“Crap.” I stepped away from Alec’s light grip and turned to the woman who gave birth to me. I hadn’t seen my mom in nearly six months–not counting the numerous times I had seen her on the weather channel. She and Dad had had a messy divorce when he had caught her cheating on him with one of her producers five years ago. Even after all this time, I was still mad at her.
“How are you?” she asked when she was nearer. Her forecast smile was on her face, making her look fake.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice low in a near-growl. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned all my weight onto one foot. I really didn’t want to talk to her.
“Hi, Ms. Kable,” Alec greeted, using her maiden name.
“Please, Alec, call me Lisa,” Mom said, flashing her forecast smile at Alec.
“Sure… Lisa.” An uncomfortable look flashed in his green eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I repeated, tearing her attention off of Alec.
“Jaqueline,” Mom said, sounding disappointed. Her smile drooped like a wilted flower. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“Not now, no.”
I felt a little guilty when I saw pain flash in her matching blue eyes. But then I reminded myself of the pain that she had caused me and Dad over the past five years, and instantly booted that guilty feeling away.
She blinked, and just like a disappearing act, that pain was gone. “Well, I came here to take you out to lunch and tell you some special news.”
“And what could that possibly be?” Instantly I thought of her moving to someplace where it was warm all-year-round. She had always wanted to live in California where it was always warm and was closer to all the celebrity-action.
“Well, I came to tell you that I’m pregnant!” she exclaimed, beaming.
“What?” I uncrossed my arms and looked down at her belly. Mom had always been a little chunkier then most women, so I hadn’t noticed the swell of her belly until now. “How?”
“Well, you remember Harold, don’t you?”
Oh, I remembered Harold, all right. He was the producer guy that Mom had cheated on Dad with. Just the thought of him made me ball my hands into tight fists at my sides.
“Yes,” I growled.
“Well, he’s the daddy,” Mom said proudly, either not hearing or ignoring the venom in my voice. She rubbed her swollen belly gingerly. “We’re going to get a sonogram later this month to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl.”
Even though I should be at least a little excited at the fact that I wouldn’t be the only child anymore, I wasn’t.
“Uh, congratulations… Lisa,” Alec said from beside me.
I turned to him and glared with a look that said, Don’t congratulate her! Alec looked over at me and shrugged, like he didn’t know what else to do.
“But that’s not the only good news I have.” Mom smiled, her eyes sparkling like blue topaz. She shoved her left hand out toward me and wiggled her fingers excitedly. “I’m getting married!”
“What?!” I frowned at her.
“Yeah, Harold proposed.” She held up her hand to her face, observing the small diamond attached to a golden band, and sighed dreamily. “We plan on getting married next June, and Harold and I were wondering if you’d want to stand up in it?” She shifted her eyes toward me.
My lungs collapsed inside my chest and suddenly I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I stumbled back, trying to take in a breath. She wanted me to be in her wedding? Uh… hell no.
I shook my head and took a hesitant step back. “Get out of here.”
“What?” Shock and hurt filled her face.
“I said get out of here,” I repeated, my voice rising. “Go! I don’t want to see you here ever again!”
Pain flooded my mom’s face. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then changed her mind and shut it.
I could feel my throat swell with oncoming tears. Not wanting Mom to see me cry, I spun around and started back toward the school. I would go home, but it would take me a while to walk the ten blocks there.
“J.J., wait!” Alec called after me.
I didn’t wait.
Chapter 10
“Rough day?”
As soon as Reve asked that, I broke out in tears. When I had fallen asleep that night, he and I had entered the fairgrounds, only for me to imagine the place where we were the other night with all the stars and clouds. The place where I had kissed him.
I nodded as more tears poured out from my eyes. I could feel my chest constrict and sobs rack my shoulders. “She’s getting married, Reve. And she’s having a baby.” My voice cracked on the last word. I dug the heels of my hands deep into my eyes. “Rough is an understatement.”
“Is there anything I could do to make you feel better?” Reve asked, getting up from his cloud across from me to sit beside me. He looked at me, his pretty purple eyes looking down at me with concern.
I turned to look at him, sucking in a breath to try to calm my tears. “Confirm that this is a dream.”
“It is.” His blond brows furrowed in confusion. “Why?”
Without thinking, I leaned forward and pressed my mouth against his. I could feel him tense up under my sudden action, but then I could feel him melt against me. One of his hands came up to cup the back of my neck, pulling my face closer to his. I raised my hands to grasp his shirt (after the kiss yesterday, I had changed him back to his purple V-neck and dark jeans before I had left), pulling him closer to me. I let my hands slip through his silky, white-blond hair as he forced me back on my cloud so that he was on top of me. My mind became fuzzy as our kiss grew and deepened. I could feel his hands start to roam across my body. And as if they were magic, they made my worries disappear.
* * *
I nibbled on my bottom lip as I gave a small wave to Reve, who was standing near the Tilt-A-Whirl, before I turned around and headed back to the fun house where I knew my portal awaited. I could already feel the tingling sensation, meaning that my body in the real world was starting to wake up. I picked up my pace, dodging a girl with strawberry curls munching on a caramel apple covered in nuts, before I bounded up the metal steps of the fun house, and disappeared into the spinning thing. I could see the shimmering light of the portal, and had almost reached it when someone grabbed my forearm from behind.
I shrieked, bringing up a fist, ready to attack as I whipped around, but held back when I saw that it was only Dharma, the albino hippie girl who had come to me the other day with fear in her eyes. I let out stream of air, relieved. “What the hell, Dharma?”
“I’m sorry I startled you,” she apologized, her faded blue eyes locking with mine. She pushed a strand of her white hair behind her ear with her free hand. “But I have to talk to you. It’s urgent.”
“Look, can it wait till next time?” I asked, feeling the tingling intensify. It was as if I were made out of pure energy. “I really have to go.”
“But what I have to say is a matter of life or death,” Dharma said, her voice sounding urgent.
“Um…” I could barely get the words out, the tingling was becoming so bad. It felt like my brain was becoming numb. Prying my arm from her surprisingly tight grip, I took a step back, closer to the portal. “I promise, next time, okay? We’ll have this ‘urgent’ conversation later.” I saw Dharma open her mouth, as if to tell me to wait, but before she could, I slipped through the portal.
Chapter 11
The first thing that I thought of when I woke up the next morning was the panic in Dharma’s eyes when she tried to talk to me during the night, just before I ditched her in the fun house. She had looked so frightened.
“But what I have to say is a matter of life or death,” I remembered her saying just before I shook her off.
Life or death? Whose life?
Just forget about it, J.J. She’s only a figment of your dream.
But even as I told myself that, something continued to nag me, though I couldn’t quite pinpoint what.
>
“Jaqueline, are you getting up?” Dad called from somewhere in the house.
“Yeah!” I kicked my blankets off me and stood up to stretch.
It only took me a grand total of sixty minutes to take a shower, get dressed in a pair of faded jeans, flip-flops, and my favorite cornflower blue T-shirt, and eat breakfast before Alec arrived in the Mom Van to pick me up. Even if things between us were a little rocky, he still offered to give me rides to school and back, and I still accepted his offers.
“Bye, Dad!” I called as I swung my backpack over my right shoulder before I headed for the door.
“See ya, Jaqueline!” Dad called back.
I slipped out of the house and hurried over to the Mom Van that sat rumbling in my driveway. I climbed into the passenger side, placing my backpack by my feet.
“So, how are you doing?” Alec asked as we pulled out of my driveway. The air conditioner was on and so was the radio. I reached forward and turned both of them down.
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. I shrugged and leaned back in my seat. “I mean, my mom hardly talks to me, and then voila! she’s in front of me, saying that she’s about to get married and have a baby with the guy who tore our family apart. I mean, that’s really hard to hear.”
“Well, you don’t have to stand up in her wedding at all if you don’t want to,” Alec stated, his voice soft and caring. He threw a concerned look in my direction.
I turned in my seat to look at him. “Yeah, but you know how that would make me look? People would consider me some brute of a daughter who can’t even be happy for her mom for one day.”
“No one would think you were a brute,” Alec said.
“Oh, yeah?” I challenged.
“Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t.” He threw another look at me and offered a shadow of a smile.
Something in my chest felt like it was turning into mush. I gave him a small smile back. “Thanks.”
“And J.J…? About last Saturday…” He swallowed hard, making his Adam’s apple bob uneasily. “I’m sorry. I should have told you how I felt before I acted. I can see how that would freak you out.”
An uneasy laugh broke out of me. “You really did spook me.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Color started to fill his cheeks that was covered in a dusting of gold facial hair.
“So…” I ventured as we neared school. “Do you still… feel that way yet?”
Alec looked straight ahead when he said, “What do you want me to say?”
I stared at him. “You know what I want you to say.”
“Fine, then, no.” He guided the car into the school parking lot and scoped for an empty space.
I mentally cringed. Alec was lying; I could tell. I didn’t speak until he had parked the car. “Alec?”
“Hmm?” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. Instead, he watched as a group of junior guys piled out of a rusty, old pickup truck and herded toward the school.
“Just because I don’t like you like that right now, doesn’t mean that I might not feel that way toward you in the future,” I told him, urging him to look at me.
“J.J., I don’t want to talk about this.” He reached for the door handle.
“Alec,” I said sternly. I saw his hand freeze around the handle, but he still wouldn’t look at me. “Right now, with all this crap going on with my mom and with Lindsay, I don’t need a boyfriend; I need a friend. And you’re my best friend.” I held out my hand for him to take.
Alec slowly turned his head to look at me. He glanced down at my hand, then back at me. I nearly melted with relief when he placed his hand in mine. He smiled lightly and I couldn’t help but return his with my own.
After a moment of silence, we crawled out of the vehicle and headed toward school. But this time, I was with my best friend, who I knew, even if we didn’t end up the way he’d wish we would, would still support me through thick and thin.
* * *
Dad was at work when I got home from school, meaning that I had the whole house to myself. Instead of doing homework like I knew I should’ve done, I flipped on the TV. The first thing that appeared was Mom. She was talking about how some girl, who had been in a coma for the past six months from a car accident, had finally woken up; some sixteen-year-old girl named Kayla Berg. Not caring that my mom was talking, and every time she moved her hands, the facets of her ring sparkled, catching my attention, I flipped the TV off and groaned.
I stretched myself out on the couch and stared up at the off-white ceiling. I’d been thinking about Mom’s wedding nearly all day. Do I go and support her happiness or do I not go and be the brute daughter?
Maybe I could ask Reve what I should do later tonight. If anyone could help me, he could.
Chapter 12
“Jacqueline!”
Even though I heard my name, I ignored whoever it was. I was too mad at myself for fretting so much about my issue with Mom, that I had tossed and turned all night, which meant that I hadn’t fallen into a deep enough sleep. So I didn’t get to go to the Land of Dreams to talk to Reve. So now I was still answerless on what I should do about Mom’s wedding.
“Hey.” Alec elbowed me gently in the side before school on Wednesday morning. “That girl is calling you.”
“Who?” I couldn’t help the slight irritation that crept into my voice. I looked over at Alec, who pointed over my shoulder. Turning, I saw a girl with mousy-brown hair yanked up into a high ponytail, wearing a light ashen gray sweatshirt and jeans rush over to me. I didn’t know the girl, and yet, she somehow looked familiar. Like a girl I had passed on the street, but didn’t properly meet.
“Uh… Yeah?” I furrowed my brows in confusion. She stopped a few feet in front of me, and I could see a bunch of little freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose. “Uh, who are you?”
“Hey, J.J., I’m going to head inside, okay?” Alec said, his voice soft.
“Okay,” I said, wishing I could go with him. Me and mystery girl watched Alec walk away until he disappeared into the light-colored brick building.
“Okay,” I started, turning toward the girl, “who are you and how do you know me?”
The girl looked at me, her clear hazel eyes locking on mine. “It’s me, Dharma.”
“Dharma?” I took a step back and observed the girl in front of me. This girl was not Dharma. This girl was the total opposite of Dharma. Dharma was an albino and this girl was clearly not. I shook my head. “No. You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying,” the girl who claimed to be Dharma, pressed. She motioned to her body. “This girl is named Kayla Berg. She was in a comma for the past six months, and during those six months, she’s mentally been in the Land of Dreams–even though I’ve told her many times to leave.” She frowned. Shaking her head, she continued, “But I met her there and asked if I could borrow her body. She obliged just as long as I give her her body back when I’m done, which I will. I just need it long enough to warn you.”
“Warn me of what?” My frown deepened as confusion wrapped around me.
“About the Land of Dreams.” Panic crossed her face, making her hazel eyes wide.
“Dharma, please, there’s nothing to worry about.” I tried to turn away and head toward the school, but she grabbed my arm in a vise-like grip. I turned back to her, flinching. “Ow!”
“Please, Jaqueline,” Dharma begged, not releasing my arm. “You have to listen to me.”
“If I listen to you, will you let go of my arm?” Because it was really starting to hurt. I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a bruise there tomorrow.
“Yes. I’m sorry.” She released my arm. Looking down, I saw an angry red handprint where she had held me. She sucked in a deep breath and brushed a few wispy strands of hair that didn’t catch in her ponytail, away. “Is there somewhere we can go to talk privately?” She looked around as if in search for a bench.
“Well, I have to get to school right now, but I guess I can meet you somewhere for lunch? We can talk then,�
�� I offered.
Dharma/Kayla gave a curt nod. “Fine. At lunch we’ll meet here. Okay?”
“Fine,” I confirmed, even though I was already starting to think of ways to ditch her.
With another curt nod, she spun on her heels and walked away, even though she was kind of possessing a body of a sixteen-year-old who should be in school. I was about to call her back to say that exact thing, but just as I opened my mouth, I could hear the first bell ring from within the school, signaling that I only had five minutes before class started, and I still had to dump my backpack off at my locker and grab my folder and book for history.
Swallowing back my words, I turned around and hurried into the school before I earned myself a tardy.
* * *
“So what did you want to talk about?” After meeting up with Dharma where we had met earlier today, we had Alec drive us the closest café, where we all ordered waters and large basket of fries to share. Right now, Alec was in the bathroom, giving Dharma and me the privacy to talk.
“It’s about the Land of Dreams,” Dharma said, panic etching itself on her face again. “Jaqueline, you have to stop going there. It’s not safe.”
“And how is it not safe?” I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest. Every time I went there, it was some of the best times of my life. I could spend forever riding on rides and hanging out with Reve. There, anything could happen. Anything could be said. And none of it would effect this life.
“Because,” Dharma said, “the place is addicting.”
“Uh… so?” And how did that make it dangerous?
“Well, you’ll get so addicted that you’ll eventually want to stay. And there’s only one way to stay there forever.” Her eyes never wavered from mine. Her face was stone-cold emotionless.
The Land of Dreams Page 6
