Read Parallel: The Secret Life of Jordan McKay Online
Authors: Abra Ebner
Her head snapped around and she halted as though she had seen death, taken by surprise.
“What do you want?” she hissed, her voice even and annoyed, as though I’d ruined something she was in the middle of. She shook her head with disgust as she turned and tried to walk away.
“Well, that’s what I was here to ask you.” I put my hand on her shoulder and twisted her around, her hood shielding her face, as always.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m on my way to my next class. What are you doing?” She had a sense of sassiness about her, but I could see her looking at me with awe, as though it was torturing her to treat me this way.
“Why are you following me?” My face was like stone.
She let out a slow, steady breath that felt cold as it landed across my face. “I’m not following you. You’re crazy. Just leave me alone.”
I furrowed my brow. She was trying to make it seem as though I were mad, but I sensed a guilt about her, as though she knew she had in fact been watching us for a reason.
“What’s your name?” I barked.
Her eyes met mine, and I found myself shocked by the turquoise color a second time, illuminated under her dark hood. “Molly.” She gave me an irritated exhale. “There, are you happy now?” She crossed her arms against her chest, the sleeves of her sweatshirt covering her hands.
The name made my heart sink; it had been my mother’s name. “Okay, Molly, I’ll bite.” I shifted my weight, though she had my mother’s name she did not have the same hazel eyes, “I’m Jordan.”
She nodded. “Yeah, so?”
I could see I had her in an uncomfortable situation, with her hand stuck in the cookie jar, so to speak. “Why did you give me my knife back when you seem so…” I paused. “So rude.”
She rolled her eyes. “You need it.”
“I need it?”
She shifted her weight. “I mean it was yours, and I’m not a thief.” I could tell she was flustered and annoyed, perhaps on the brink of causing a scene just to get away.
I backed off, figuring I had interrogated her to the point that there was little more she would tell me. “Well, yeah, sorry.”
“Can I go now?” She looked up at me, her skin like porcelain.
I stared at her for a moment, trying my best to remember her face but there was nothing. “Yeah.” I adjusted my bag on my back.
She let out a long breath. “Just…” She began to walk away. “Just don’t be late, okay?”
I pressed my brows together as she stormed off. “Wait…” I took one step to go after her, but I stopped as a feeling of fear overcame me, and I looked back in the direction Kenzie had gone. I felt my stomach clench as I broke out into a cold sweat. The air around me stood still, as though a bell jar had been placed over my head, silencing every sound. Something felt wrong, very wrong, and the sudden need to find Kenzie now overwhelmed me.
Looking back in the direction in which the girl had walked off, I saw she was already gone. Disregarding Molly’s sudden absence, I took off then in the direction Kenzie had gone, pushing through the crowds of students and finding my way back to her dorm. On the way there, I noticed people staring at me as though I were crazy, but to me it seemed as though they were telling me to run faster. I rounded the block, her dorm just ahead now. I ran up the steps to the outside door, and I leaned my hand against the wall and took a deep breath. Tapping my foot, I waited outside until someone exited the building, catching the door before it shut, charging in. By now my heart was pounding and my body was drenched in sweat as the strange feeling of fear grew.
I sprinted up the two flights of stairs to the third floor. Kenzie’s room was just down the hall. I slowed my pace, trying not to draw too much attention to myself too soon, and hoping there was no real reason behind my fear. Coming to her door I grabbed the handle, but it was locked. I stood there for a moment, but heard nothing and I began to wonder if I was finally losing my mind, along with my health. Exhaling, I leaned against the wall and let my back trail down the frame of the door until I was sitting on the ground.
It was then that I heard a muffled squeal and it heightened my senses as I pressed my ear to the door. There was a deep voice on the other side, followed by more squeals and frantic breathing. I brought my hand back to the handle, testing it to be sure it was locked, not wanting to make too much commotion in case whoever it was would do more harm.
I pulled my bag in front of me and fished through the contents, finding the knife and flipping it open. Placing the bag on the ground, I knelt down to the lock on the door and wedged the knife into the keyhole. Pulling my hand back and preparing myself for the pain, I punched the heel of my palm on the butt end of the knife, slicing it into the keyhole so that the lock broke and the door swung open.
Kenzie squealed as she saw me, her mouth covered by Max’s hand, his other hand holding a gun that was pointed at Amy as she sat bleeding from her head in the corner. Kenzie’s eyes were watering from the pain, her arms already showing bruises. My stomach sank at the sight, realizing now that the threat was never over; that I would never be at peace.
“You, again.” Max’s voice sounded low and drunk; nothing like it had for the years I’d known him as Kenzie’s boyfriend.
“Max, what are you doing?” I put my hands up as the gun in his hand shook, Amy cowering even further into the corner.
“Stay out of this, man. This is no longer your fight.” Max’s arm was around Kenzie’s neck as she looked at me, her eyes wide with fear and her face red. He brought his mouth to her ear. “Your boyfriend won’t save you this time, you slut.”
The lump in my throat rose further into my mouth, the words he said stinging my heart.
“Max, please, we weren’t going to go to the cops,” Kenzie whispered with what little breath she could muster.
“Ha!” His laughter filled the room as a girl in the hall looked in.
I turned around and saw her before she ducked back, the look in her eyes suggesting she was going to run and get the cops, which was good.
“You think you can cheat on me, and then try and ruin my football career as well? Well, you’re wrong, honey.” Max shook Kenzie in his arms, his teeth clenching. “All those years I allowed you to be in my spotlight, and this is how you re-pay me? By humiliating me in front of all my friends?”
“Max, there was no harm done. As far as I know, nothing happened and everyone was fine.” I was trying to make it seem as though he could still walk away from this, though at this point there was no way I’d ever let him.
He pointed the gun at me now and I blinked, figuring if anyone had to die, I’d rather it be me. He whispered into Kenzie’s ear again. “It’s your friend’s fault, Kenzie.” He eyed Amy with a cheap glare. “She was all over me. What else was I to do? She was asking for it as though I’d be doing her a favor.”
I saw Amy begin to sob and shake, the gun migrating back to her.
“There’s no one blaming you, Max.” I inched closer, but he brought the gun back toward me.
“I’m not falling for that, man. You stay where you are.”
Kenzie was muttering under her breath, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
I heard the distant sounds of sirens, and my heart leapt. Max heard it, too, as his face seemed to become further distraught and annoyed, the tension growing.
“The last thing I need is for some stupid girl to ruin my whole career,” his voice cracked as though he was about to cry. “All this time I nurtured you.” He jerked Kenzie in his arms, his mental stability flipping from one extreme to the next. “And this is how you repay me?” He pointed toward me, depression lacing his face. “Falling in love with some vagrant?”
I watched as he inched himself toward the window, the sound of cops entering the building and the reflection of lights outside. He pulled back the shade and threw Kenzie to the side where her body slammed against her desk chair. She fell limp to the floor, but I could see she hadn’t been knocked out.
“Max it’s over. Just think about your choices.” I took another step into the room, edging closer as he looked outside, the gun still raised in his hand.
“No, it’s not over.” I watched as he opened the window, two stories above the street. “I always get away, I’m a
star.
”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as a cool fresh breeze filled the air. New sounds drifted toward me as I heard the cops coming down the hall, their voices calculated and poised for attack. Startled, Max looked back at me and through the door, then turned and dropped the gun to the floor with a weighted clank before climbing onto the sill.
“I’ll be back for you, Kenzie,” he glared down at her. “You owe me,” he added with an evil nod, and with that he jumped.
I ran to the sill as two cops came in with their guns up, watching as he landed in the bushes below, now fighting his way out as cops surrounded him faster than he could manage to get away. He was screaming and yelling, like a delusional child, and I shook my head, wondering how I could have missed this for so long.
They cuffed Max and took him to the car. I turned and ran to Kenzie as one of the cops took care of Amy, the other leaving the room to check the rest of the floor.
“Are you alright?” I whispered in her ear, helping her up off the ground.
She nodded with pursed lips, fighting back tears in her own stubborn way, though it did little to hide the fact she was terrified. “I knew this was going to happen. I dreamt about it, but I didn’t know it would be so soon.” Her breath was shaking as it passed her lips, shock setting in as I comforted her. “I’m sorry,” she shook her head with guilt, guilt that was also pulsing through me.
“It’s okay, Kenzie. Take a deep breath. It’s over.” I took a deep breath as well, relieved that it had ended without any serious damage. I cursed myself for being so careless, for wasting all my talent leaping around for so long instead of saving it to save her.
“How did you know to come?” Kenzie looked at me as I cradled her in my lap.
It hadn’t dawned on me until now that the only reason I did come was because of Molly. Kenzie continued to watch me as confusion prickled through my veins. How had Molly known? The sudden questions that streamed through my head only further solidified the fact that Molly was different, that Molly was up to something. But what? Kenzie touched my face, still searching for an answer.
I swallowed. “An angel told me.”
She let out a contented sigh. “You always save me Jordan. You’re my angel.” I could tell she was weary now, her words almost accusing me of the fact that she had known I had saved her all her life.
She gave me the best smile she could muster as I brushed the hair from her face. “I will always protect you.”
Another cop entered the room and came up to me. “Did you see what happened, sir?”
I nodded as I stood with Kenzie, taking her to her bed.
“Is it alright if I collect a statement from you?” The cop reached behind him and pulled out his ledger.
I nodded. “Of course.”
Statement from Dr. Ashcroft,
Vincent Memorial Hospital, Boston
August 4, 2009
03:53 a.m.
Dr. Ashcroft:
(pause) That girl…
Agent Donnery:
Had you ever noticed the girl before Doctor?
Dr. Ashcroft:
Yes, in class that day just like every other student did. But like I said, when she spoke, something about her voice resonated with me.
Agent Donnery:
This is the second account he’s written of her, and then also you. Excuse me for noticing, but it seems there was a connection. Do you think she had a roll?
Dr. Ashcroft:
(pause) I suppose now that I know of her and what Jordan knew of her, yes. (pause) I always thought that perhaps he just found her attractive that day in Biology and that my reaction was just a fluke to the fact that I had expected the voice behind the hood to be male. But how would she know about what was happening to me? Was she like him, too, you think? It would explain how he was there to save me without Shifting to the future to know it. Molly tipped him off.
Agent Donnery:
(pause) Seems so. It seems as though this girl helped him in a major way.
Dr. Ashcroft:
It explains the dream as well, because in the dream I had dreamt that I had been hurt, but when I wasn’t, I didn’t see that it was him there to Shift it as usual. This time I saw a girl, and it must have been Molly.
Agent Donnery:
Tell me about the dreams. Did you ever mention them to Jordan?
Dr. Ashcroft:
I did tell him, because I wanted to know how he would react. Like I said, I saw a man in my dreams that was a lot like him, and the memories of the boy from the bus, though vague, still remained somehow. For some strange reason I always hoped he’d say that he’d had the dreams too. I guess it worked out to be a little more than dreams for him, though. It was his life.
Told by Dr. Ashcroft,
Stories from the journals of Patient #32185
October 2, 2005
04:27 p.m.
“Are you ready to finally get that coffee?” Jordan gave me a smile, and I couldn’t help but feel it lift my spirits.
“Yes, I’m beyond ready. Starving too.” I put my hand on my stomach, my arms dappled with bruises where Max’s hand had held me. “Let me just grab a sweater.” I ducked back into my room as the cops disappeared around the corner down the hall, finally done with all their questioning and evidence-gathering.