearily. “But then you would have been here on your own.”

  Elaine quietly laughed. “You’re right I would have killed you if that had happened.”

  Hayley returned to the counter to deliver her next round of drinks. “That’ll be four fifty please.” She said, handing over the cups. Having rung up the till and handed the customer his change, she tended to the next one.

  “Hi there, what can I get you?” she asked.

  “Can I have two tall cappuccinos and a tea to take away please?” The customer politely requested.

  “Any syrups?”

  “No thank you.” He replied.

  “Ok. I’ll be back with your order in a second.” Hayley said, excusing herself politely.

  On her way back to the coffee machines, she passed Elaine who sarcastically whispered, “It never ends does it?”

  Hayley tried not to laugh as she arrived back at the coffee machines and started on her next order. Taking two cups, she placed one under each machine and pressed the buttons. The machines bubbled and hissed before the cappuccino mixture began to pour from the nozzles into the cups below.