Collide

by Michelle Madow

  “No way.” Jake’s eyes flashed with anger. “Marisa would never do that.”

  “That’s what I said.” I leaned forward, desperate for him to believe me. “Marisa might get jealous sometimes, but she’s not a killer.”

  “So it’s better if she’s not at the dance,” he said. “At least if she doesn’t go, she’ll be safe.”

  “But even though we don’t think it’s her, we don’t know anything for sure.” I then summarized everything Zac said about how the killer might have targeted Jake and me on purpose, and how if that’s the case, they’re probably someone we know. “The only way to know for sure is to make sure the people close to us are there,” I said. “And this time, we’ll be ready. No one is going to get hurt.”

  “It’s still risky,” he said. “I wish there were another way.”

  “Me too,” I said. “But we discussed it for hours, and this was the best plan. If you have any other ideas, then please, let us know.”

  “I don’t.” He shook his head. “I wish I did, but I have to give Zac credit. He knows his stuff.”

  “He does,” I agreed, although I didn’t like thinking about Zac more than I had to. Every time I did, I thought about how much I was hurting him by being a constant reminder of the Annabelle he’d lost. And while it wasn’t my fault, that didn’t stop me from feeling guilty.

  “I’ll wait to end things with Marisa,” Jake said. “Until Saturday. But I can’t lead her on for longer than that. And when I do talk to her… I want to tell her the truth.”

  “About me being from an alternate universe?” I sat back in shock, since telling Marisa hadn’t even crossed my mind.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “So you’re going to have to back me up. Okay?”

  “If I’m still here,” I said, and he pulled me closer, as if trying to assure me that I would be here. “Then I will. I promise.”

  He kissed me again, and we stayed there in the park, talking and kissing until the tiredness kicked in and we could barely keep our eyes open. I eventually checked my watch, shocked that it was already four in the morning.

  “I have to go back,” I said. “If I don’t get at least a little sleep tonight, I’ll be a mess tomorrow.”

  “Me too,” he said. “But you’ll let me walk you back to your house, right?”

  “As long as you promise to be quiet.”

  “I promise.”

  He did as he said, giving me one last kiss before making sure I made it back inside.

  I was more sure than ever that we were meant to be together, and nothing in this world—or in any world—was going to change that.

  Thursday, October 30

  The next morning I did something that was a first for me—I fell asleep during class. My body simply could not function on the three hours of sleep I’d gotten last night, despite the Red Bull I’d taken from Eric’s stash during breakfast. Luckily, I was in Annabelle’s seat in the back row, and I didn’t think my teacher noticed. But it was still humiliating. Next week—if I was still here—I had to get back to making school my number one priority.

  When the bell rang for lunch, I couldn’t wait to go to the library and take a much-needed nap. But I hadn’t counted on Robby following Claire and me out of the classroom and cornering us when we stepped out of the door.

  “On Monday you said you would go to the dance with me, and then you sent me a text last night saying that you’re going with your friends instead,” he said to Claire, scowling and clenching his fists. “What’s up with that?”

  “I changed my mind.” Claire glanced down the hall and chewed on her lower lip, clearly wanting to get away from Robby. “Sorry.”

  He took a few deep breaths, uncurling his hands and relaxing. “Well, will you at least save a dance for me?” He smiled at her, although to me, it seemed like he was leering. Like she was prey that he was determined to catch.

  “Come on, Claire.” I pulled her toward the library. “We have that test to study for.”

  “The cock blocking bitch strikes again.” Robby stepped in front of us and glared at me. “I asked Claire a simple question. Let her answer.”

  “The answer’s no,” Claire said, and then she turned to me. “Come on. Let’s go study.”

  I couldn’t resist glancing over my shoulder as we walked away. Robby was still watching us, and goose bumps rose up on my arms as my eyes connected with his, unable to turn away fast enough.

  “What a creep,” I said to Claire.

  “Tell me about it,” she agreed. “I used to think he was hot, but he’s freaking me out now. I don’t know why the Claire in your world stayed with him.”

  “I was never sure why, either,” I said, since it was the truth.

  She grabbed her lunch from her locker, but when we got to mine, we found Marisa leaning against it, waiting. For me.

  I had no idea what she wanted, but I was starving and needed to get my lunch, so I had no choice but to approach her.

  “Hey,” I said, motioning to my locker. “Do you mind?”

  “It depends.” She raised an eyebrow. “Do you mind telling me what you were doing with Jake last night?”

  I froze. How did Marisa know I was at Jake’s last night? He’d asked her to leave right after Doomed because he claimed he was tired and had homework. He certainly hadn’t told her I was coming over.

  But somehow, she knew. The same way that she’d known I’d talked to him in his car after school on Tuesday.

  I was seriously wondering if she was stalking him.

  But I’d already asked her that, and it hadn’t gone well. All I could do was stick to the same story I’d told my parents.

  “I left a book at school,” I said. “Jake let me come over and borrow his.”

  “You have a ton of other friends.” Marisa sneered. “Claire, Zac, all the girls on the dance team. And you’re telling me that you asked Jake—who before this week, you hadn’t spoken to in months—if you could borrow it from him?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged. “Jake and I have been friends for years.”

  “But you’re not friends anymore.” She smiled, although it was hardly friendly. “You ditched us after you found out that we kissed over spring break, which was totally unfair, since you’d never told me that you saw him as anything more than a friend. How could I know that you would turn into a raging bitch about it?”

  “You and Jake kissed over spring break?” My heart dropped, and I tangled my fingers through my hair, trying to make sense of what she’d said. “The spring break last March, when I was on that ski trip with my family?”

  “Yeahhhh.” Marisa said it slowly, as if she thought I was losing my mind.

  I leaned against the lockers, trying to keep steady. “Why didn’t he ever tell me?” I asked, somehow managing to speak through the lump in my throat. This couldn’t be true… it absolutely couldn’t be.

  “What are you talking about?” Marisa sounded genuinely confused. “I always knew you were crazy, but now you’re acting completely mental.”

  “It couldn’t have been over spring break.” I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “It had to have been afterward. At least a few days after we got back.”

  “No…” She tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed. “It was over spring break. A few times during spring break, actually.” She laughed, as if what she was saying was funny and not completely heartbreaking. “You’ve been a bitch to me ever since. And I don’t know what’s gotten into you this week, but it seems like you’re trying to go after my boyfriend, and it needs to stop. Now.”

  I barely heard a word she said after the part about how they’d kissed a few times during spring break.

  Because spring break was before the time split. Whatever had happened over spring break had happened in both realities.

  Which meant that Marisa and Jake had kissed not only in this world, but in my world as well.

  And I’d never known. She and Jake had both kept it from me.

  My relationship w
ith Jake these past few months had been a lie.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Claire said to Marisa, linking her arm with mine. “But you need to move so Annabelle can get her lunch.”

  “Not until Annabelle promises to stop chasing my boyfriend,” Marisa said, leveling her gaze with mine.

  “No problem.” My voice shook, and I couldn’t look her in the eye. “I guess I don’t know him as well I thought I did, anyway.”

  “Of course you don’t, since he’s my boyfriend, not yours.” She uncrossed her arms and moved away from my locker. “Enjoy your lunch.”

  She strutted down the hall and turned the corner, not bothering to look back.

  Thursday, October 30

  “What happened out there?” Claire asked once we were situated in our library study room. “How did Marisa find out that you were at Jake’s last night?”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head and collapsed into a seat, having already forgotten about how Marisa had somehow discovered that I was at Jake’s. “They kissed. Multiple times. And I never knew.”

  “Of course they have. They’ve been dating for months.” Claire’s forehead creased, and she sat in the seat next to me. “I know that these past few days have been a shock to you, but you had to realize that since they’re dating, it means they’ve kissed…”

  “I know.” I took out my sandwich and stared at it, not hungry anymore. “But she said it happened over spring break. Which means that in my world, it happened too.”

  “Because spring break was before the time split.” Claire’s mouth dropped open. “And it’s like you’re hearing about it for the first time right now. So it happened in your world too, and they never told you?”

  “I guess so.” I felt separated from my body, as if I were watching this all happen to someone else instead of having it all happen to me. “The first day back from spring break was when I was pulled out of class during first period and told about my mom’s accident. I didn’t go to school that week, and then there was the funeral… and through it all, Jake and Marisa were there for me. Jake most of all. And they were both lying to me.”

  I pulled my legs up to my chest, burying my face into my knees and allowing the tears to flow. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I’d never felt so betrayed.

  “I feel like a total idiot,” I said between sobs. “How could I not have seen it?”

  “Your mom had just passed away.” Claire scooted closer and handed me a tissue. “You were grieving for her. Of course you didn’t notice whatever was going on between Jake and Marisa.”

  “And they never told me.” I sniffed and wiped the tears off my cheeks. “Months went by and they said nothing. Jake and I fell in love. Well, I thought it was love. Now I’m not so sure.”

  “You don’t mean that,” Claire said. “I’ve seen the way you talk about Jake. You love him. And from everything you’ve told me about him, he loved you too.”

  “But how could he have never said anything?” More tears came, and I dropped the tissue onto the table, since trying to fix my face was hopeless. “The three of us were best friends. They should have told me. But they didn’t. All those months passed, and they were lying to me the entire time.”

  I flashed back to when I’d come upstairs from getting that Red Bull on Halloween night, when Jake and Marisa were having that heated discussion on my bed. What had they said, exactly? Marisa was upset about “never finding out what could have happened between them.” Jake told her it was better that way. Then I came in, and Marisa claimed they were talking about her ex-boyfriend from the summer.

  Was that a lie? Could they have been talking about her and Jake?

  “What if there was something going on between them the entire time?” I asked, a fresh wave of tears erupting from my eyes. “What if they were together behind my back for all those months and I never knew?”

  “I don’t know Jake very well,” Claire said, her expression serious. “But he doesn’t seem like the type of person who would cheat on you—someone he loved—with your best friend. He’s better than that.”

  “We’ll never find out,” I said. “Because I can’t just pop over to my original world and ask him.”

  Zac chose that moment to burst into the study room, his hot lunch tray in hand. “Whoa,” he said when he saw me, kicking the door shut behind him. He rushed over and reached for me, although he hesitated and pulled back. “What’s wrong?” he asked instead, sitting down. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” I shrugged and tried to hide my face with my hair. “You should eat lunch with your team today. You don’t need to see me like this.”

  “Come on, Annabelle.” Zac brushed my hair out of my face, his lips curved into a small smile. “Do you really think I’ve never seen you cry before?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I thought you and Annabelle were always happy.” It sounded snarky, but I was past the point of caring. I just hurt, and I wanted the pain to stop. “Why do I have to deal with so much crap, while this other version of me got a perfect life?” I asked. “It’s not fair.”

  Zac glanced at the door, thoughtful. When he turned back to me, there was a glint of determination in his eyes. “You know why I was so surprised when you were upset about that B+ in physics?” he asked.

  “No.” I crossed my arms, annoyed with his sudden change of subject. “But why do I feel like you’re going to tell me whether I ask you to or not?”

  “And she’s back,” Claire said with a small laugh.

  “What do you mean by that?” I glared at her.

  “Whenever the Annabelle I knew got upset over something, she got angry and lashed out,” she explained. “Like you did now. But this entire week, you’ve had so much to get upset about. And I could tell that you’ve been sad. But you never got angry. It was… unlike you, to say the least.”

  I smiled a little at how well Claire knew me. Last week, I would have said that Marisa was my best female friend and that Claire wouldn’t hesitate to turn her back on me. I never would have guessed that the opposite was true.

  “You can thank the months of therapy,” I told her. “After my mom died, therapy became part of my routine. And it did help. We talked about not getting angry when I’m hurt and upset, and I worked on it a lot, but I guess it still slips out sometimes.”

  “You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t,” Claire said.

  “No,” Zac said. “You wouldn’t be you if it didn’t. And luckily for me, I’m used to it and know not to take it personally. But I was trying to make a point with that B+.”

  “Okay.” I sipped my water and motioned for him to continue. “So, tell me. Why were you surprised when I was upset about that B+?”

  “Because on our first quiz this year, you got a C-,” he said. Hearing that took me by so much surprise that I nearly choked on my drink. “You cried to me about it in the parking lot for that entire lunch period.”

  “But I remember that first quiz,” I said. “I got an A on it. There’s no way I got a… C-.” I grimaced at the thought of it. “Did I not study?"

  “You had a hard time getting back into school mode after summer break,” he said. “Your words, not mine. But after getting that quiz back, you cried to me just like you’re crying now. You said that you disappointed yourself, and that you were going to disappoint your parents, too. You hated the thought of them not being proud of you. You didn’t want them to think you didn’t appreciate them.”

  “Well, at least that sounds like me,” I said.

  “That was when I realized how much you care about the people you love,” he told me. “It was when I realized that we could be more than just a summer fling. That you were someone I could see a future with.”

  “Wow.” My lips parted, and I rested an elbow on the table, unable to meet his eyes. It was one of the kindest things anyone had ever said to me.

  But I couldn’t say the same to him in return, and that made me feel horribly guilty.


  “That day in the parking lot, I promised I would help you get your grade up,” he continued. “And I did. We went over everything you missed on the quiz, and we studied together for the next ones. Your quiz scores went up little by little. We worked hard for you to get that B+, and I thought you would be proud of how far you’d come.”

  “Thank you.” I placed my hand on Zac’s arm to show him how much I meant it. “If Annabelle had been there that morning, she would have been proud of herself. And grateful to you for helping her so much.”

  “Don’t talk about her like that.” He pulled his arm away from me, his eyes dark.

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Like she’s gone forever. Like she’s never coming back.”

  Guilt rose in my chest. This must be how people felt around me after my mom died—like they couldn’t find the right words because they knew there was nothing they could say to make it better.

  I didn’t want to hurt Zac. But how could I not when my very presence was the reason why he was hurting to begin with?

  “I shouldn’t have said it like that,” I told him. “Especially because none of us know what will happen after Friday night.”

  “It’s just that I miss her, and even though you say you’re not her, you still are,” he said. “It’s confusing as hell. But when I came in here and saw you crying, I wanted to know what was wrong because I hate seeing you upset. And I want to figure out how to help.”

  “I’m glad you did,” I said. “You’ve been here for me this entire week. But once you find out why I’m crying, you might not feel the same way.”

  “Try me.” He sat straighter. “You won’t know unless you do.”

  “Okay.” I took a deep breath, rubbing my hands over my jeans. “It’s about Marisa. And Jake.”

  He frowned when I said Jake’s name. “What about Jake?” he asked. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”