Though my heart was pounding so hard I was sure it would fly out of my chest and land on Hansen’s desk, I pressed my lips together to keep from shouting all that I knew. I could feel the gaze of the agents on me, but I tried mightily to pretend they weren’t there, and I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t in Billy’s world anymore, and that Enforcers didn’t exist here.
As terrified as I was, I knew I was much less scared than I would have been if I hadn’t experienced the horrors I’d experienced in Billy’s world. If I’d been forced to meet with the FBI agents—even the vice-principal—before I’d been to Billy’s world, I would have been trembling in fear. Now, I was able to put it in a little more perspective—although the thought of going to prison still petrified me.
“Come on, Morgan,” Hansen said, his voice showing his impatience. “Talk to me.”
“She obviously has something to hide,” Murray said.
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and felt my hands become slick with sweat.
“You don’t know that,” Hansen said, keeping his gaze locked on me.
“Of course she does,” Murray said. “Otherwise she’d open her mouth and speak.”
“What’s your last name?” Atkinson asked me.
I turned my head and met his gaze, but I didn’t open my mouth, certain that if I said one word, then dozens of unintended words would follow.
“See?” Murray said, and my gaze shifted to him. “Hiding something.” He looked at his partner. “She probably orchestrated the whole thing.”
No, I didn’t, I wanted to scream. But I kept my lips pressed firmly together.
“Prison is a cold, dark place,” Murray said as he looked straight at me.
Terror clenched my gut and I thought I might hurl. As bad as Camp Willowmoss and Camp Stonewater had been, I was certain that prison in my world would be much, much worse. But still, I didn’t speak. Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure I was capable of speech. My throat had seized up and it was all I could do to hold down the bile that wanted to rise from my stomach and empty itself all over Hansen’s shoes.
“We can help you, Morgan,” Atkinson said—obviously the good cop in this meeting. “If you tell us what you know, you can be immune from prosecution.”
His offer was tempting, and the tiny glimmer of hope he held out was almost enough to get me to confess all that I knew. I considered his offer, but decided it would be better to have the assistance of a lawyer before I agreed to anything. Swallowing convulsively to clear my throat, I made sure I could speak without vomiting. “I want to call my parents.”
“I’m sure you do,” Hansen said. “And you can in a minute. But first it would be very helpful if you could tell us what you know about someone, or a group of someones, accessing a federal database.”
Federal database? That sounded so much more serious than just deleting the Healthy Lifestyle Organization’s data. Then I remembered that the HLO was an organization working with the government. Evidently they were part of the government. The idea that this organization was so deeply in cahoots with the government that they essentially were the government strengthened my resolve to not tell them anything.
I softened my voice to a near-whisper. “What are you talking about? What federal database?” Tears sprang to my eyes, and they weren’t fake at all. “Why am I in here?” I cried. “What do you want with me? I didn’t do anything? I want my parents.” I admit that I milked it a bit, especially when I saw the obvious discomfort on the faces of all three men that they were making a teenage girl cry.
I turned to Hansen with accusing eyes. “I don’t even belong to that group anymore. I told him—” I pointed at Hansen as I looked at Murray and Atkinson. “I told him the other day that I’m not the spokesperson anymore.” Fresh tears coursed down my face, and my shoulders shook as I sobbed. “I’m a good person.”
I glanced at the FBI agents and saw them looking at Hansen with narrowed eyes, as if they were angry that he’d forgotten to tell them that I was no longer involved with We Can Choose.
Agent Atkinson handed me a tissue. “You can go to class now, Morgan.”
I wiped my eyes and blew my nose, then with reddened eyes I looked at Atkinson. “Can I have a late pass? I . . . I don’t want to get in trouble.”
He smiled like a concerned parent. “Of course.” Then he snapped his fingers at Hansen, who scribbled a note on a sheet of paper, then handed it to me with a glare, like he knew I was pulling one over on them.
I kept my eyes sad, and my mouth turned down like I was holding back a fresh torrent of tears, then picked up my backpack and left the office. The moment I cleared the main office my hands started to shake. Tossing my backpack over my shoulder, I hurried to the girl’s bathroom where I splashed cold water on my face, then stared at myself in the mirror.
Was I off the hook? The FBI agents had seemed to believe I had nothing to do with the hack, but Hansen seemed less inclined to believe my act. But he wasn’t the one I had to convince. He had no power to arrest me. I just had to make sure and fly under the radar.
Chapter 68
Billy
Saturday morning arrived before I knew it, and as I packed my few belongings into a suitcase that Morgan’s parents had let me borrow, I wondered how this day would go.
“Looks like you’re about ready,” Morgan said as she came into the living room.
I smiled at her. “I’m about packed, but I’m nowhere near ready.”
“What are you worried about? Your parents want you there.”
Hearing her say that boosted my mood a little, but that wasn’t what concerned me. “I’m nervous about meeting their friends and family.” I frowned as I imagined them coming at me with accusing fingers. “You know they’re not going to believe my story.”
“Maybe not at first, but the important thing is that your parents believe you.” She moved to stand right in front of me. “And I believe you. I was there too.” She laughed. “I was the one who started this whole thing.”
Smirking, I stroked her cheek. “Just remember that when they start hurling nasty comments at me.”
“Oh I will. I’ll be right there beside you.”
“I’m glad you’re coming with me,” I said, then I kissed her. Her arms folded around my neck as mine went around her waist. I didn’t know what I’d do without Morgan. She meant everything to me.
The doorbell rang, which sent my heart pounding, and I stepped back from Morgan. “They’re here.”
She took one of my hands in hers. “It’s okay. This is a good day.”
Her words and her presence calmed me, and I nodded, then walked to the door and pulled it open. My mother stepped toward me and pulled me into an embrace, and as I let her envelope me, I looked over her shoulder to see my father standing there with a smile on his face.
“Good morning,” my father said when our eyes met.
My mother released me, but kept an arm around my waist.
“Good morning,” I said, then I turned to Morgan. “This is my good friend, Morgan. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked her to come with me today.”
“Nice to meet you finally,” my father said.
“Hello, Morgan,” my mother said.
“We’re happy to have you come along,” he said, then his smile grew. “I actually have some questions for you.”
“Okay,” Morgan said, but I could tell she was a little wary about what those questions would be.
Morgan’s family came into the living room to tell me good-bye. We’d told Amy, Zac, and Brandon that I was going to move in with a new family, but we didn’t tell them anything about this world’s Billy Foster. It seemed like more than they needed to know.
“Billy’s a great kid,” Morgan’s dad said to my father, surprising me.
“We already know that,” my father said, surprising me even more.
“I’ll come visit a lot, I’m sure,” I said, wanting to shorten the good-byes.
“I’ll have some
new card tricks to show you the next time you come over,” Zac said.
“That’s great.” I hugged everyone good-bye, then Morgan and I left with my parents.
“We’ll give you some time to get settled,” my mother said from the front seat. “Then later this afternoon we’ll have a few people over for a barbecue. It will just be family though—grandparents, aunts, and uncles.”
“Okay.” My family had never been close, so we’d rarely spent time with our extended family. At the thought of having so many people suddenly in my life, I began to feel overwhelmed.
Morgan must have sensed my discomfort because she slid her hand into mine, and I immediately felt calmer.
When we got to my new home, Morgan and I followed my parents inside and down a hall to a bedroom.
“This will be your room,” my mother said.
I wondered if it was Billy’s room, and though I feared asking would make my parents sad, I had to know. “Was this Billy’s room?”
“No,” my father said, then pointed to a closed door across the hall. “That’s his room.” He smiled sadly. “We haven’t been able to bring ourselves to go through his things just yet.”
I nodded, and we all stood there for a moment.
“Well,” my father said. “I’ll let you get settled.”
“Okay.” I watched them leave, then Morgan plopped down on the bed while I began unpacking the suitcase.
“This is a nice room.” She leaned back on her elbows.
Besides the bed, there was a dresser and a desk. Nothing fancy, but I hoped this room would finally be home. The room at Tasco’s house had been temporary, and the couch at Morgan’s house had definitely been temporary. Would this place be different?
“Yeah,” I said with a smile. “It’ll do.”
Over lunch my father dove right in with questions for Morgan. That’s one thing I’d noticed about him—he liked to get right to the point. My dad had sorta been that way too, although when this world’s father did it it didn’t bother me, whereas my dad in my world had always come off sounding brusque.
“I’m very interested to hear about your experience in the parallel world Billy’s been telling us about,” he said as he picked up his sandwich.
She glanced at me, then looked at him. “It’s awful there. As soon as I’d realized what had happened, coming back here was all I could think about.”
I tried to imagine how Morgan must have felt—out of place, scared, uncertain how things worked. Kind of how I’d felt when I’d first come here. The only difference was, she’d had to learn through her own mistakes, whereas I had her to help me.
I reached for her hand under the table and intertwined my fingers with hers as I listened to her tell my father her story.
When she was done, both of my parents were clearly amazed by what she’d experienced.
“Thank goodness you were able to make it back,” my mother said. “That place sounds like a nightmare.”
Morgan smiled at me, then gazed at my parents. “If it wasn’t for Billy, I’m certain I never would have made it back.”
They looked at me and I could see the pride in their faces. Morgan told a compelling story, and they obviously believed her. It helped that what she said completely matched up with what I’d told them, but I was grateful that they didn’t seem to have any doubts.
As the time for the barbecue drew near, my stomach began to churn, and I wished I could hide in my new room. Morgan sat beside me on the couch as my mother worked in the kitchen.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Morgan asked.
“Oh no,” she said. “I just have a couple of things to do. Everyone’s supposed to bring something, so it’s all under control. You both relax.” She smiled at me. “I’m sure you must be a little nervous.” She bit her lip. “To tell you the truth, I’m nervous too.”
Knowing I wasn’t the only one made me feel a little better, and I thought it kind of felt like I was on a team with my parents. The three of us—and Morgan—standing united as I met these people. The feeling of having other people on my side was amazing. Especially when the people were my own parents.
The doorbell rang and my heart raced as all good feelings fled.
Chapter 69
Billy
“Hello, Nicole,” my mother said after she opened the door. “Hi, Jason. Please come in.”
My gaze was riveted to the front door and when the couple walked in I could immediately see that this woman was my mother’s sister. Her eyes went directly to me, and she audibly gasped, then she looked at my mother.
“Come meet Billy,” my mother said calmly, as if introducing her dead son’s clone from a parallel world was an everyday occurrence. She took her sister’s arm and propelled her toward me.
Thankfully my father came down the hall and into the living room at that moment as I needed all the reinforcements I could get.
“Billy,” my mother said. “This is your Aunt Nicole.”
I stood and held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Nicole just gasped again, then stared at me with narrowed eyes. I guess she was trying to see if I was wearing one of those real-looking masks that they wore in the Mission Impossible movies. She must have decided I was real enough, because she took my hand in a limp grasp, then quickly let go.
“This is just amazing,” she breathed. “I can’t believe this.”
“How are you, son?” her husband Jason said.
I shook his hand, which was a much firmer grip, and nodded. “I’m good.”
“Sit down,” my father suggested. Earlier we’d brought chairs from the kitchen into the living room to supplement the seating area, and I suddenly pictured all the chairs filled with people who were gasping and staring at me, and I held back a wild laugh.
I couldn’t blame them for being dumbfounded at seeing me, but I hoped most of them would be better at hiding it than Nicole had been.
“This is my friend Morgan,” I said, beginning to feel desperate to get the attention off of me.
“Hello,” she said with a smile.
“Are you from . . ?” Nicole glanced at her husband before looking back at Morgan. “That is, where do you know Bil . . .” She seemed to choke on my name. “How do you two know each other?”
Starting to feel sorry for this woman, I held back a smile. Obviously she was trying her best to be accepting, but was having a hard time knowing what to say.
Morgan’s smile was friendly, but I knew her well enough to know that she was about to say something that probably wouldn’t help the situation.
“I met him at the F.A.T. center where we were both locked up,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“The . . . the what?” Nicole asked as she looked at her sister, clearly confused.
Maybe she thought F.A.T. was short for a mental institution, and this just confirmed her belief that I was making the whole thing up.
“It’s the place where the government sends you if you weigh too much, or if you don’t follow their controlling rules,” Morgan clarified, but when Nicole still seemed confused, she added, “That’s how it is in the world Billy comes from.”
“Oh,” Nicole said, like that explained everything.
“If it’s so bad,” Jason asked, “why did you go there?”
“It wasn’t on purpose,” Morgan said.
“Why don’t we wait until everyone gets here,” my father said. “Then they’ll only have to explain once.”
“Good idea,” my mother said with a smile.
The six of us chatted about non-parallel world related things, and soon the rest of the guests arrived—my father’s brother and his wife, my mother’s parents, and my father’s dad. I was glad they limited the guest list, as having seven people sit in judgement at once was more than enough.
My parents introduced everyone to Morgan and me, and I settled in for the questions and comments that were sure to come. Not surprisingly, the first one came from my father’s dad, Grandpa Fos
ter.
“You’re a little young to be a con man,” he said.
“Dad,” my father said in a warning tone, and I felt my heart drop. Already I was being accused of lying.
Grandpa Foster glanced at my father, then focused back on me. “You seem to have completely fooled my son and his wife.” He narrowed his eyes at my father. “But he always was on the foolish side.”
If my grandfather in my world was anything like this man, it was no wonder I’d never met him. My dad had never spoken of him, and now I understood why.
“Dad,” my father said again. “You promised you’d give him a chance.”
“You need the judgement of someone who’s not clouded by emotion,” Grandpa Foster said to my father. “That’s why I’m here.” His gaze shifted to me. “Prove to me that you are who you say you are.”
Everyone was silent, waiting to see where this would lead, but Morgan obviously didn’t want to see me treated like this.
“He doesn’t have to prove anything to you, sir,” she said. “Or to anyone. You can choose to believe him or not, but your belief doesn’t change the truth of what he says.” Everyone stared at her, evidently not used to witnessing someone stand up to Grandpa Foster. “If you reject my friend, he’ll go on without you, but it will be your loss, not his.” She gently squeezed my hand, which was already clasped with hers. “All Billy has ever wanted was a family of his own. His family—the one in his world—was despicable in what they did to him. We had high hopes that his family in this world would be different.”
She smiled at my parents before looking back at Grandpa Foster. “So far his parents have proven that they are very different from what he’d come to expect. I only hope that all of his family in this world are as good and loving as they are.”
Grandpa Foster sneered at Morgan. “You’re even better at this than he is.”
I wanted to yell at him for talking to Morgan like that, but I also wanted to show respect for my grandfather. I’d never been faced with a choice like that before, and I didn’t know what to do. Then I realized what I needed to do. “I’m sorry you feel that way.” All eyes swiveled to me, and I felt my face redden at the unwanted attention. “Maybe if you gave me a chance to tell you my story, you’d feel differently.”
After (Parallel Series, Book 4) Page 29
