by E. J. Mellow
“I didn’t know you ran down here,” Rae says with a grin, and I almost smack my forehead at how bad that sounds.
“I moved,” Jared says.
“You did?” I can’t help asking. “But your apartment was so nice.”
Jared’s gaze goes back to me, and an emotion plays through it that I can’t quite place. “I needed a change,” he says, glancing away. “Plus, I got a promotion, so decided to buy.”
“Oh, wow. That’s amazing.” I smile, truly happy for him.
“New York real estate is always a good investment.” Rae nods. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing well.” He steps forward and places a friendly hand on Jared’s shoulder, who visibly stiffens.
Dear Lord, is Rae really that oblivious to how we must have looked to Jared?
“Rae’s been training me,” I finally explain. “Getting me up at the butt crack of dawn for runs.”
“You hate waking up early,” Jared states matter of factly.
“Still does.” Rae laughs. “Usually takes some creativity to get her out of bed.”
For the love of Terra.
“What he means,” I say, “is buzzing my door nonstop for an hour.”
Jared glances between the two of us, less than convinced. “What are you training for? Are you running the New York marathon this year?”
“Oh God, no.” I snort. “I just want to get in better shape.”
My ex studies me, as if he’s trying to take in all my differences since we broke up. I shift awkwardly, hating that I still hope he likes what he sees, despite the obvious sweat and bunched-up running shorts.
“You want to grab a bite with us?” Rae asks. “We usually go to Bean Sprout after. It’s a couple blocks up from here.”
“No, I should get back.” Jared throws a thumb over his shoulder. “Work and all.”
“Ah yeah, same here,” I say, and Rae shoots me a quizzical raised brow.
“Right, well…it was…unexpected running into you guys.” Jared takes a hesitant step back, looking as if he’s battling with something, and I have a pretty good guess as to what that is.
“Yeah, I’m sure bumping into your ex isn’t up there with great ways to start your day.” What am I even saying right now?
Jared’s responding grin is strained. “No, I can’t say that it is.”
We’re both quiet after that, unsure where to go from here, and Rae chimes in to our awkward silence. “Well, we don’t want to make you late. Maybe we could all get a drink sometime though. Catch up.”
Or not.
“Yeah, maybe,” Jared says while running a hand through his hair. “Enjoy your breakfast.” His eyes falls to me again, and I think how strange it is to feel so distant from someone who once held me so intimately.
“Thanks,” I say and then watch Jared walk up the pier, but before he gets too far, he calls back to us. “Oh, and please tell Becca I said hi.”
And with one last meaningful glance my way, he turns and jogs away.
—∞—
The room smells strongly of bleach, and I wince as the needle pricks my vein. “How can you still not understand what just happened?” I stare at Rae from across the room. Beside me, Sonja murmurs for me to keep still as she draws a few vials of my blood.
“Because it’s crazy talk. How could anyone think such a thing?”
“Um, easily. We were caught, alone, embracing in the early hours of the morning!”
Sonja gives us a speculative glance but remains silent as she switches one ruby-filled tube with an empty one.
The Vigil scientist’s new lab is located in the back of an abandoned storefront in downtown Brooklyn. The lab is hidden behind various walls, similar to the transfer room at the Village Portal Bookstore, though at least four times bigger. A multitude of equipment fills chrome tabletops, and monitors are pushed to the far walls, displaying charts mixed with Terra’s alien ancient Latin language. A half-built Molecular Chamber, from what Sonja has explained, sits at the very end of the large room, behind a clear glass partition—its white curved form seemingly innocuous in its resemblance to my sleeping pod. I have yet to inspect it more closely. A strange anxiety about everything that might go wrong while I lie in it stifles my curiosity of the thing—for now.
“There’s nothing wrong with two friends hugging each other,” Rae says defensively. “And I love Becca. Jared knows that.”
“That doesn’t stop people from cheating.” Sonja enters the conversation as she pulls the needle from my arm. “Press down on this.” She places a cotton ball over my vein.
“Precisely.” I look back at Rae, whose posture’s way too relaxed for my taste. “I think you should call her.”
“And say what? It’s ten in the morning. She’s at work.”
“I don’t know—that you’re madly in love with her and want to have all her babies.”
“She already knows that, and even if she didn’t, wouldn’t that be a tad suspicious?”
I huff as I sit back in my seat.
“Your turn.” Sonja swivels on her stool to face Rae, her gray ponytail swooshing behind her. She’s in casual clothes today, dark jeans and a light-green sweater.
“Why are you taking his blood?” I ask as Rae shrugs out of his sweatshirt, displaying his muscular forearm, and lowers himself into the empty seat beside me.
“Because we need it,” she says.
I give Sonja a derisive glare. Her habit of answering my questions without answering them really irks me. “I’ve gathered,” I reply, “but why do you need it?”
“To compare, of course.” Tying the rubber band around Rae’s smooth dark skin, she flicks an impressively large vein that strains to the surface of his inner elbow. She swabs a disinfecting wipe.
“Compare it to mine?”
She nods as she inserts the needle, the tube filling with Rae’s blood.
“What will you be looking for?”
“Differences and similarities between the two of you. While being opposite sexes makes things a little more…complicated, it shouldn’t be that big of a problem.”
I frown. “What are you—”
“Do you really think Jared believes we’re cheating on Becca together?” Rae interjects, bringing my attention back to him, his gaze suddenly holding a fearfulness I assumed would have been there earlier.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
He wipes his free palm against his running shorts. “But I would never do that to her. Why are you humans so disloyal that you could think such a thing?”
Sonja snorts as she finishes taking his blood sample and hands him a Band-Aid. “You and I both know our species can be just as bad, if not worse.”
Rae frowns. “Becca wouldn’t second-guess my faithfulness. I’ve never given her reason to.”
“While you might be right,” I say. “Maybe it’s best we let her know we’re going on runs together.” Visions of her face after she saw Rae calling my phone play in my mind. “There’s really no need to hide that from her, especially now that she knows I’m on a fitness kick.”
“Good call.” He nods.
“And it’s not like she and Jared hang out,” I say, feeling like I need to be the reassuring one now. “So we don’t have to worry about him saying anything to her about this morning.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Rae gives me a relieved smile. “We’re fine.”
I nod. “Totally fine.”
Later that night, neither Rae nor I can get ahold of Becca.
— 7 —
The whispers of the girl who could fly
have only strengthened.
I fear the elders will finally have to tell the truth.
—Part of a letter from Dev to Molly
“Ah! You stupid slab of grease!” I drop the hot pan back on my stovetop, and it clatters loudly as I shake out my hand, my fingertips turning red from where they mistakenly pressed against the metal. I curse as I bring them to my mouth and struggle between walking away or throwing my potential dinner across
the kitchen. The latter seems way more appealing.
After the whole no-longer-have-a-job thing, my days have become a bit freer, leading me to experimenting with cooking. Which really means trying to learn the basics, like how to make pasta. Tonight’s attempted dish, however, was stuffed peppers, something I watched Tim cook on occasion for Dev, Aveline, and me. He made it look so effortless, the smug Nocturna, and I frown at the indistinguishable blackened mound in front of me. I can easily hear the useless Yoda-like advice he’d be giving right about now—The dish tell you when it’s done, it will.
Like I said, useless.
The last time I saw Tim, he was in the hospital after suffering an intensive wound from a Metus attack, one that I was thankfully able to stave off from consuming him. I know from Rae, and Dev’s letters, that he’s safely recovering. Even so, the memory of the gregarious, smile-wrinkled man only worsens my mood, not knowing when or if I’ll ever see him again.
Grumbling, I stomp over to tug open a kitchen drawer, perusing the various pamphlets inside.
Pizza it is.
As I juggle between the difficult choices of adding extra pineapple or pepperoni, the door to my apartment rings out, making me jump. My skin prickles at whoever would be calling without warning at this time of night. I wasn’t expecting Rae, but he’s the only other person who visits so impromptu.
I press the intercom. “Yes?”
There’s a beat of silence before I hear Becca’s voice. “Let me in.”
My stomach clenches into a ball of nerves. After trying to reach her all last night and earlier today, her cell eventually going straight to voicemail—something it never does—I have a very bad feeling.
I buzz her up.
Soon my door swings open, and Becca walks in followed by Rae, the blood instantly draining from my face as I take in his panicked expression. Oh shit.
My best friend stalks around my apartment like she’s on a mission from hell. Her floral dress spins around her legs as she moves in haste, and her fiery red hair falls across her face. She shoves it out of the away in an impatient flick.
“Hey, guys,” I say while stealing a glance at Rae. He’s shaking his head as he stares at me, wide eyed. “Uh, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Becca halts abruptly by the base of my bed, her green gaze on fire as it finds mine. She’s been crying.
“Becca,” I step forward. “What’s—”
“Out with it.”
“Uh? Out with wha—”
“Don’t play dumb, Molly! Tell me the truth. Are you two fucking?”
The world drops from beneath me, and I feel like I’ve been thrown across the room.
“What? No!” Rae and I shout the last part at once.
Her face remains murderous, and a chill runs through me.
“Then how come Jared saw you two kissing?” Her words are flung like acid.
“What? When did you see Jared?”
“That doesn’t matter! You two were caught making out!”
“Becca, listen to yourself. That’s ridiculous.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because it’s me!” I jab a finger into my chest. “Your best friend who would never do something like that. And he’s Rae.” I point to the man, who looks like he’s about to collapse into a heap of broken dreams. “Why would Jared say something like that?”
She’s silent for a moment before she says in a more dejected tone, “He said you guys were embracing.”
“Embracing?” I say with raised brows. “Like perhaps in a platonic hug-like fashion?”
“I don’t care what you want to call it!” she bursts. “He said he saw you two alone, early in the morning, in a suggestive position.”
My teeth grind. Who knew Jared was such a gossip. “When did he tell you this?”
“He came to dinner at my sister’s the other night.”
Of course. I let out a frustrated groan. Her sister and Jared work together. “I knew it.” I glance to Rae, who merely blinks, stunned.
“Knew what?” Becca’s face is beet red, her fists balled. “What are you two hiding from me!?”
“He did not see us kissing”—I look her dead in the eyes—“because we weren’t. Rae and I have been going on runs in the morning, and I got hit with a stupid self-pitying moment, and he was giving me a hug. That. Is. All. Please, Becca, you have to trust us.”
Her nostrils flare, apparently trying to hold in her boiling rage, and her eyes narrow. “You’ve been running together?”
“Yes.” Rae and I speak in unison again, which inflames her further.
“Then why keep it a secret? And why would Jared lie? And why is Rae calling you randomly during the day? I’m not an idiot! I see the way you two are looking at each other right now. Like you were caught. And I swear to God, you better have one hell of an explanation, because I’m about this close”—she pinches an inch of air between her pointer finger and thumb—“to setting this whole apartment on fire.”
If she were anyone else, I wouldn’t believe such a threat, but knowing Becca and seeing the gleam of insanity precariously ready to explode in her eyes tells me she’s 100 percent capable of such an act.
I hover in a mixture of panic and desperation as my mind runs through everything I could say to explain. But we’re cornered. There’s no exit, and I can find no lie to remotely fix this.
“We have to tell her.” I look to Rae.
“Oh God.” Becca’s face bleaches of color. “You are fucking. How could you!?” She bends over as a sob escapes her, and Rae and I reach for her, but he gets there first.
“No, it’s not what you think!” He pulls her into his chest despite her struggles. His arm muscles bulge against his black T-shirt to keep her in place.
“Don’t touch me! You sack of sh—”
“LISTEN TO ME!” he bellows as he shakes her, and she goes quiet. Neither of us have ever heard Rae raise his voice before. The effect is frightening. “I love you,” he says vehemently. “I would never do that to you. Molly would never. Do you understand? You are my everything. I cross dimensions every day just to have a chance to be near you, to see you smile and laugh. How could you ever think I would be unfaithful?” He says the last part like the very idea makes him physically sick.
The room drowns in silence as I hold my breath. Rae slipped up, and I’m not certain if Becca even noticed. She’s looking up at him, her bottom lip trembling, tears streaming down her face.
“We have been keeping something from you though,” he says and then adds, “but it’s not what you think. It’s…more complicated.”
Becca’s swollen eyes dart between the two of us, her brow lifting. “What the hell could be more complicated?”
Rae presses his lips together at the same time I attempt to chew mine off. This is it. My two worlds about to collide like monkey fecal matter against a wall. I have a strong urge to scream and to vomit. Maybe both at the same time.
Am I about to lose my best friend?
Will she believe any of it?
But strangely mixed in with all this confused terror is the slightest, tiniest sliver of relief, because Becca will finally know, and depending on whether or not she’ll ever talk to me again, at least I’ll no longer have to lie.
Rae shoots me a pained glance, my own fears mirrored in his eyes before a mask of resolution covers his face. He turns back to her. “We’ll tell you,” he says, “but you’ll need to see it to understand.”
—∞—
There’s a strange thing that can happen when driving in a car—going from one place to the next without any real recollection of getting there. The mind goes into a weird autopilot of turn left, stop, go, continue, and repeat. I barely retain the passing scenery, and whatever thoughts I have amid the journey disappear or never exist in the first place.
That’s how the commute went for me as Becca, Rae, and I step out of the taxi and onto the sidewalk in front of the Village Portal Bookstore. If any words were spoken, I
can’t recall them. If there was a long-held awkward silence, no memory of it is present. There’s just…nothing, as if my mind went into hibernation mode in preparation for whatever’s about to go down.
Peering into the darkened windows of the bookstore, my chest tightens, taking in the hanging dream catchers and various spiritual books displayed. I haven’t been back since the night I was cut off, the place too painful to visit. And time still hasn’t lessened the deep anguish that now mixes in with the rest of my churning, anxious emotions.
“This is what you have to show me?” Becca’s skeptical voice cuts into the quiet night. Not even a random pedestrian is present in this back-alley street.
“It’s inside.” Rae pulls keys from his pocket and lets us in. A bell chimes against the glass as we enter, and the residual scent of incense brings up haunting memories. My heart beats in overtime as I glance to the purple drape that separates the back room, and I barely register Becca saying something, for a loud swooshing fills my ears. Flash sensations of cold, clammy hands around my neck, the prick of a blade, and liquid lightning filling my chest keeps me from being aware of anything besides forcing myself to move forward one step at a time.
“It’s in here,” Rae says when we enter the back room, and then he ducks inside the closet. I wait for Becca to follow, but she stops at the threshold, worry creasing her forehead.
“Um…”
“You’ll see.” I urge her to move just as Rae presses the button under the light switch, and the far wall begins to disappear into the floor, a beam of bright white flowing out.
Becca gasps as the three of us watch the room beyond slowly reveal itself. Everything is the same, yet completely different. The calming sensation it once gave me is now replaced with the feeling one might get visiting a disaster zone, but instead of rubble and dirt there’s only stillness and white and pristine floors, no blaring sirens and flashing screens sealing my fate.
Rae and I follow Becca as she takes hesitant steps forward, her gaze bouncing around to my white coffin in the middle, then to the depowered portal in the corner—which Rae uses to travel to and from Terra—before going to the few screens that are visible in the tiled walls.
