by Nia Arthurs
I tighten my fingers on the cup.
Let the condensation sink into my skin.
“I’ll get some medicine.” Kaz scrambles off.
As I wait for her to return, I glance around her cramped apartment.
Shabby wallpaper. Mildew. Old leaky pipes.
Kaz got sucked into a parallel dimension and had to live in poverty for almost a month, but she’s got such a quiet and positive attitude about her. It’s so subtle, that strength, but it’s there.
Something about that gets to me.
Gets under my skin.
“Here.” She hands me the pain pills.
I take one and dig my hand into her counter, trying to keep steady.
“Better now?” Her voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah.” I try to ignore the way my heart is beating unsteadily. “My car’s downstairs.”
“There’s a grocery store around the block. It’s got reasonable prices.”
I study her. Is she refusing the ride because she still doesn’t trust me? Or is the store really that great?
She glances down and stares at her shoes. “I don’t… we just met tonight. I’m not trying to offend you but—”
“That’s smart.” I assure her. “You don't know if I’m a creep.”
Her lips inch up. “Your eyes are kind.” Then she glances away. “But still…”
“I could be crazy.“
“Are you?” Her voice gets a little light as she teases. “A crazy scientist?”
“If I were, you’d already be in a machine.”
Kaz leans back. “You’d try to saw me in half and harvest my organs?”
“We’d have to keep you alive to do research. Which would be very painful for you by the way.”
She scrunches her nose.
“Relax, Kaz.” I chuckle and then say gently, “The most I might ask for is a blood sample.”
“And I might consider it.” She walks out of the apartment and closes the door. “If you tell me how you found out about me.”
“We built a machine.”
“The kind of machine mad scientists would stuff you in?”
My lips inch up. “A doorway. We built a doorway.”
“Who’s we?”
While we walk to the grocery store, I tell her about Pavel, McCarthy and the portal we built to mimic the alignment and the earthquake.
“You keep mentioning Shanel. Who’s she?” Kaz asks.
I grab a cart. “Shanel was the previous owner of your apartment. This was her life before you swapped earths.”
“Wow.”
“You didn’t know her?”
“Not at all. Should I have?”
I stroke my chin. “Reality bent for you. The alignment created an alternate timeline where you were born in Earth-2 and Shanel was born in Earth-1.”
“That’s how you found me?”
I toss some canned corn in the basket. “Shanel asked me to take a bracelet to her parents, but when I looked into them I found out that they weren’t searching for their daughter at all.”
“Because they think Shanel is me.”
I nod.
She tucks her bottom lip into her mouth.
It’s a move Grace used to do before…
Stop thinking about the past, Morgan.
“I found it so weird when people kept acting like they knew who I was,” Kaz mumbles. “Have you figured out why?”
“No, but I won’t stop searching until I find the answers.”
“I believe you.” She holds my gaze for a long, hopeful moment.
A lump forms in my throat.
There’s something about this girl.
Something about those eyes.
Kaz smiles at me.
My heart bucks unexpectedly.
I tighten my grip on the cart and quickly glance away.
3
Kaz
Morgan has sad eyes. There’s something so… broken about his gaze. Like he’s made it this far with an oozing wound and battle scars.
Like he escaped a war but he didn’t come out unscathed.
It changed him. Something deep inside him.
I want to reach out and give him a hug, but I don’t. Instead, I walk by his side as he pushes the cart and fills it with groceries. Expensive groceries. This is not how a dollar is stretched.
He went quiet after I told him that I believed him.
I wonder why.
Was that too forward?
I wasn’t trying to flirt. I was only being honest.
He appeared in my life and he called me by my name.
Kaz.
And, though it’s not the first time I’ve heard people on this earth call me Kaz, the way he did it, like he knew me—really knew me—it lodged deep into my heart and yanked out something primal.
Something that had been missing for a long time.
Maybe even before I got transported here.
It felt like he’d seen me.
And I responded to that.
To him.
I felt like I could talk a little more. Be myself.
But maybe I shouldn’t have been so honest. Maybe he took it the wrong way.
Awkwardness pulses between us. I wish I knew a way to get it back to how it was before.
“Um…” I clear my throat and check out a can of salsa, “you were talking about Shanel. From the other world?” My eyes widen as I stare at the can. Wow. Salsa has so many carbs? “How did you meet her? Holographic projection?”
“No. I crossed the worlds,” Morgan says casually.
The salsa can drops out of my hand and rolls over the floor.
Morgan stoops to pick it up and puts it back on the shelf. “I told you that.”
I tip my chin up to meet his eyes. “You said you built a door with Pavel and McCarthy.”
“Yes. We managed to get the doorway working.”
“You’re kidding. You found a way to get there?”
“Get there, yes. But we can’t get back. Not right now.”
“What was it like? Inside?”
He shudders. “Dark. Confusing.”
“You went in for Shanel?”
“Not at first.” He shrugs. “But when I saw her, I wanted to help her. No matter what we had to face.”
I touch his hand. “That was brave of you to go in even though you didn’t know what would happen. Weren’t you scared you’d… disappear or end up in space?”
He shakes his head as if death doesn’t faze him. “I had enough facts to prove I’d survive.”
“Did you at least warn your family?” I reach for an apple and cup it in my palm. Goodness, I haven’t eaten fresh fruit in… forever.
Drool forms in my mouth when I think about sinking my teeth into it. Or watermelon. Oh yes. Having the juice run down my chin. Licking my lips.
Mmm. Paradise.
But then I think of my bank account.
And the fact that one apple is a pack of noodles.
And I put the fruit back.
Morgan arches an eyebrow and sweeps a bunch of apples into the cart. “I don’t have any family.”
“None?”
Sadness flickers into his expression as he shakes his head ‘no’.
There.
That battle-weary look.
I sense that there’s a story behind his sadness, but I don’t ask. Spreading my hands at the grocery cart that’s nearly full, I stare at him. “This is more than a dollar.”
“I can’t decide what I want to make tonight.”
“Without a working stove?” I tilt my head. “Your options are limited.”
“That’s incorrect.”
I huff yeah right.
He smiles and the crinkles around his eyes make him seem a lot more approachable than when I met him outside my apartment. “We’re working on the doorway now.”
“Really?” I follow him into the deli section.
He offers a packet of turkey slices to me. “Smell this?”
I inhale
. Meaty. Spicy.
His eyes focus on me.
I duck my head. “It’s good.”
“You like turkey?”
“Is that for tonight?”
“An option.” He throws some more meat into the basket. “I can’t guarantee we’ll be successful opening the portal again but—”
I stop him. “Are you saying I can go home?”
“No promises.”
Hope fills my chest. “But it’s something.”
“It’s a long shot.” He faces me. “We barely got the machine to hold up with one person going in. We thought we’d bring Shanel out, but even that was a risk and, after running the numbers again, it wouldn’t have worked.”
“And now you know that. And you’re one step closer to something that can.” Emotions push at my eyes.
Mom.
Dad.
Miles.
I can see them again? I can really…
It feels too good to be true. I’d begun to believe I was stuck here.
Morgan inhales deeply and wags a finger at me. “You’re not hearing me.”
“I heard you.”
“It might not work.”
“What are the odds?”
“Eighty five percent?”
“Me going home?”
“Us failing.”
I tilt my head. Calculate. “That’s still a fifteen percent chance.”
He stops. “Are you always this optimistic?”
“Are you always so pessimistic?”
He lifts his chin. “I live based on facts.”
“Fact is, you found me tonight. A genius scientist with a doorway capable of taking me home. What are the odds of that?”
He smirks. “Genius?”
“You built a bridge between parallel dimensions.”
He shakes his head. “Not on my own.”
“Still.”
“Us meeting is a coincidence.”
“You really believe that?”
“You think it’s destiny?”
“I think impossible things have happened to me and that means they can happen for anyone because I’m not that special.”
He gives me a strange look.
I shrug. “Lightning does strike twice.”
“That’s a myth.”
“Myths are based on some sort of truth.”
He laughs. “I’ll take that.”
I smile and follow him to the cash register. The total is way, way more than I could ever afford.
Morgan pays and pushes the cart to the street. The plastic bags rustle as he hikes all the grocery bags on his arm. He only allows me to carry one.
“I’m not going to break if I help you,” I tell him, noticing the way he’s gritting his teeth.
Morgan is tall and lean. Handsome in a scholarly way, though his muscles are only half the size of Miles’s. I can tell that he’s not used to this amount of physical strain.
“Are you doubting me?” he asks, his voice breathless.
“I’d rather carry half the groceries than try to carry you once you collapse.”
He chuckles. “You’re funny, you know that?”
“Me?”
He nods.
I point a finger at my chest. “No one’s called me funny before.”
“Well you are.” We pass under a streetlamp and his eyes sparkle. “Don’t hold yourself back on my account. I like it.”
I like it.
He likes when I’m sarcastic. He thinks it’s witty.
Wow.
Miles hated when I talked back or asked questions. He called me a smart mouth. Said I should never, ever do anything to make him look stupid in front of his parents or his friends. He yelled a lot.
So I learned to shut up and keep my thoughts to myself. Miles said I was prettier when I was quiet anyway.
Now Morgan is saying something different.
Can I really be myself around him?
I glance at the night sky. Stars twinkle overhead. A car drives past. A dog barks. The world is turning and, somewhere out there, my world is turning too.
I’ve never felt like I belonged here. Like being brought here was a good thing. I just accepted it. Just tried to make due with what I’d been given. But now, it feels like I have hope. A purpose. A friend who knows the real me.
Morgan glances over at me. Smiles.
I smile back.
We get to my apartment and he makes me a sandwich. While I eat, he puts up all the groceries. While I try to convince him to take the food with him, he fixes my leaking pipe under the sink and hands me an apple.
“I saw you eyeing it in the store,” he says.
I frown. “This is too expensive.”
“Eat it.”
“But—”
“You should have all the good things, Kaz.” He takes my hand and drops the apple in it. “I like when you argue, but I won’t back down about this.”
I slowly bring the apple to my mouth. Bite in.
“Mm.” I moan.
Just as I expected.
Sweet and delicious.
After that, Morgan leaves quietly, but his warmth and his kindness stay on my mind.
4
Conroy
“Is it ready?” I ask, reaching for my towels and wiping off the blood that has dried on my arms. My latest victim lies dead at my feet.
My butler stammers, “No, sir… it’s…”
“What?”
“She’s gone.”
“What do you mean Kaz is gone?” A muscle ticks in my jaw. “Did she run out of the movie?”
Roderick gives me a frightened look.
Alarm rises within me. “Can the problem be solved by the time I’ve finished my shower?”
The silence is mightier than any response.
My pulse quickens with unease. I storm past him and enter the cavernous living room.
“Turn it on,” I bark at Roderick.
He does.
“Fast-forward. I want to see her.”
“She’s… not there, sir.”
I turn on him, a warning in my tone. “Put. Her. On.”
“She’s gone.” He swallows nervously, pressing the play button and letting the film roll out. “She is no longer in the movie.”
I whirl around.
Face the TV.
He’s right.
There’s a new character now.
A new lead.
I fist my hands. “What happened?”
“After the earthquake—”
“The alignment did this?”
“The men are working to…”
I grab a couch and overturn it with a mighty roar. Chaos explodes in my head, beating to the tune of my crazed heart.
I charge toward Roderick. He remains in place and doesn’t blink.
I stop just short of slamming him down. “Fix it.”
“I’ve tried.”
“And?”
His eyes move to mine. “She’s gone.”
I grab him by the collar. “Her earth?”
“We can’t see her.”
“Find her.” I snarl at him. “Find her or I will burn every world down until she’s in my arms. Do you hear me?”
He nods.
Bows his head.
Shuffles away.
I fall to my knees and slap my hands on the tiles.
Blood smears against the white surface.
My heart pains me.
Throbs incessantly.
Her beautiful face wafts through my mind and I know that I will move the heavens and the earth to have her. To have Kaz.
5
Kaz
The Friday rush is particularly stressful with my brain stuck on Morgan’s visit last night and his promise to try and get me back home. I make rookie mistakes—switching orders and spilling drinks.
It’s a little embarrassing.
After apologizing to the customer, I hurry to the back and fix the order. “Frankie, make that another double. No cheese. No pickles.”
The back of my hand rises and darts at the sweat on my brow.
These pink uniforms are made of a stark, scratchy material—a kind I’ve never worn nor touched all my life and they trap heat like they’ve got an invisible connection to the sun.
Not that I’m complaining. Sure, I miss my Gucci shoes and my Prada purses and my fabulous, non-heat-trapping wardrobe, but I’ve managed to become good at something by working hard. And, when I’ve done a job well, I get an extra tip and a thank-you.
Five bucks might seem like nothing, but in this world, every penny I can earn keeps a roof over my head and food on the table. And when someone actually acknowledges the hard work I’ve put in?
Bliss.
But waitressing isn’t a fairytale. Not everyone tips.
Not everyone says thank you either.
It doesn’t bother me when I’m mistreated. I’m used to that. In fact, I almost prefer it when customers are rude. Feels familiar.
“Girl, you okay?” Ashley, my co-worker, pulls me aside while I wait for the burger. “You’re working as horribly as you did three weeks ago.”
With a smile, I nudge her side. “So I made a couple mistakes. I wouldn’t call it horrible.”
“A couple?” She gives me a yeah right look.
“At least I’m staying upright this time.” I nod to the hot pink and white roller skates strapped to my foot.
Ashley laughs. “Good point.”
In my defense, I’ve never waited a table. I dined at the finest restaurants whenever I went out. I also received a hefty allowance every two weeks and I managed it wisely so I never had to earn my own money.
Getting thrown into the grueling world of poverty toughened me up.
Ashley wraps her arms around my neck, smelling like cheap perfume and the house special—garlic meatloaf. “Before you got fired, you were better at this than me. When you came back, you were bad enough to make me cry.”
“Wow thanks.”
“Remember how you broke that guy’s nose?”
“Yes, I remember, Ashley.”
She giggles. “Boss wanted to kill you that day.”
“You saved my life.”
“It wasn’t much.”
No, it was everything. Despite having her own customers to deal with, Ashley quietly took me aside that day and helped me out with little tips and suggestions. I wasn’t the best waitress in the world on Day One, but at least I didn’t spill any more food or break any more noses.