Then There Was New York

by Kristina Garlick

  Riley: “It will probably only be like a day that we are here.”

  Jordan: “Why do you say that?”

  Riley: “Well, as soon as Broderick wakes up from his sex coma, with most likely a questionable rash on his junk, courtesy of Cherry, he’s not going to want to be here. Not to mention, being a mortal on parole, with not much money, will infuriate Broderick. If he does make it to the three days, I will, frankly, be shocked.”

  Jordan: “I guess we will see. Now, I am seriously dead tired, so if you could hurry up and shower so we can go to the grocery store, I would appreciate it.”

  Riley: “Fine. Fine. Fine.”

  I showered quickly before helping myself to Diane’s clothing. The yoga pants I wore fit just right, but her tops were just a tad bit tight. Apparently, my chest was a bit bigger than Diane’s, but it’s not like Jordan cared as he whistled at me when he saw the amount of cleavage the V-neck top exposed. Then we popped over to the nearby grocery store that Jordan had looked up while I was getting clean.

  Jordan: “I got breakfast and dinner covered. You’re in charge of lunch and dessert.”

  Riley: “Okay, but just remember, I am a vegetarian.”

  Jordan: “Yet you eat garbage all the time.”

  I gave Jordan the finger as I walked off. About ten minutes later, I came back with a basket full of food, which I promptly dumped into Jordan’s cart. He scrutinized my selection before picking up a box of frozen pizza. Just as Jordan began his lecture on the benefits of healthy eating, I zoned him out and focused on a young couple standing not too far away. The couple couldn’t keep their hands off of one another and I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

  Jordan: “Riley. Riley.”

  Riley: “What?”

  Jordan: “Your arm.”

  I looked down to see that my arm had turned blue. Quickly, I flapped my arm so that it changed back to its normal color. Ever since I’d injected myself with whatever my future self had given me, my powers were more connected with my emotions, which meant, in this case, that I began to turn blue as I was feeling sad.

  Riley: “I am going to wait outside.”

  I left a bewildered Jordan standing in the middle of the cereal aisle with the cart. How would I even begin to explain what bothered me? I knew he would ask as soon as we got back home, so I had to come up with some kind of answer so that he would leave me alone. Wait, did I just say home? Ugh. I needed to get to sleep so I was one step closer to escaping this reality mind fuck.

  October 7th, 6:00 p.m.

  Jordan: “Riley, wake up, dinner is ready.”

  Riley: “You made dinner?”

  Jordan: “That’s why we went to the grocery store.”

  Riley: “What did you make?”

  Jordan: “Spicy tofu tacos with cabbage and avocado.”

  Riley: “Sounds intriguing. Did you sleep at all?”

  Jordan: “Nah, I will just wait until tonight.”

  I was almost tempted to tell Jordan that he could have the king-sized bed that was in the master room, but it was so comfortable that I bit my tongue. He would just have to deal with the little twin in the guestroom. Any guilt I felt was quickly forgotten as I got distracted by the delicious meal that Jordan had created.

  I devoured one and then two tacos rather hastily, which delighted Jordan. The mood in the room seemed to change when I was halfway through the third one. I could tell that Jordan wanted to ask me earlier but I still hadn’t found the right words. The best I could do was try to avoid the topic and hope that he would get the hint to let it be.

  Jordan: “So …”

  Riley: “Great tacos.”

  Jordan: “Thanks, but there is something I have been wondering.”

  Riley: “New topic.”

  Jordan: “You don’t even know what I want to ask.”

  Riley: “The supermarket.”

  Jordan: “All right, so maybe you do know. Can you please enlighten me why you were suddenly so upset?”

  Riley: “I wasn’t upset. I was bothered.”

  Jordan: “Well, then why were you bothered?”

  Riley: “Because … because there was a couple behind us who were in their early twenties.”

  Jordan: “So?”

  Riley: “And I will never have what they do.”

  Jordan: “What do you mean?”

  Riley: “I’m never going to have that relationship, where I can be carefree and madly in love. I am never going to be normal … the kind of normal where you fight over stupid shit like who is taking the kids to soccer practice or who is doing the dishes tonight.

  Jordan: “If you want to fight over the dishes, we can.”

  Riley: “No, you are missing the point.”

  Jordan: “Not really. You seem to think, for whatever reason, that you can’t be loved and also have abilities.”

  Riley: “Well, it’s true. People like us don’t get happily ever afters.”

  Jordan: “What about your friends … Flatline and Wayward Shift? They have powers and seem to be in love. Isn’t Wayward pregnant?”

  Riley: “And do you really think they are together in this timeline? Honestly, what would be the mathematical chances that they would have fallen in love if it hadn’t been for the Raz & Berry Show?”

  Jordan: “Did they not love and also have powers?”

  Riley: “Yes, but—”

  Jordan: “But nothing. You can have love, Riley. For whatever reason, you sabotage your relationships. Fuck, you can have me. I would have been good to you. I would have married you, and you could have had all those things you wanted. You chose this.”

  Riley: “No, I chose not to side with a mass murderer and that’s why I left.”

  Jordan: “So if we were just two ordinary people and had met under different circumstances, then you and I …”

  Riley: “Maybe.”

  Jordan: “Do you love me? Did you ever?”

  Did I? Yes, but not in the way I once did. Sure, I still desired Jordan, that was evident, and he still made my heart race, but I no longer trusted him. I had trained myself over the last three years to detach myself from my feelings for Jordan. I just had to remind myself that what we had was short, passionate, intense, and strictly in the past. He was the villain … Jordan was the villain, and I would do the right thing. Right.

  Jordan: “Your silence says it all.”

  Abruptly, Jordan teleported away and left me alone in the kitchen. The conversation had gone way better than expected and also gave me the opportunity to check my phone, which had been constantly phasing between timelines. There was a text from Arcadia’s phone saying that they’d narrowed the area from a one hundred miles radius to seventy-five. My spandex-loving heroes were getting closer to saving Alyssa.

  Riley: “I guess we know who is doing the dishes, tonight.”

  With a sigh, I cleared the table, washed the dishes, and cleaned the stovetop. Then I retired to the master bedroom, where I watched a little television before falling asleep.

  That night, I dreamt of Valentine’s Day, three years prior; it was on that particular day that I knew that I, without a doubt, loved Jordan. We had just finished my first recognizance mission, which I had assumed was to gather intel on Lord Boundary’s men. I had stupidly thought at the time that Jordan, his team, and myself would be able to defeat the supervillain who had basically made himself king of the whole damn world.

  Jordan: “Good work, Riley. If you keep it up, the boss is going to put you in charge and not me.”

  Riley: “I highly doubt that. I haven’t even met him.”

  Jordan: “You know, for safety reasons he can’t be out and about, but don’t think he doesn’t notice how quickly you are progressing. Most people take years to gain full control of your powers but in a little over two weeks, you have excelled with leaps and bounds. It was like you were born to be Time Shift.”

  Riley: “I don’t like that name. I think it’s stupid.”

  Jordan: “Why?�
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  Riley: “Growing up, my brother, Callan, had the biggest crush on Wayward Shift. He would buy the comics and the merchandise. Callan even camped out overnight just to meet Wayward Shift. Sharing her name almost seems morbid.”

  Jordan: “Then it’s settled; we will come up with a better name for you. Every superhero needs a moniker to go by.”

  Riley: “What’s yours?”

  Jordan: “Red Shadow.”

  Riley: “Sounds like a good gang name.”

  Jordan chuckled.

  Jordan: “No gang. Just you and me, babe. As a matter of a fact, I am taking you somewhere tonight and I left a dress in your room that I think you will like.”

  Riley: “Really? Where?”

  Jordan: “It’s a surprise.”

  Riley: “Is Alyssa coming?”

  Jordan: “No, but only because I want our first date to be special.”

  Riley: “Is this your way of asking me out?”

  Jordan: “Yes, but don’t worry. I will help Alyssa get ready for bed while you get ready. Then I will read her a bedtime story and tuck her in. The nanny will be here, but Alyssa will be asleep by the time we leave.”

  Riley: “I see.”

  Jordan: “Oh, did I forget to add that we will be taking her to the amusement park tomorrow?”

  Riley: “Get out of here. The Red Shadow goes to an amusement park?”

  Jordan: “For my girls, I would take on any ride and even eat cotton candy.”

  I couldn’t help but smirk.

  Riley: “What a hard life; cotton candy and kiddie coasters.”

  Suddenly, time sped up and I was wearing the dress that Jordan bought me and was looking for him. After wandering for what seemed like an eternity in the dream, I found him in Alyssa’s room. Instead of reading Alyssa a bedtime story, Jordan was inside a pillow and blanket fort with her; it was at that moment that I knew I was halfway in love with him, which was crazy because I had only known him about two weeks.

  Riley: “I thought you were supposed to be in bed, miss.”

  Alyssa: “You have to guess the password.”

  Riley: “Open sesame.”

  Jordan: “Sorry, that’s not it.”

  Riley: “Riley is the best.”

  Alyssa: “No!”

  I pretended to fake cry and Alyssa crawled out of the fort. When she came over to hug me, I grabbed her and started ticking Alyssa. After giggling for a few minutes, I could tell she’d had enough, so I let her worm away and run over to the bed. I pulled the blanket over Alyssa and kissed her forehead.

  Riley: “Now, Jordan and I are going out, but if you need anything, call me.”

  Alyssa: “Of course.”

  Riley: “And stay out of trouble.”

  Alyssa: “No.”

  Riley: “No? Did I hear you say no, little monster?”

  I tickled Alyssa again and she laughed.

  Alyssa: “No.”

  Riley: “You just want to be tickled again.”

  Alyssa grinned from ear to ear, exposing some of her missing baby teeth.

  Riley: “Well, what if I was to tell you that Jordan and I will take you to the amusement park if you are good for Ms. Bleaker and go to sleep?”

  Riley: “Love you.”

  Alyssa: “Love you too, Riley. Night.”

  After walking out of Alyssa’s room and closing the door, Jordan told me to close my eyes; there was a bit of hesitation, but I did as he instructed. Then I felt Jordan grab my hand and we were teleporting somewhere. Once I felt that we’d arrived, I opened my eyes and I was in awe.

  Riley: “The Eiffel Tower.”

  Jordan: “I hope you’re hungry.”

  Riley: “We are having dinner there?”

  Jordan: “Yes, I made reservations. It was booked up for today, but you know how persuasive I can be.”

  Riley: “I should be annoyed that you used your abilities to benefit us, but I can’t even pretend to be mad in this case.”

  Jordan: “That’s good. I plan to wine and dine you. I love you, Riley Roman.”

  Suddenly, I bolted up in bed and noticed that my hand was sparking blue time energy. Since the day I had injected myself with the power upgrade, my dreams were more like flashes of the past, and occasionally, the future. These vivid dreams often caused me to wake up in a cold sweat, sparking blue, or in some cases, changed into my whole other form. And remembering the first time that Jordan told me he loved me was definitely a stressful memory. I should have told Jordan that I loved him back as, by the time dessert came that evening, I was one hundred percent in love with him. Regrettably, I did not tell Jordan how I felt until the day I left him; then, in the middle of the night, I just left him and took Alyssa with me.

  Riley: “Dammit, I gotta pee.”

  I got up and went into the bathroom. After washing my hands, I found myself quietly opening the door to Jordan’s room to see if he’d ever returned. Sure enough, Jordan was sprawled out on the twin mattress, looking rather uncomfortable and as if he could fall off at any given moment. I thought about going into the room and draping the blanket over him that had fallen on the floor, but I knew that was a bad idea. If I got any closer to him, the way I was feeling—

  Before I did anything I would regret, I ran to my room and closed the door. Then I threw myself on the bed and began punching the mattress. Still unable to calm the anguish I felt, I put a pillow over my head and silently began to scream. I was well aware that I had turned into my blue form as in this state I could not control it.

  I am not sure what time I fell asleep but my body was still walking time energy when the alarm sounded at 6:00 a.m. Even after a shower, I was unable to appear human again but I had to meet Seth soon, so I threw on a hoodie, sunglasses, and gloves. Being October, if anyone questioned me, perhaps I could use the excuse that I was trying out my cool new Halloween costume. Advanced people might not exist in the regular timeline, but I preferred to go unnoticed unless it was on my terms.

  With a shaky breath, I slipped out of the house and walked around the corner with my hood up, of course. Trying and failing to not look shady as fuck, I quickly inserted myself into a neighbor’s shrubbery so I could pop over to the correct timeline without being seen. Regrettably, there were no bushes in the normal world, but instead there was a small tree not even five feet in front of me that I almost walked into. After cursing myself, I made my way to the meeting spot, where Seth was already waiting.

  Seth: “Are you Riley?”

  I took off my sunglasses.

  Riley: “What do you think?”

  Seth: “I will take that as a yes.”

  Riley: “Any update on Alyssa’s whereabouts?”

  Seth: “My sister and Mac think we should have her exact location in two to three days.”

  Riley: “Lovely. Do you have the shackles?”

  Seth: “Yes, but I have to ask, are you always so …”

  Riley: “Blue?”

  Seth: “I was going to say charming, but that works too.”

  Riley: “I can’t shut my damn powers off and it’s pissing me off. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”

  Seth: “What do you mean?”

  Pulling off my glove, I tried to focus all my energy on turning my hand back to skin and bone; only momentarily, was I able to shift back to my normal form. I sincerely hoped that whatever was going on inside of me would fix itself and fix itself fast!

  Riley: “Last night, my powers switched on and now things won’t go off.”

  Seth: “Shit. Is there anything I can do?”

  Riley: “Not really. Just don’t tell anyone as I don’t want any attention diverted away from my niece.”

  Seth: “Okay. Oh, before I forget, Arcadia wanted you to have a picture of you, her, and Mac from a party that you went to last year.”

  Seth handed me the photo. After glancing at it for a few moments, I folded it up and stuck it in my pocket. It was a great picture but I didn’t understand why she wanted me to carry i
t with me.

  Riley: “Why does she want me to have this?”

  Seth: “The picture?”

  Riley: “Yeah, the picture.”

  Seth: “Arcadia said that the three of you have been through a lot of shit because of Boundary, and it was a reminder to do the right thing.”

  Riley: “I’m not a fucking hero. I don’t know why she keeps thinking I am. It really pisses me off. Can I just have those damn shackles so I can be out of here?”

  Seth: “Sure, but I have to ask, are they for Broderick?”

  Riley: “He doesn’t have powers.”

  Seth: “So that bastard is with you as I suspected.”

  Riley: “No, he is currently being kept occupied in Brooklyn.”

  Seth: “Seriously?”

  Riley: “Don’t worry. I plan on killing him when this is all over. And you might not want to mention this to our Spandex crusaders, as they will only try to stop me.”

  Seth: “Umm …”

  Riley: “What?”

  Seth: “Your hands are sparking.”

  I swore under my breath.

  Riley: “I need to go.”

  Without caring about the consequences, I opened the portal back to the fake timeline. Seth hesitantly gave me the shackles, which I took before waving goodbye. Then I stepped through the portal back to the world that Broderick and Jordan thought was real before hurrying back to the house. If I was lucky, Jordan would still be asleep and not question why I’d left. But if he did, I could use my current blue state to my advantage.

  Quietly, I tried to slip into the house but I was caught by Jordan, who reminded me of a disapproving parent. I tried to walk past him but he got in my way. Aggravated, I used my powers to knock him back. I needed some space and to be left alone, yet for some reason, Jordan wouldn’t take the hint.