Parallel

by O'Roark, Elizabeth

  “Adults don’t like treehouses.”

  “I will,” I insist. “I’m going to keep coming up here, no matter how old I am.”

  He thinks for a moment and then shrugs, as if he’s announcing a decision he was already pretty certain of. “I think I’ll marry you when I grow up,” he says.

  I bite my lip to hide the sudden burst of delight in my chest. “Okay,” I tell him. “Sure.”

  I go home to my mother and report what Nick has said as I’m falling asleep. “Maybe I’ll go to the future and see if it happens,” she says. She’s teasing me. The room is so dark I can’t see her face, but I hear the smile in her voice.

  “You’re not supposed to go to the future,” I remind her. The stories she tells me each night about time-traveling are always about the past, because she says jumping to the future is dangerous, and you may learn things you wish you didn’t know. She promises when I’m old enough she’ll take me with her, but until then, I can only live through her adventures. “Tell me about visiting the soldier. That’s my favorite.”

  “That’s my favorite too,” she says, her voice a little sad. “But you’ll have stories of your own someday. Better ones.”

  My fears creep in. She’s so certain I can do what she does, but if she won’t jump to the future, how does she know for sure? “What if I can’t jump like you?”

  Her laughter fills the quiet room. “Oh, sweet girl. Your abilities will make mine look childlike by contrast.”

  “But when?” I plead.

  She pulls the covers up to my chin and plants a kiss on my forehead. “You’ll jump,” she whispers, “on the day when you need it most.”

  Intersect, the stunning conclusion to Nick and Quinn’s story, arrives June 27th. Pre-order here!

  Acknowledgments

  It takes a village, apparently, to convince me my book is ready to go to print—especially one with a plot like this one—so I have a long list to thank. First my amazing beta readers, who’ve given me such helpful feedback and are just generally the coolest people ever: Tricia Coan, Deanna Heaven, Kimberly Ann, Amy Meyer, Katie Foster Meyer, Julie Page, Brenna Rattai, Laura Steuart, Jill Sullender, Erin Thompson, and Laura Ward. Thanks to my sister, Kate Garner, for constant reminders not to pre-crap on things and for her outrage over three-star reviews. Next, Janis Ferguson, whose proofreading skills are unparalleled (I hate word play, so that was absolutely unintentional). Kathy Bosman, who took this through several rounds of edits, and Julie Deaton, who gave it one last look at the end since I couldn’t stop changing things until the last minute. Huge thanks also to Dani Sanchez at Wildfire Marketing.

  Thanks, finally, to my girls (or coven, depending on who you ask). Many years ago, I was lucky enough to be stuck watching toddlers play soccer with Sallye Clark, Deanna Heaven and Katie Meyer. Eleven years later they are still the people I go to with every problem and every triumph, and I’m endlessly grateful to have them in my corner.

  About the Author

  Elizabeth O'Roark spent many years as a medical writer before publishing her first novel in 2013. She holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and arts from the University of Texas, and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Notre Dame. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her three children and one badly behaved dog. Parallel is her fifth book.