Split (Split #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

her life that had been ripped away from her. It was incredibly strange, but amazing at the same time.
    A knock came from the door, and this time one of Dr. Johns' students appeared. He introduced himself as Sam and explained that the doctor wouldn't always be available for every session, but that it was part of his education to assist with running things when she was away.
    "I'm not going to ask you questions about your dreams, but I will help advise you on how you can best help us when you chronicle them in your journal. How has your dreaming been at home this week?”
    He looked interested when she told him she hadn't been remembering any of her dreams, and that this was unusual for her.
    "Do you think it is because of the pills I'm taking here? The dreams here have been so vivid..." She hoped that he would let some information about these pills slip out. She would buy the hell out of them if she could.
    He didn't give her an inch, though. He brushed her pill questions aside, and sent her on her way.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    For the next two months, Claire went in for her scheduled sessions three times a week. Each time, that little pink pill pulled her into an alternative universe where she and Luke lived out a life she had planned with him when she was a teenager.
     
    ***
     
    The first box unpacked at their very first apartment together was the one with the prom pictures in it. Sure, they were cheesy, but they were also a sweet reminder of how special their love was.
    How many people could say that they’d stayed with their first love? Years down the road, she thought, they’d still be showing these pictures at house parties as their friends oooo-ed and ahh-ed at their puppy-turned-grownup love.
    Luke had gotten a call about a paid internship for a popular TV show during their road trip out west. Claire felt so proud of him, not that his success was a surprise at all. He was so talented, and that only made her more motivated to follow her own dreams.
    “Baby, go into the courtyard and look at the palm trees. You’re not going to believe it.” He rested his chin on the top of her head and squeezed her from behind.
    “Palm trees always make me feel like I’m on vacation,” she mused.
    “Well, get ready for a permanent vacation, then.” It really was.
     
    ***
     
    Claire’s dreams during her sessions spanned years of would-be events. She and Luke flourished in their life together. They saw concerts in LA, his writing career took off after that first internship picked him up as a full-time staff writer, and eventually they bought a beautiful house together paid for with the advance for his first novel. She attended the Art Institute's culinary program and flourished as well. Right out of school, she got a great job at WestBar, one of the hottest new restaurants in town. Luke even surprised her by opening a savings account to put towards the purchase of her first restaurant.
     
    ***
     
    Her eyes opened slowly as the soft sunlight poured through the sheer hotel curtains. It was a hot-but-not-humid 90 degrees outside in Palm Springs, and Luke had woken up early to grab them a cabana by the pool. It was a perfectly relaxing weekend, filled with Malibu-Pineapples and massages at the spa. They had a lot of things to be thankful for lately, it was a well-deserved vacation.
    “Wake up, kitten.” He already had a drink for her in his hand.
     
    ***
     
    It was incredibly weird to dream about the life she had imagined, as though it was real. Even though she knew it was all in her subconscious, it had become a kind of double-life. She and Luke had days full of normalcy in her dreams; they’d go to the grocery store or play Monopoly. The dreams, in fact, felt less and less dreamlike each time she went in. Sometimes, she’d even catch herself confusing events that happened in her dreams with those in reality.
    “Do you want to go see a movie tonight?” Dylan had his Fandango app pulled up and everything. Claire looked