Parallel (Travelers Series Book 1) (5 page)

Cooper reaches out and clasps his hand gently over mine. “It’s a form of psychokinesis. Like I said before, you were never meant to be part of this reality. You don’t belong here.”

“You can’t be serious.” I quickly pull my hand out of his grasp and inch back closer to the passenger door. “How do you know all this?” This conversation is starting to freak me out. I want to get back to the psychic part of the conversation, not
Science Fiction Theater.
My emotions are all over the place. I want to know what I am, but I’m afraid if I find out, I may not like what I hear. Who the hell is this guy and how does he know all these things about me? I don’t know what to believe at this point.

“Stop asking questions for a second and I’ll give you the short version. I’ll do the best I can to explain.”

“Please, by all means.” I’m not totally sure I want to hear what he’s about to say, but I let my body relax against the warm supple leather, secretly enjoying the feel of the heated seats.

“For reasons I can’t get into now, your father brought you here when you were five years old. Over time, he realized this was the safest place for you, since no one had figured out what he’d done. You were safe, so he never saw the need to take you away from this reality,” he explains. “But your existence in your real world is paramount. You need to come back at once, darlin’. That’s why you have to trust me.”

I sit there numb. On one hand, Cooper sounds like a total fruitcake, but on the other hand, there is something about the urgency with which he explains things that make me almost believe him.

“Sorry, but I’m just not buying what you’re selling. How do I know you’re telling the truth?” I let him chew on that for a moment. The whole idea of an alternate reality is a little too farfetched—even for a girl like me who does nothing but daydream. Then again, I’m a few months shy of turning eighteen—a little too old for tall tales and bedtime stories.

Cooper sighs. “I don’t know what else I can do to convince you. It’s your choice. You can either believe me or not.”

“Not.” It’s a risk I can’t take.

W
hen Cooper was selected by the Council to retrieve Etta from her current reality, he had known it would be a bit of an undertaking on his part. Although he had access to certain details about her—like knowing Etta would eventually come around to trusting him—there was the slightest possibility that she could, at any moment, change the timeline by opting not to go with him. Any decision she made at this juncture in time could split into another reality and he would have no choice but to jump back and start over.

As he listened to himself explain the situation to her, he almost found it as outlandish as she had. He really couldn’t blame her for thinking he was some half crazed guy she’d just met—he actually felt like a fool for trying to convince her otherwise. In fact, if their places had been reversed, Cooper knew damn well he wouldn’t have believed anyone who tried to feed him the same line he’d just given her. But he didn’t have a choice. This was one mission he couldn’t afford to fail. And now that he had gotten Etta’s attention, he had to bring her back to her rightful world whether she wanted to or not. The decision was simply out of his hands.

It was true when he’d said he’d kept an eye out on her. He had always known where to find her and he could have approached her at any time. Etta had moved around a lot as a foster kid, but she always remained in the same city, so it never took him long to figure out her location. He simply bid his time until just the right moment to approach her. To Cooper, it was a matter of seizing the right opportunity—selecting a moment in time when she’d be the most receptive towards him.

And having followed Etta’s motions the last several years, this had been the opportunity he’d been waiting for. He knew everything about her—what she would or wouldn’t do, her weaknesses, strengths, and above all else, her stubbornness. And in all the time he’d spent watching over her, it had pained Cooper to witness firsthand the fortress she had constructed around herself. The hard exterior she had created, coupled with abilities she didn’t understand, made her all the more vulnerable. She’d grown up without a proper home and he knew that what she valued most of all was a family. And Cooper felt like a heel because he’d use that knowledge to his advantage.

C
ooper starts up the engine and faces me one last time before getting back on the road. “I’m sorry Etta, but it’s my responsibility to bring you back. This isn’t something I signed up for, trust me. What’s it going to take to make you believe me?”

I just shrug in response. At this point, there isn’t much he can say to add credibility to his story. I can’t believe I was dumb enough to get in the car with him in the first place. Jaime is going to be furious when—and if—I make it back to the home. And if I get back after curfew, who knows what kind of trouble I’ll be facing.

Just as I’m about to demand, for the second time this evening, that he take me home, Cooper surprises me by saying exactly what I want so desperately to hear: “You have a family waiting for you.”

Wanting to believe and actually believing are two very different things. But what if even a small part of what he’s saying is actually true? If it turns out he’s lying, it’s not like he can take this ruse very far. What’s he going to do, produce a family out of thin air? Doubtful, so I decide to go with it. Perhaps this is his way of saying I have long lost relatives after all.

“Just who are you exactly?” He knows an awful lot about me, but I don’t know the first thing about him.

Cooper take his eyes off the road long enough to make sure I’m paying attention. “I’m here to make sure the reality you were taken from reverts back to the way it was supposed to be. We can’t change the past, but without you in it, the course of events that are meant to be will be forever altered. It’s my job to bring you back to help us make it right.”

“Wait a minute. Hold up. If that reality changed when I was taken from it, what happens to this one once I leave?” I can’t believe I’m asking him this. I basically concede the fact that I’m in some alternate dimension.

His attention is back to the road, but I can see the corner of his lips turn up in a smile. “From the day you made your presence in this world, the timeline changed here as well. Once you go back, everything will revert back to its original course. It will be like you were never here.”

The implications of what he just said run through my mind. This means everything I know in this world will change the second I leave it. Everything I touched or came into contact with will be long forgotten. Lester will be alive, continuing to abuse children, while little Maxine will grow up without learning any life lessons. And what happens to Jaime? She’ll probably stay at Dominion House without having any knowledge of me. I wonder if she’ll have another friend at the home. It was supposed to be us against the world.

And now, thanks to Cooper, I don’t even know what world I belong in.

“If it helps, know you are needed back home. You need to trust me on this, darlin’.”

“Is that where you’re taking me?” Even after all this time daydreaming about it, I never expected it to actually come true. Be careful what you wish for.

“Yes, if you’ll let me.”

“So why was I dumped here?” What exactly happened to me in this world that I was able to take my counterpart’s place?

“Because this is one place that wouldn’t create a paradox—meaning, you could exist here without creating a scenario in which you could meet yourself,” he explains. “We can talk more about the mechanics of alternate realities later. Right now, my only interest is to take you back where you belong. Trust me, you are far better off in your real world than you realize.”

How much better can that reality possibly be, if it’s all messed up without me in it? Isn’t that the point?

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” It’s not like I have to digest everything right away. I won’t understand it anyway. “So what do we do now, orb to this alternate world or what?”

The car swerves slightly as Cooper doubles over laughing. “You watch way too much TV. We keep on driving.”

“Oh.” I don’t know why, but I’m disappointed to hear that. “Is that how we get there?” I’m slowly coming to terms with the whole parallel universe theory and I guess I expected to be magically transported to an alternate dimension. I mean, he did mention psychic abilities. “So, you’re telling me we can just drive to this place?”

“Yes and yes.” He’s still laughing. “Yes, we get there by driving and yes; we’re going to magically transport there.”

“How did you know I was thinking that? Wait…what do you mean we’re going to magically transport?”

“Psionics remember? While you have the ability to move objects, I have the passive power of telepathy. I can read minds.”

Holy crap!
Exactly how much has Cooper been privy to what’s been going on inside my head?

“Will I be able to do that?” I can’t believe I just asked him that. Isn’t it enough that I can hurt people with the power I already have? Then again, I’m not quite sure I want the ability to read other people’s thoughts.

“No. Abilities are either active or passive. And like I mentioned before, you have the active power of psychokinesis,” he tells me. “It’s also known as telekinesis. That’s the ability to move objects with your mind.”

“I know what telekinesis is.” Even though I’m not an expert on the paranormal, I’m not totally ignorant on the subject.

“Maybe so, but your lack of instruction has basically rendered your powers dormant to the point of being useless. I’m actually surprised that you’ve been able to access your ability here in this reality. But what you said earlier about it manifesting when you feel threatened makes sense. You most likely channel your abilities in fight or flight type situations.”

I sit on this tidbit of information. If I’m capable of manipulating objects, which I assume also includes the human body, I’m only somewhat happy to hear I don’t have full use of whatever powers Cooper claims I’m capable of. But knowing there’s a possibility that I can have another power is appealing. Anything is better than the ability to hurt people, even in self defense.

As we continue to head north, I look out the window and realize we haven’t travelled very far at all. Since leaving the side of the road, I haven’t been paying attention to where we’re headed. My mind is buzzing over with a million thoughts, all in different directions, not stopping to fully grasp everything I’ve just been told, not to mention worrying about where our final destination may be.

The way I understand it, Jaime won’t remember me after I leave, but I hope she does. Cooper said this reality will shift back, with everything reverting back to the way it was supposed to be. I guess that that includes memories.

“Look, I know you must have a ton of questions for me, but I promise they’ll all be answered soon.”

“It would be nice if you didn’t rummage around in my head. My thoughts are private.” God, I hope he hadn’t read my mind that first night we met at Battle Grounds. “And I don’t see why you can’t answer questions while you drive. I mean, the whole point of all this—I think—is to protect me right? So how am I supposed to feel secure with you keeping things from me?”

“I am not the one you should be asking, darlin’. My job is to keep you safe, explain the basics, and bring you back. Everything else will become clear once you return,” he said.

“You make it sound like you’re taking orders from someone.” He said earlier this wasn’t something he signed up for. So who’s pulling the strings? “Who is it exactly that wants me back? You said something about a father earlier. What about my mom? Is she in this other reality too?”

Cooper’s ignoring me again and keeps his eyes on the road. I’m obviously not going to get any more out of him.
Fine, have it your way.

Pouting like a small child, I slump back into the leather seat. I stare at the clock on the dashboard and realize we couldn’t have been driving around for more than fifteen minutes. In fact, we haven’t traveled far at all. It’s almost as if we’ve been driving around in circles.

The next thing I know, Cooper announces, “We’re here!”

D
amn
! Cooper
had
been driving around in circles. “Did I miss something? How are we here already?” Surely I would have noticed traveling into another dimension. The least he could have done is explain how it worked. He may have weaseled out of answering all my other questions, but this is definitely one conversation I intend to pursue at a later time. But first, I have to figure out where the hell I am.

Since we didn’t travel far, I immediately recognize my surroundings. Reading the street signs, I determine that we aren’t far from where Dominion House should be. Cooper continues down the street of one of the nicer neighborhoods in Alexandria. Now I know why everything looks so familiar. This is the same neighborhood I lived in during my stint with the Thornberry’s. Cooper hadn’t said, but I imagine my family must be pretty well off to be able to afford living in an area like this.

We pull up to the driveway of one of the prettiest homes I’ve ever seen. It’s even nicer than the Thornberry’s—from what I remember. Of course, I spent the last twelve years in foster care, so I don’t have a great frame of reference when it comes to real estate, but I think most would agree the house is striking in appearance. The house is a two story colonial, laid with intricate stone masonry. It even has its own gated entrance, guarding a circular driveway. The gate isn’t the kind that has an intercom to gain access, but the black cast iron gate is still pretty damn impressive.

Is this where I live? Cooper wasn’t kidding when he said my life in this universe is far better than the one I just left behind. Then again, any reality where I’m not foster kid is a big step-up for me.

“Sorry. Jumping realities is another lesson for another time.” Cooper kills the engine and climbs out of the Land Rover, while I continue to gawk at the house. “Look, I hate to say this, but you’re on your own for now. This is your home and now that you’ve jumped back, it’s like you never left.”