by E. J. Mellow
“You’re making a joke right now?”
“It would seem so.”
Dev reluctantly lets me sit up, and I stretch the crick out of my neck. Besides a sore backside, I don’t feel too bad.
“Well, I’m not laughing,” Dev says with a glare, which I return.
“It would seem not.”
“How can you joke?”
“How could you have played around with killing them? For the love of Terra, Dev! You don’t have to worry about impressing me. I’m impressed! I will always be impressed!”
His scowl drops as a huge grin spreads across his face.
“What?”
“There are a few things. First, you used a Terra phrase.” His eyes grow warm with his smile. “Second, you said you’ll always be impressed with me.”
I roll my eyes. Men.
“But seriously, you’re okay?” he asks again.
“Yeah, I think so.” I test the movement of my limbs—a little stiff but not at all like I would expect after being hurtled hundreds of feet. My tree now stands a good distance away, and there are patches of singed grass here and there, but nothing that would signify that a fight with lava blobs, fire rings, and explosions just occurred. “That was crazy.” I let out a breath of relief, finally letting it all sink in.
“Yes,” Dev agrees and sits, taking in our surroundings. After a moment he asks, “What happened back there?”
“I’m not really sure.” I gently rub at the hollow feeling that’s been left in my chest. “As soon as you put the barrier up, all I wanted was to be joined with it. It was weird, like an intense craving. I felt a little out of control.” I recall my shaking hands and the strange waves of euphoria. “But then when I got closer to the wall, something in me snapped. I let go of whatever I was holding on to, and that’s when I felt the Navitas enter me.”
Dev nods. “I saw that. I thought it was hurting you. Then it was like time jumped and suddenly the Metus burst apart, and we all got blown back.”
“Yeah…I…I can’t really explain what I did or why it happened. It didn’t hurt though. Well, not in a bad way. It just felt…strange, like I was a bystander in my own body and the energy knew more of what to do than I did.”
“Well, hopefully we’ll get some answers once you’ve started your sessions with Elena.”
I rub my chest again, the bereft sensation ebbing. “Yeah, that would be nice.”
“I’m really glad you’re okay,” he says softly while placing his hand on my leg, his gaze contrite. “I didn’t think the Metus were a threat once we were behind the Navitas. I would have never…if I knew they could…”
“I know.” I cover his hand with my own. “But it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” I give him a small smile. “Just don’t do it again.”
He lets out a relieved laugh. “Never.”
It grows a little awkward—and possibly too familiar—with us touching and staring into each other’s eyes, so I clear my throat while removing my hand and ask, “You said they haven’t turned into those liquid blobs before?”
Dev leans back on his elbows, looking more exhausted than usual. “That definitely isn’t their normal style. The last time they got like this was before the war. When their numbers grow, it makes them stronger and can sometimes give them new abilities.”
I blink in shock. “So every time there’s a war with them, you’re not completely certain of what you’re going up against?” How can anyone prepare to fight an enemy like that?
“It’s not as bad as it sounds. Their ability mutations tend to not be too drastically different from their normal behavior. And once we know their new skill, we can adapt accordingly. If we want to gain anything positive from what just happened, at least we now know one of their new abilities. We’ll figure out a better way to attack them in that form.”
I can see his security and military experience coming out as he breaks down what just transpired, but for real—only one of their new abilities?
“That’s the ultimate glass half-full perspective I’ve ever heard.”
“One of us needs to stay positive.” Dev bites back a grin.
“And here I thought that role was exclusively Rae’s.”
“No, I like to think his is more of the court jester but without the juggling skills.”
I lean back chuckling, picturing Rae dropping colored balls, knives, flaming batons… It’s rather priceless. With him still in my mind, I bolt upright, “The piece of paper!” I gasp and fumble in my pockets.
“What? What is it?”
“I never checked to see where I was supposed to meet Rae tomorrow.” Finding the note that was thoroughly crammed in my pocket, I carefully unfold it. What’s scrawled across the paper has me drawing in a shocked breath, muttering a curse, and then breaking into a fit of laughter from the irony of it all.
Dev takes the slip from my fingers, his brows pinching in with confusion. “What’s the Village Portal Bookstore?”
— 28 —
WAKING UP TO the sounds and soft light of a Manhattan morning is, to say the least, surreal. I find myself lying in bed for a few hours, running over all the new information I learned while I slept: how events in another dimension are affecting my own, how I’m the Dreamer destined to fix it all, and how I have some crazy unlimited powers in Terra and absolutely none here.
Then there’s this small matter that keeps nagging at me that, in the larger scheme of things, shouldn’t be a concern at all. That small matter being that the man I convinced myself was a dream just so happens to be a real person. I’m not even sure what this means—or if it should mean anything at all. I’d like to think that kiss didn’t, and I’m going to stand by that belief for as long as I can.
Right before I woke up, Dev promised that he’d be waiting for me later tonight. After seeing the concern on my face—and despite my best efforts to stop him—he had hooked me into his side and whispered that everything would be okay. As annoying as it is to admit, it made me feel better, hearing him say those words and knowing he’d be there waiting.
The fact that just a few weeks ago I was sitting on my windowsill feeling like my life wasn’t all that I wanted it to be, and now I’m lying in my bed having learned that it’s way more than I think I can handle, seems like a cruel dose of karma. The expression “be careful what you wish for” comes to mind, and I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
I could easily stay in bed all day ignoring the responsibility that’s been thrust upon me. A large part of me wants to, given that I still haven’t come to grips with what this means for my life. And that scrape with the Metus wasn’t exactly reassuring of what’s to come. I suppress a shiver as the assaulting smell and visual of their dripping skin still reaches me here.
Eventually, after a few more moments of staring out my window, I find myself getting up and ready for the day, knowing I have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.
Before I can get far, my cell phone beeps and Jared’s name lights up the screen with a message. My stomach drops.
We need to talk.
—∞—
Sitting in a coffee shop close to my apartment, I wait for Becca. I asked her to meet me here for a quick bite and to take care of my alibi face-to-face. I also have a weird desire to see her before whatever happens tonight. There’s something extremely daunting about being put to sleep for two days straight. Besides my comatose state at the hospital earlier this month, I’ve never gone under for surgery, never been given anesthesia, so I really have no idea what to expect. There’s also a weird, foreboding feeling that’s been building in my chest—I worry that when, and if, I wake up from this whole ordeal, I most certainly will not be the same person as the girl who went to sleep. These thoughts have me wanting to see my best friend before it happens. Even if I can’t tell her the truth.
I nervously pick at my napkin as I flip through the morning paper, searching for any reports dealing with violence. An activity I would have de
sperately tried to avoid in the past, I now find myself disgustingly curious about, though I’m still having trouble believing they’re happening because of lava-filled mutants in another dimension.
I’ve already read through four stories and can’t seem to finish the last bite of my croissant, when Becca flops down in the chair across from me.
“Hey there, ladybug. You’re looking better. I guess the sleep helped?”
“Tremendously,” I say, pushing the cup of coffee I ordered in her direction. She smiles like a child getting a new toy.
“You’re the best.” She picks it up, taking a sip.
I smile. “I try.”
“Read anything interesting?” She nods to the paper in my hand.
Folding it up, I shake my head. “No, nothing interesting in the least. So, how was the rest of your day with Rae?” I ask, wanting to gauge how attached my dear friend actually is. I’m a little nervous about what Rae being from another dimension means for their relationship. I know how bizarre that sounds, but hell if it isn’t the truth.
“Oh, you know…it was divine,” Becca replies, getting all doe eyed as she recounts the rest of their evening. By the end of her account, I’m smiling, but internally I’m making a huge underlined note to talk to Rae about what exactly he has planned for Becca. If there’s even the smallest threat that he will hurt her, I will make sure we are back in Terra where I can deal with him properly. Creatively.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Becca asks, popping the last piece of my croissant in her mouth.
“Oh, I wanted to let you know that I think I’m going home for a couple of days. Well—I am going home for a couple of days.”
Becca tilts her head to the side. “Why?”
Let the lying commence. “Well, I mean, you’ve seen how crazy I’ve been these past few days. I think I haven’t been able to properly relax and recover from the accident, and I need some Mom and Dad R & R. You know, get away from the city.” The lies flow easily, a talent I never possessed in the past. Guilt sits heavy in my stomach.
Becca nods in agreement. “That makes sense. I thought for sure you would have done that as soon as you got out of the hospital, but you are stubborn when it comes to relying on others.”
“I am not!” I say defensively, and then after a moment ask, “Am I?”
Becca laughs. “Mols, you’re the worst with that. But don’t worry”—she pats my hand—“I still love you anyway.”
“Thanks,” I say dryly.
“So, how long will you be gone?”
“Uh—I leave tonight, and think I’ll probably be back sometime on Tuesday.” I already e-mailed Jim, who understood my request for more time off.
“Tonight?” Becca eyes widen. “Will you see Jared before you go?”
My stomach tightens again as a weird dread settles in, thinking about his text from earlier.
“Yeah, we’re supposed to meet after this, actually.”
“But…”
“But…nothing.”
“Mols, please, I can tell you’re nervous about something. I know you guys haven’t talked since…that night.”
I hope I’m not that transparent, or this whole lying gig will not work out. “Yeah…I just didn’t know what to say to him after that.”
“Understandable,” Becca says with certainty. “And you shouldn’t be the one to apologize. I think he was completely out of line that night. Yes, you might not have actually been sick, but honestly, if you were, he should’ve understood and left you alone, not acted all sensitive about you not needing him. What was that about anyway?”
I shrug, even though I probably know where that came from. I’ve been a little out of it when it comes to communicating with Jared, for obvious reasons. I know he’s looked at me more than once like I’ve been keeping secrets from him, but I’ve never wanted to explain myself—and now, more than ever, I can’t.
Still, something inside me wants to be with Jared. As wrong as it might sound, I need something normal here to keep me balanced with what I’m dealing with in Terra. And I can’t deny that a stubborn part of me wants to know where our relationship could go. Right before all this became real, I was beginning to find a place for him in my heart. And while I don’t think I love him, I have a strong feeling that I could. So despite this enormous stick-in-my-spokes revelation that Terra and the oh-so-mercurial Dev are real, I still want a life here, and I want Jared in it.
That is, if he still wants to be.
“Hello?” Becca waves her hand in front of my face, and I blink back to her. “Wow, what crazy math problem did you just solve in your head?” She laughs. “I’ve never seen you so concentrated before.”
“Sorry.” I smile weakly. “Just have a lot on my mind.”
“Clearly,” she says while picking at the leftover crumbs on my plate. “So you don’t know what’s up with you two?”
I shake my head. “No, but I don’t want to lose him, Bec.”
“Aw, babe. You won’t lose him. I actually think you’ve got him tied around your little finger.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “The two days of silence from his end says differently.”
“Well, he contacted you first, right? To see you later today?” She takes a sip of her coffee.
“Yeah, but his text could very well be a foreboding message leading up to our imminent end.”
Becca chokes on her sip, coughing as she says, “Wow, dramatic much?” She raises her eyebrows. When she sees that I’m completely serious, she removes the smile from her face. “Molly, really, I don’t think he’s going to break up with you, but—and I mean ‘but’ in the very, very small chance that he will—I know you can turn him around. You would want to turn him around, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then there you go. Problem solved. But to be honest, I didn’t think you were that into him for a while. Glad to see you’ve changed your mind. He’s a rare find in these parts—gotta keep those types close. Just like I gotta keep Rae,” she adds with a wink.
Her last words make me falter, but I force myself to smile in return.
—∞—
I make my way toward Jared’s apartment after getting off the phone with my mom, explaining that I’d be going away with him for a few days. She was all bubbly and excited for my make-believe time with Jared, asking more than once if I could bring him home soon. The idea depressed me given that I might be going to break up with him this very minute. Or, more accurately, getting dumped.
I couldn’t have planned all this craziness to happen at a better time though, because my mom informed me that she and my dad are going to visit my grandfather for a few days. He’s been having some freak-outs, and his live-in nurse has called more than once in concern, so they’re going down to see him and figure out what exactly is going on. She also told me that he’s been asking for me and I should really make a visit soon. All of this adds to the already-large mound of guilt I have accrued in my stomach.
With Becca and my parents taken care of, I just have one more thing on my list to figure out, and with each step I take, I want to run five miles in the opposite direction. Jared lives in Tribeca in one of those newer, fancier buildings with a doorman—living quarters that come with the same territory as his job. I’ve only been to his apartment a couple of times in the three months we’ve been together, but I’m always intimidated while I’m there. It makes the salary difference between us very apparent, and while he is older than me, I still feel a sense of imbalance between us. And I’m nothing if not a fan of equality in relationships, maybe even tilted a bit more in my direction. Like I said, equality.
After Will—the lovely doorman—announces my arrival to Jared, I walk toward the elevators, tucking my hair nervously behind my ear. I check myself over in the reflection of the car as it makes its ascent. My yellow sundress—that I thought was cute this morning—seems to wash me out against my flushed, pale skin, and my eyes seem a little too big in my head. Great, I look absolutel
y terrified. I fix my hair again even though there’s nothing to fix, and plead desperately for the butterflies to stop doing Taekwondo inside my stomach. I don’t think I was this nervous on our first date.
Stepping out of the elevator, the long hallway seems to stretch endlessly to Jared’s door that looms at the end. Something about this moment gives me a weird sense of déjà vu as I remember following Dev down to his apartment. The memory of the other world I’ll be visiting for an extended period of time does nothing to calm my nerves. In fact, I’m practically shaking with anticipation for both events.
The sound of my sandals hitting the tiled floor reverberates around the empty hallway, making me cringe. The very presence of my shoes tainting the ground here feels like a faux pas. Did I mention how this place makes me uncomfortable?
Finally, after what feels like a lifetime, I reach Jared’s apartment. Taking in a breath, I knock. There’s the sound of footsteps making their way to the door, and in that instant I want nothing more than to disappear like the girl from I Dream of Jeannie. I blink my eyes just in case I’ve suddenly been gifted the power of poofing away. No go.
The door opens and I stop breathing.
— 29 —
“HEY.” JARED SMILES.
“Hey,” I say as my heart pounds erratically, taking in his appearance.
And God, what an appearance. His dirty-blond hair is immaculately disheveled, like he just woke up but had it styled. His jaw showcases stubble that’s asking to be touched, and gazing into his hazel eyes makes me feel like I taste honey. He’s wearing a light greenish-gray T-shirt that hides none of his perfect physique, along with the tailored dark jeans that he knows I’m a fan of. His feet are bare and for some reason, staring at them has me thinking of sex, but maybe I was already thinking of sex as soon as I saw him.
