After (Parallel Series, Book 4)

by Christine Kersey

  I wondered if the date would matter. Morgan had only been able to come back to her world on the same date she’d come through initially. Would that be true for me? Or was that only the case when crossing over from my world to hers? Maybe from this world the date didn’t matter. I would find out soon enough.

  “You look like you’ve made a decision,” a voice said from the doorway to my room.

  I opened my eyes and saw Tasco staring at my garbage bag full of clothes. I met his gaze. “I’ll leave in the morning.”

  The corners of his mouth turned down into a frown. “I understand.” Then he turned and walked away.

  The fact that he didn’t even hint at a desire to have me stay hurt, which surprised me. I’d thought I was beyond caring what Tasco did or thought, but realized he’d been sort of like a surrogate father to me these last two months, yet he had no interest in my well-being. Otherwise he would’ve at least asked where I was going to go.

  The loneliness I’d felt earlier flooded me again, and I wallowed in self-pity for a while. When I tired of that, I decided I owed Morgan an explanation, and I opened my notebook and began writing.

  Morgan -

  I’m not quite sure how to tell you this, and I hope one day you’ll be able to understand, but I’ve decided to go back to my world. The decision wasn’t easy, but I’ve come to realize my world is the place where I belong. As much as I love your world, it’s just that. YOUR world. It’s clear to me that you belong here, but it’s just as clear that I don’t.

  I don’t want to drag this out, but I wanted to tell you good-bye, and to try to explain. I want you to know that I’ll never forget you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me.

  I love you.

  Billy

  When I finished, I ripped the paper out of my notebook, folded it into thirds, then tucked it into a pocket of my backpack. With nothing else to do, I lay on my bed fully clothed. I wanted to get an early start in the morning.

  Well before the sun rose, I woke up, gathered my things, stopped in the kitchen for a granola bar, then headed toward the front door. At the last minute I decided to write Tasco a note. It was the least I could do after the kindness he’d shown me for the last two months—even if he was kicking me out now.

  Mr. Tasco -

  I wanted to thank you for taking me in. You didn’t know anything about me, yet you let me live in your home. I hope I wasn’t too much of a burden.

  I’m sorry I wasn’t able to live up to your expectations, and I hope you can forgive me. I’ve tried to be true to myself, and I’m sorry if you feel I’ve tried to trick you. I haven’t, but I understand why you don’t believe me.

  I took one of your flashlights, but here’s some money to cover the cost.

  Take care,

  Billy

  I reread the note, set it at Tasco’s place along with some cash, then headed toward the front door. I slipped out into the dark and cold morning, and set out at a fast walk toward Morgan’s house. The bag of clothes bounced against my back, and the backpack was heavy on my shoulders. It seemed silly that I was keeping my schoolbooks when I would most likely have no need for them, but they were a reminder of my time in this world, and I wanted—no, needed—that reminder.

  This world would seem like a dream soon enough. If I had something to make it tangible, maybe I wouldn’t forget my time here too soon.

  No one was around as I walked to Morgan’s neighborhood—the place where I would begin my journey to the hut. When her house came into view I paused, thinking about all the fun times I’d spent there. Her family had become a family to me—the closest thing I’d ever had to a family who truly cared about me. I would miss them.

  The sun was just beginning to rise, and though I wanted to leave the note for Morgan, I didn’t want her—or anyone in her family—to see me. Walking quickly, I approached the fence that surrounded her house. Goldie ran toward me, wagging her tail in happiness.

  “Hi there, Goldie,” I whispered, then realized Morgan’s family must be up if they’d let the dog out already. Morgan’s mailbox was next to the gate that led into their front yard, and I slipped my note inside, took one last look at the house, then turned and walked toward the path that led into the neighboring forest.

  Trying to remember the way I’d come before, I made my way into the trees.

  It took longer than I expected, but eventually the hut came into view. It looked just like it had when I’d come through it—a tree crushing the front door and a hole hacked into one of the walls. I climbed through the hole and looked around.

  The sun was fully up and I could see that the place was a mess. A cot lay on its side, though the rocking chair in the corner seemed untouched. With the open space where the tree had crushed the door, I was certain the winter weather had played a large part in dirtying up the place.

  My gaze went to the opening in the floor—the opening that led to the cellar, which led to the tunnel, which led to my world. I walked over to it and looked down, but it was too dark to see anything. I took the flashlight out of my pack, flicked it on, and pointed the beam into the cellar. Nothing was visible besides the ladder.

  Breathing out a loud puff of air, I dropped my garbage bag of clothes into the cellar, then turned around and started the climb down. A few moments later I stood in the cellar. The dank air assaulted my nose as I swept the space with the flashlight beam. Nothing stirred. I was alone.

  I pointed the flashlight toward the tunnel, lighting up the first few feet of the pathway.

  Are you sure? I thought. Are you sure you want to go back there? To the place where society is so screwed up?

  No, I realized. I’m not sure. But I don’t belong here either.

  Scared and uncertain, I was sure about one thing. I fit in my world. As much as I didn’t like the place, that was where I was from.

  Taking a deep breath, I slowly released it, then I trudged forward.

  Chapter 49

  Morgan

  My second day at Brightwood High School started off better than my first. I didn’t see Hansen as I headed to my first class, and when I got to second period Hannah was already there and had saved me a seat.

  “Hey, Morgan,” she said with a smile.

  “Hi.” I sat beside her, and since we had a few minutes until class began, I decided to ask her an important question. “Hey, I was wondering. Do you know anything about Hansen? The vice-principal?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like, is he someone to be feared? Or is he . . . I don’t know . . . easy on us?”

  “He’s kind of new, so I guess I don’t really know. I just know he’s in charge of discipline.”

  Somehow that didn’t surprise me.

  She looked at me like it was an odd question. “Why do you want to know?” Then understanding shone in her eyes and she smiled as her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re going to cause trouble here, aren’t you?”

  I shook my head.

  “Count me in.”

  “I’m not,” I hastily said.

  “Oh, come on, Morgan. I saw the video. It’s no secret that you think what they’re doing is wrong.” She smiled. “I agree with you.”

  Why did she think I wanted to cause trouble? What kind of trouble did she think I was going to cause? Did anyone else think that? Did Hansen? “I just want to go to school in peace. That’s all.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  It seemed like Hannah Jacobs was way more of an activist than me. As glad as I was that she was on my side, I’d had enough trouble with authority to last me a lifetime. Even though I wanted to change the direction we seemed to be headed, I wanted to do it by changing people’s minds, not by getting myself into any more trouble.

  Hannah let the matter drop, and when class was over, she said, “Are you going to sit with us at lunch again today?”

  I had no other offers. “If you don’t mind. Yeah.”

  “Oh, I don’t mind. In fact, I want you to come so I can tell you about
my plan.”

  “What plan?”

  A secret smile curved her mouth. “You’ll see.”

  What was I getting myself into? I considered telling her I wouldn’t be able to sit with her after all, but I’d just said I could, and I didn’t want to look like a complete loser, so I just nodded, like I thought her plan would be a great idea.

  “See ya,” she said, then she left the room.

  At lunch I made my way to the cafeteria, missing Billy and Rochelle more and more. Especially Billy. With him I never had to pretend. He knew more about me than anyone else, and he loved me for me. He had no expectations, and I could be myself with him.

  When I thought about how his mother had stopped by Tasco’s house the day before, I felt bad for him. And when I remembered his comment that maybe it was better that this world’s parents didn’t have a chance to know him because that would save them from having to reject him later, my heart broke for him. I wished I knew what I could do to make him feel better—to feel loved. I was glad Mom had said he was always welcome at our house.

  I had a sudden desire to talk to him, and since I knew he would be at lunch right now I stopped in the hall outside of the noisy common area and pulled out my cell phone. I dialed Rochelle’s number and waited. A moment later she answered.

  “Hi,” I said. “It’s Morgan.”

  “Oh, hey, Morgan. How’s it going?”

  “Okay. I miss being with you and Billy though.”

  “Yeah. It’s not as fun without you.”

  “I know. We’ll have to get together soon. Maybe go to the mall.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “We’ll definitely do that.”

  “Is Billy with you? I need to talk to him.”

  “No. I don’t think he came to school today.”

  That can’t be right. He would have told me if he was doing something besides going to school. “Are you sure?”

  “We have one class together, and he wasn’t there. Plus you know we always meet up for lunch. Yesterday he was here like usual, so I don’t know why he wouldn’t be here today.”

  “Maybe he’s just late?” Where else could he be? I thought about his run-in with his mother the day before. Could something have happened after he’d left my house?

  “I guess,” Rochelle said, but she didn’t sound at all convinced.

  “If you see him, can you have him call me? Or can you at least text me if you see him?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  We hung up, and a sick feeling began growing in my gut. Billy and I always told each other what we were up to. If something unusual was going on, and he didn’t tell me about it, then it could only be bad.

  “There you are, Morgan,” Hannah said as she walked toward me. “I was wondering where you were.” She stopped and looked at me. “Are you okay?”

  I didn’t want to explain who Billy was, let alone why I would be worried about him. “Yeah.”

  “Good. Come on.”

  My appetite had vanished, but I followed her to the table where Sara and the other girls were already sitting. I sat on the bench and pulled out my lunch even though I didn’t think I’d be able to eat it.

  “Hey, Morgan” Sara said.

  I forced a smile onto my face. “Hi.”

  “So,” Hannah said as she leaned towards us. “I came up with an idea.”

  My mind was on Billy, but I was curious about this idea, so I tuned in.

  “What is it?” Katie asked.

  “Well . . .” Hannah smiled as her gaze slid to Sara, then back to the rest of us. “What if we found a way to erase all of the weight data that woman’s organization—the HLO—has collected so far?”

  “You mean Holly Bennett?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Hannah said. “I guess that’s her name. The witch you were arguing with.”

  “That’s Holly,” I said, picturing the woman who had brought me more difficulty in this world than anyone else.

  “I like it,” Sara said with a smile, then she looked at me. “What about you, Morgan? What do you think? Should we do it?”

  Hannah’s idea sounded like a lot more than breaking the rules. It sounded like breaking the law. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” Hannah said. “It’s perfect. If they lose all of the data they’ve collected, they’ll have to start over. And then if we keep them from gathering more data, it will really put them back.”

  “But what if we get caught?” It seemed like everything I’d done—from impersonating Hannah Jacobs to convincing the other students at Fox Run to refuse to be weighed—had gotten me into situations that had led to my life becoming more difficult. In the case of getting caught pretending to be someone else, I’d nearly gotten permanently trapped in Billy’s world.

  Thinking of that led to thoughts of Billy and I checked my phone to see if I’d missed a phone call or a text, but there was nothing.

  “You, of all people, should understand that sometimes we have to take risks,” Sara said to me.

  If they only knew what kinds of risks I’d taken, they would have so much more respect for me, and for a moment I regretted not being able to tell them. “Yes,” I said as I looked at Sara, then met the gazes of the other girls. “I do understand that we have to take risks. That’s why I’m hesitant. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go to prison just now.”

  At the mention of prison, Katie and Olivia looked less sure of the idea, but Sara and Hannah seemed as confident as ever.

  “That’s only if we get caught,” Hannah pointed out.

  “How would you do it?” I asked. “How could you be certain you wouldn’t get caught?”

  Hannah grinned. “I happen to know someone who is very good with computers. Very good.”

  “Has this person already agreed to do it?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said with a grin. “He has.”

  Obviously she had this already arranged. It seemed she just wanted my agreement, although I didn’t know why. Maybe she just wanted to impress me. Instead, I was nervous. I didn’t want to be associated with this particular crime. “What would you say if I told you I think it’s a bad idea, and that you shouldn’t do it?”

  Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “I’d say you’re not truly committed to setting things right.”

  I was confused as to why she cared what I thought. “Does it really matter what I think?”

  Sara and Hannah looked at each other before looking at me. “Well, kind of,” Hannah said. “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “People know who you are,” Hannah said, then she frowned. “Except for that PSA you did—and I have no clue why you would have done something so stupid—everyone knows how you feel about these new rules. You can be the face for our cause. You are the face for our cause.”

  “First of all, I only did the PSA for my sister. Second, I do feel strongly that these new rules and regulations are a big mistake, but I don’t want to be the face of anything. I just want people to understand that giving the government so much control over our choices could lead to . . .” I’d almost said that it could lead to the government deciding that being overweight is against the law. But I didn’t feel like being ridiculed right then.

  “Lead to what?” Sara prompted.

  “Well, to them having way more control than they should,” I said.

  “Exactly,” Hannah said, then looked at me like I was dense. “How do you think we’re going to change people’s minds if we don’t have a spokesperson? You.”

  Was I destined to be the spokesperson for this type of cause? That’s what I would have become if I’d stayed in Billy’s world. I thought about the other Morgan. How was she faring? Did she hate me for the position I’d put her in? Or was she loving the attention she was undoubtedly getting?

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Regardless,” Hannah said. “We’re moving forward on the data thing.”
/>
  That sounded like something I wanted no knowledge of. I’d barely touched my lunch, but I packed it up. “I have to finish an assignment.”

  “Okay,” Hannah said. “See you later.”

  Out in the hall I checked my phone again. Still nothing. Where could Billy be?

  Chapter 50

  Billy

  As the end of the tunnel came into sight, my stomach began to churn. What if coming back to my world had been a mistake? Would I be able to get back to Morgan? As her face filled my mind I wondered how things were going for her at school today. I hoped Hansen wasn’t giving her any trouble.

  Guilt pounded through me. How could I have left her? She meant everything to me. What was I doing?

  Bright sunlight made me squint as I exited the tunnel. I let my eyes adjust, then I looked around. All I saw were trees, bushes, and dirt. I had no idea what the date was, or if I’d even made it back to my world. When Morgan had come to my world she’d gone back two months. Had the same thing happened to me? Was today the same day I’d initially come through the tunnel? If so, was Hansen’s body still lying on the ground?

  The idea that his cold, dead body could be just feet from me made me shudder. But I had to know. With my bag of clothes still slung over my shoulder, and my backpack on my back, I walked away from the tunnel and into the trees where Hansen had tied me up, and where Morgan had hit him with a branch, knocking him to the ground where he had hit his head on a rock and bled to death.

  As I worked my way toward the place I remembered, I thought about that day at the tunnel. I’d tried to convince Morgan to stay in my world. At the time I hadn’t truly believed she was from a parallel universe, but I’d hoped if I could persuade her to stay with me that she would forget about her crazy idea of getting home, and instead join Nick’s resistance group.

  It had turned out that she wasn’t crazy at all—she’d been telling the truth the whole time. Now I was glad that she’d ignored my pleas and had gone through the tunnel despite my attempt to change her mind.

  She’d been so happy to see me when I’d shown up on her doorstep. I smiled at the memory, then felt my heart lurch as I imagined how she’d feel when she got home from school and discovered I’d left her. Forever.