by CS Patra
Stop obsessing over her! You don’t have a whole lot in common. She’s not going to like you, ‘cause you’re a giant nerd! He rationalized, becoming lost in his thoughts. You haven’t spent very long talking to her, nor found out what she likes. Take it slow, Donnie. You’re still her boss, and this is still a working relationship. Nothing more.
He did his best to convince himself of that, but he didn’t completely believe it. That was the reason he had wanted to have dinner with Olivia tonight—he wanted to take that time to learn about her. He wanted to hear her interests and desires. He knew she wanted to go to grad school one day, but she was still confused what to do afterwards. He knew that she loved nail polish, and thought those blue nails looked nice on her. She liked to dress up, stayed up to date with everything, and had worked hard at every job they threw at her. He just didn’t know anything about her friends, or her family, or what else she did in her spare time. Tonight would have been a golden opportunity.
He tried to get back into his work, but was failing hard. Twice, he went upstairs to grab a snack or check the thermostat. At approximately four-fifteen, someone rang the doorbell, so he ran over to get it. Peering through the peephole, he could see Olivia’s dark hair pulled up in a ponytail. She was on time, which was another thing he liked about her. No matter what the situation, Olivia was punctual. Carefully, he unlocked the door and let her in.
“Hey, there!” he greeted her as she stepped inside. Just as she was going to take off her shoes, he stopped her. “It’s okay to keep your shoes on. I’m sorry about my house being such a mess right now. I was working in my shop when you called. That would also explain why I smell like sweat and dirt.” He was cursing himself on the inside for not taking a shower, or even thinking to change his shirt before she came in. Now she had to stare at his pit stains and the dirt smeared across his face. He had never felt so embarrassed before now. “Do you mind waiting here for a second? I’ll just run up and get changed.”
“Oh, take your time. I’ll try to remember everything that I saw in my dream.” She took a seat on his couch while he ran upstairs. This was the perfect time for her to figure out what kind of person he was.
The first thing she noticed was that Donnie didn’t have too many pictures around, but he had some wall decorations and paintings. They were the generic type of paintings, depicting things like fruit bowls and fields of poppies, but they fit well in his house. All of his couches and chairs matched. The walls were a lighter shade of blue than his chairs, and she could see that his dining room was small. Everything matched and was neatly put together. She just wondered where most of the photos were. There was just one that she could see on the small table close to her. There were two people in it who she had never seen before. The man was dashing, with dark hair, olive skin, and stood with confidence. His arm was around a woman who was a few feet shorter with red hair, green eyes, and some freckles. She was holding a baby that couldn’t have been more than a few months old. She figured that these had to be Donnie’s parents, and she could easily see where he got a lot of his features.
She realized that he had no photos of any siblings or friends in the house. It seemed impossible. Everyone had a friend out there. A person as smart as him couldn’t be so alone in this world. He had to have someone that he could talk to. Then again, she had never heard him talk about going anywhere with someone else. He never mentioned heading to the bar after work with his friends, or doing something with them during the weekend. He always went home alone, and that made her sad. He had no one waiting for him, no one who had dinner ready for him, and no one spend the night with. A part of her wanted to call out to him and ask him if he wanted to get a drink. Then she remembered their lunch date, and held back. The last thing she wanted another misunderstanding. She didn’t want to come on too strong if he wasn’t interested.
“Sorry I took so long!”
Olivia heard Donnie coming down the stairs. He had finally changed out of the dirty clothes he had on, and was now wearing those tight jeans again, paired with a clean t-shirt that said, E = MC2 on it. She tried her best not to start drooling at this sight. Inside her head, she kept telling herself that this was her boss, and he just changed to be more comfortable. “I thought about taking a shower but I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
“It’s okay. I just was admiring your house.” Her eyes fell back on the photo, and he followed her gaze. “You have a lovely home.”
“Thanks. It’s not much, but it will do.” He followed her gaze around the house and saw that she had stopped in front of that particular photo. “Those were my parents, back in the day. That picture was taking shortly after I was born.”
“They are beautiful.”
His face fell at that. He hated to tell people about what happened, but he couldn’t hide it. He didn’t want to keep any secrets from her. “They died when I was two. They went boating one day, and a storm suddenly started up. Their boat crashed into several rocks, and they didn’t know how to swim.” He sighed. “I don’t remember a whole lot about them. I’ve got a few memories, but nothing solid. I just know whatever the rest of the family told me.”
“That must have been so difficult for you. How did you deal with all of that?”
“Uncle Raymond. He was always the one who stood by my side. He was the one who encouraged me to pursue my dreams, and even saved up money so I could go to MIT,” he explained. “It was hard, but he didn’t want me to waste time. He said that if I had a dream, there was no point in holding back. If he had the chance to make my dream happen, then he would do everything he could to see it through.”
“He sounds like a great person.” She kept looking at the picture of his parents. “Do you think about them?”
“My parents? I think about them once in a while. Sometimes, I do talk to them and tell them what I’m up to. They’re probably the only ones besides you who have heard a lot about my parallel universe talk,” he chuckled. “Enough about that. You mentioned that you had another experience in the dream world?”
“Oh, this one gave me a lot of details. I actually ended up back in the frost world again. Not only that, I finally talked to someone!” she exclaimed. “It was some old guy named Jei, and he told me that the world was run by the Frost Queen.”
“Whoa! That is something!” Donnie sat down next to her. “Give me everything!”
She told Donnie about everything Jei had said to her, and what she had seen. “I never did figure out what he wanted to say in the end. That storm began out of nowhere, and he disappeared. I don’t even know if he’s alive or not.”
“He might be. If you didn’t see a body, he’s probably alive,” Donnie said. “Now we know what we’re looking for. I just wonder why Madeline wants us to get those gems if they are so important. We can’t take something that makes a world run.”
“What do we do?” she asked. “I guess I can go into the world, but I don’t know how I can take you there. Do you want me to go on my own?”
“I think it would be better if we went together. It would prove a lot of theories I’ve come up with. At the same time, if you are the only one who can go there, then I might have to send you on your own,” he thought out loud. “Then there’s also Madeline and her friends to consider. What do you think they can do?”
“They claim that they’ve traveled from world to world. Maybe if we asked them to take both of us to that world, they would be able to do it,” she suggested. “Of course, we have no idea if we can trust them.”
“It’s Madeline Howard, Olivia. I have trusted this woman my entire life! I don’t think she’s going to turn on me anytime soon!”
“Yeah, but you had no idea that she was able to jump from world to world, either. Maybe she is nice, but she’s kept her secrets.” Olivia leaned back and felt a migraine coming on. “Donnie, what if we’re in over our heads? Even worse, what if I’m unable to get back into that world?”
“You did it twice, so I think you can do it a third time
,” he reasoned. “Come on, Olivia. I can talk to Madeline and see if she can take us there. She might have been in that frost world before.”
Olivia nodded. “If I could give her an idea of that winter scene, then we could end up right where I found Jei. Hopefully he was able to get out of that storm.”
“So I’m guessing you want to take that offer?” he asked. “You want to go into this world and solve the mystery?”
“I guess I do,” she realized. “I feel like if I don’t help, I’m never going to forgive myself. I just wonder why anyone would turn to me for it. You’re much more confident, and you actually believe in parallel universes. I didn’t think much about them until you brought them up. Now, that’s all I’m thinking about.”
“Oh—sorry.” Donnie blushed. “I never meant to—”
“No, it’s okay!” she insisted. “You’ve got me thinking in a way that no one else ever has. I think I would have a boring summer if it weren’t for you and this job.”
“Well, um, thank you. I think.” He was turning another shade of red. “Are you sure you don’t want to—you know—hang around later? We don’t have to go out. We can just stay here and talk, if you want.”
She felt a little pity towards him. He was trying his hardest to impress her, and he really wanted her to stay. Bless you, Donnie. You’re almost adorable with how awkward you are. “I’m sorry. I told my parents I wouldn’t be out too long.”
“Do you have a curfew or something?”
“Would it be ridiculous if I did?”
“No, I just wanted to know if they always expect you home at a certain time. I wouldn’t want to keep you away for too long, or get you in trouble.”
She shook her head and felt guilty. In reality, they had given her a curfew of midnight. She always felt that it was a little much. She was an adult, yet they remained overprotective of her. They were doing their best to keep her safe, and she was grateful for their concern. Still, there were times when she wished that she could run away from them and just live life the way she wanted to. She wanted to have her own apartment and rules. She wanted to own some cats, drive a yellow convertible, and wear baggy clothes every day of the week. She wanted all of that without anyone complaining about money, cleanliness, or poor fashion taste. It felt so close, yet still so far away. She finally had a good job, but it would never be enough to pay for everything, plus get her through grad school. She had to stay with her folks until she was secure enough to live on her own.
“I’m sorry, Donnie. I wish I could stay.” She got up. “My mother insists that I go home on time today. Maybe we can go out another night?”
“It’s not a problem.” He walked her to the front door. “I guess I will see you at work tomorrow. I promise I’m not going to pull something like this again.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I did get more done today than I would have if I had gone to work. It’s true I mostly slept, painted my nails, and went to see people, but I feel productive. I think we got something with all of those dreams I’ve been having.”
“Yeah, I’ll try to come up with a pattern and bring it over tomorrow at work,” Donnie said. “You take care, Olivia. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“You too.” She said, stepping out of the door and running to her car. To her relief, no one had left any frost or messages on it. She could make it home in time for casserole, and not worry about what was going on in a parallel universe.
Donnie was standing in the door’s frame, waving at her. He waited until she had finally driven off and was no longer in his sight. After another five seconds, he closed the door and leaned against it. Tonight would have been a perfect night for a date. He had been looking up nice restaurants lately, and found one close to his house. No one knew he could afford to eat there. Of course, Olivia did not accept his offer. He was going in too deep, and she had no interest in him in that way. He’d read all the signs wrong. This girl just wanted a working relationship, and only came because she needed his help. Go figure.
“You’re real smooth, Donovan. Real smooth.” He told himself, looking down at the menu he had printed out from the restaurant. Even if she hadn’t wanted to go somewhere, they could always order take-out. “Maybe we can hang out another time. I’d better keep this in case she feels like eating with me eventually.”
He put the menu away and spent the remainder of the night downstairs, trying to fix his inventions. Olivia, on the other hand, had other plans. She had left Donnie’s place early for a good reason. Tonight was the night that Ms. Howard went out to play Bingo with a few of her friends. She wanted to catch her neighbor before she left for the night. The thoughts in her head were still swirling around, but she had come to her decision. She arrived at Ms. Howard’s just as her neighbor was locking up the door.
“Ms. Howard, can I talk to you for a second?” she began.
“Olivia?” Ms. Howard squinted in the darkness. “Dear, it’s a little late to talk. I’m going to my Bingo game, and I’m already pressed for time.”
“It’ll be really quick. I just want to know—can take me to a frost-covered world?” she asked. “I know you told me to wait for three days to make a decision, but I can’t. I have decided that I’m going to that other world.”
“What?”
“I want to travel to another universe and figure out this mystery,” she explained. “I know it’s sudden, but I have to do it. I can’t go through another night with these dreams. I have to take care of this once and for all.”
Ms. Howard nodded. “You came to that decision quickly. What did Donovan say?”
“I didn’t ask him,” Olivia replied. “You don’t need to wait on his decision, though. Even if he says no, I’m still going.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes. I thought I would have doubts, but I want to do this. I want to explore that world and see just why they’re sending me messages. Please don’t tell Donnie about my decision. I need to tell him first.”
Ms. Howard bowed her head. “I will respect your wishes, Olivia. I do caution you that you shouldn’t keep this a secret forever. You know how much this means to him.”
“Oh, I know.” She sighed. “I need to ease him into it.”
“All right. Once you’ve told him, let me know. We can start making the plans.” Ms. Howard said, heading towards her car. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Bingo date. Alice is not going to beat me tonight! I’m going to end her three winning nights in a row!”
“I’m sure you will,” Olivia nodded. “Thanks for your help, Ms. Howard. I promise I will tell Donnie when I’m ready.”
“Good, good. If you have another dream, make sure you get that down!”
She was about to agree, when some words flashed before her eyes. For a second, she felt weak and almost collapsed onto the ground. Then slowly the words began to make sense. She tried to grab something, but was only able to get the air. She heard voices around her, but the only thing she could see were the words. As she gasped for air and tried to stay conscious, the message became clear.
The Brotherhood of Iced Blood demands you surrender yourself! The revolution is near!
“Revolution,” she mumbled, and then passed out.
Chapter Fifteen
Olivia woke up two hours later in her house, but her mind was still on the message. Ms. Howard, Gemma, and Alice were all standing around her, though her parents were not home. A part of her wanted to ask how they got in, but her head was spinning. She was going to assume that her mother gave Ms. Howard an extra key, and that was how they were inside. Taking deep breaths, she fluttered her eyelids and looked up at the group.
“Take it easy, Olivia.” Ms. Howard said, trying to help her up and giving her some water. “You passed out on my front porch, and I had to bring you back here. I’ve left a message for your parents and told them that you’d be okay. They might be back soon, but I just wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”
“What happened?
” she asked groggily.
“You tell me. As you were getting ready to leave my yard, you just fell down. I had to call Alice and Gemma to lend me some help.” She nodded to the other two. “Are you all right now?”
“Physically, I guess I am.” Olivia looked down at her hands. “I was seeing stuff again, and I think it overwhelmed me. I got another message before I passed out.”
“Another message?” Gemma asked. “What was it?”
She quickly told Ms. Howard and her friends about what she saw before she passed out. She made sure to mention The Brotherhood of Iced Blood, in hopes that they knew about it. Their faces changed expressions visibly as she went on. Alice and Gemma looked uncomfortable, while Ms. Howard insisted that Olivia get some more rest. They all claimed that they had no idea what The Brotherhood of Iced Blood was, but she could tell that they were lying. They knew something.
“Am I going crazy?” she finished off. “This isn’t going to affect me for the rest of my life, is it?”
“No, that must have just been a dizzy spell. You shouldn’t think too much about it, Olivia.” Ms. Howard said. “They’re not coming after you. All you need is some rest.”
“Yeah, but what about—”
“Forget about them,” Alice said. “Go about the rest of your day like normal. You’ll forget about this soon enough. As for us, we’re late for Bingo!”
The three of them made sure that she was okay one last time before heading out for their game. At least five minutes later, her parents showed up and asked her how she was. Olivia stayed calm and told them that things were fine. She had to lie and tell them that it was a dizzy spell from not eating earlier that day. It earned her some scolding from her mother, but she was happy to deal with that. Anything was better than having to face that message again.
~ ~ ~
Olivia wanted to believe that Alice was right, but there was no way she could forget about it. The message was a little more obvious than the previous one. This supposed brotherhood wanted her to surrender herself. There was some kind of revolution on the rise. The only thing she couldn’t understand was where she fit in with all of this. She was unable to get back into the Frostland that night, but she’d had trouble sleeping in the first place. She felt bad about dealing with all of this without telling Donnie. He was the one who introduced her to the parallel universes in the first place. At the same time, she was the one who got the message. No one had asked her to bring along a companion. The funny thing about all of this was that her mind was now focused on Donnie. There was a part of her that wished she had taken him up on his offers. She could have told her mother that she was eating out with a friend. Yet somehow, she ended up being a chicken again and turned him down. She was an idiot. It was the perfect moment to give him some company and learn more about him, and she gave it up.
