Paradigm (Travelers Series Book 3) (8 page)

I turn my attention back to Cooper. “You’re out of your mind. Literally. I’m willing to believe your whole story about alternate universes, but psychic powers?” I’m sure he knows I’m lying, but there’s no way I’m going to admit my freakiness, especially in front of Maggie. What if she wants nothing to do with me once she hears about my weird ability? So, for now, it’s just deny, deny, deny.

But I’ve already signed on the dotted line, haven’t I? Somewhere along the way, I developed these powers that I’d managed to hide over the years. What he’s saying scares the crap out of me, and I’m not sure I want to hear the rest of it. To find out my father has something to do with it is more information than I bargained for. And astral projection? I know I can’t do that. Moving objects sure, but transporting myself onto another plane? Ridiculous.

“I already know you’re well aware of your abilities, but I’ll humor you. The reason I’m here is to ensure you fulfill your destiny. You are the leader of the rebellion that will take down Thornberry. It is your leadership that will ultimately lead us to destroying him and recouping the world that he destroyed. We’re years behind schedule in getting you prepared, but since we can’t do this without you, there’s no time like the present.”

This is way too much information, but I’m thankful he dropped the whole telekinesis part of the conversation. Why can’t he leave it at, “Hey, you’re from another reality and that nice lady over there is your aunt?”

“I know it’s a lot to digest, but yeah, there’s a lot more to it than that,” he says, as if he can read my thoughts.

I straighten my back, hoping to look a little more intimidating. “This isn’t my house, but I’m sure Maggie won’t mind if I ask you to leave. Everything was fine until you reappeared. My life is finally beginning to get on track, I have a great boyfriend, and I love my job. Why are you trying to ruin my life?”

I talk a good game, but why do I do this? I don’t mean any of it, but why do I always feel the need to act so tough? Usually people chalk up my stone exterior to my growing up in foster care. Hell, I even let them think that, but in reality, and if I’m honest with myself, it’s because I’m scared.

“I was afraid, but not exactly surprised by your reaction, and I can’t force you to do anything you’re not ready for, but might I suggest you keep your options open? In the next couple of days, you’ll be meeting the acquaintance of three of my… make that, three of
our
friends. If I can’t convince you, maybe they can.”

My snort can be heard clear across the room. Thankfully, Maggie stands silently on the other side of the kitchen and doesn’t interfere by letting me know just how much of a brat I’m being. “Oh, I get it. You will be haunted by three spirits,” I mimic my best ghoul voice.

Cooper smiles, apparently amused by my obnoxious behavior. “You warned me you’d have this kind of response, but I’ll go if it’ll make you feel better.” He stands up, ready to take his leave, but before he takes off, he leans in and whispers in my ear. “Dig down deep and remember why that particular story is your favorite.”

What, Dickens?
Because it inspires hope in others,
I think to myself. I sit there, momentarily stunned by his last admission. It’s true that it is one of my favorites, but how in the world does he know that?

It was a conversation that lasted maybe minutes, but seemed like an eternity.

•  •  •

I decide to cut the evening short at Maggie’s after I promise her I won’t be a stranger. I totally want to spend more time with her now that she’s in my life, not to mention some alone time with the pile of my father’s paperwork. So I’ll be back to visit sooner than she thinks.

Maggie drops me off in front of my small apartment, with a bag full of delicious homemade pastries—of course—and I wave goodbye as she drives off once I open the front door. I stall long enough to see her turn past the stop sign and I re-lock the door. There’s somewhere I have to go first before I turn in for the evening.

If my hunch is right, I know Cooper will be waiting for me at Battle Grounds. Even after I kicked him out of Maggie’s home, I still know he’ll be there. He said it himself that he knows my whereabouts, because he’s from the future, right? So I play on my internal instincts and walk the few short blocks towards the coffee shop.

The bell that announces a new customer chimes as I walk through the shop door. I scope out the place, immediately sensing his presence. Cooper waves from one of the two-person tables and already has a cup of steaming coffee ready for me, hence his lack of surprise seeing me walk through the door.

“Guess my hunch was right on the money. Do you always know where I am?” I say as I take a seat beside him.

“No. Only certain points in time, like now and back at your aunt’s.”

I’ll probably never get a clear answer as to how he always knows where to find me, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. “I’ve been thinking. About what you said earlier.”

“There were a lot of things I said. Care to refresh my memory, darlin’?”

Ugh! How can he be so smug and incredibly hot at the same time? Sitting so close to him, I’m able to take his scent in. Licorice and cloves. It’s how I remembered him all this time. It got to where I can’t walk into one of those bath and beauty stores without thinking of him.

“The part about the timeline getting off track.”

A frown forms and his eyes get all crinkly. “I wish I could tell you more, but that’s the one thing I don’t have a definitive answer on. It’s the one thing we don’t know.”

“Is it even important? I mean, what’s done is done right?” Isn’t it? Maybe the fact that something or someone interfered isn’t as important as I first thought a couple of minutes before. I mean, there’s nothing we can do about the fact that I spent four more years in this reality longer than I needed to be.

He ponders the question. “If someone made it a point to keep you from coming with me, knowing full well where I was taking you, I’d say, yeah, it’s important. It doesn’t change what happened, but at least we’d know how to avoid any other future obstacles.”

Cooper’s got a point. “But it’s kinda pointless though, right? I mean, I have no idea who would possibly have a reason for me to doubt you.”

Except for one person and it’s been nagging me in the back of my mind, but I shelve the thought for another time. Right now, I try to concentrate on what Cooper is saying.

“Not necessarily. Besides, if we want to get back on track, we don’t need anyone getting in the way of you coming with me this time around.”

“Whoa, wait a second,” I say. “What makes you think I’ve agreed to go back to the future with you? I’ll admit, I’m slowly beginning to adjust to the idea that I’m not from this reality and that someone purposely got in the way of me going back to my real one, but that’s history. I don’t see any reason why I need to go with you now.”

He smiles that wondrous smile of his, except it’s like he’s got a secret. “Still need convincing, huh? Well, I suppose getting you to admit to your past makes it one out of two. Now I just need to get you on board with the program.”

Maybe so. I don’t think he’d go through this much trouble just to succumb to my stubbornness. But there’s still a lot of things I have to consider before I go anywhere with him. Like, find out what my father was really up to and who stopped me from going back to my real reality all those years ago. If I can figure those things out, perhaps I’m willing to consider Cooper’s offer.

He rises up from his chair. “I meant what I said at your aunt’s house.”

“What part?”

“About calling for reinforcements. If you won’t listen to me, then you’re going to have to trust in your friends to convince you.”

The three ghosts.

Present Reality

A
udrey wasn’t kidding about having me working from home. She emailed me this morning—with my new eStorm tablet that I’m starting to think is more of a curse than a gift—asking me if I wouldn’t mind checking the office inbox. So here I am, staring at countless emails in my inbox. If my curt replies to clients gets me in trouble, she can always yell at me come Monday. I have other things on my mind.

An entire Saturday is wasted doing Audrey’s bidding—I might have to reassess my earlier opinion of her—and trying to regurgitate everything that not only Cooper has said, but my Aunt Maggie. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever be part of a family, and yet, now I have one. On some level, I know she’s not really my aunt—at least not in this reality . The little girl who died in the crash is her real niece, but just the same, Maggie’s the only family I’ve got.

It’s just after three in the afternoon, and I don’t want to spend another second doing work stuff. I make the executive decision that some serious vegging out is in order. There’s nothing like some quality television viewing to take my mind off things. I do a quick check to make sure I don’t have any unanswered texts or messages on my cell and plop myself on the couch.

And at the most inconvenient time, my cable goes out. I’m pretty good about keeping my expenses low, but cable television is my one major splurge, aside from coffee. Since I don’t have the means to go on fancy vacations, it’s TV shows and books for me. Fortunately for me, the library is free, so I’m just barely able afford to pay the exorbitant cable bill. Now it’s on the fritz, and right before the
Fringe
marathon is about to start. It’s been off the air for years, but every once in awhile, they play re-runs on syndication. I realize the irony in watching a show about alternate realities, but perhaps it will provide some much-needed perspective.

I keep playing with the connector and box until I ultimately give up. Not knowing how else to go about fixing it, I call the cable company. Maybe they can reboot the signal or something. After being on hold for what seems like forever, they tell me that they have to send over one of their techs the following morning.

What are my options? I can call Jaime or Alex since watching television is out, but I hold off on calling either of them. I’m afraid that if I reach out to them, I’ll have second thoughts about everything that’s happened so far. I can always reach out to Maggie, but right now, that’ll only result in me having more questions.

In the end, I don’t call anyone. I decide to take this time to myself and use it to my advantage. For days I’ve allowed everyone to guide my life, beliefs and opinions. From Jaime questioning my relationship status, my boss asking me to go above and beyond at work, to Cooper urging me to join him in some another world. It’s time to take a step back and think for myself for a change. People are taking bits and pieces of me, and it’s time to reclaim them.

•  •  •

“It’s about time you finally showed up! Customer service said you’d be here between the hours of nine and eleven.” I berate the poor cable technician, feeling instantly sorry. It’s not his fault I was without cable.

The poor guy that’s standing in my doorway looks lost. In a way, I don’t blame him. He doesn’t even look like a cable technician. He looks more like a nerdy college professor. Now I feel even worse about the way I just spoke to the tech.

“You’re here about my cable box, right?”

Again, the tech guy just stands there shuffling his feet, as if he’s at the wrong door. “You say you’re cable’s out? I should be able to fix that.”

For the first time since opening the door, I look at his feet and free hands and finally notice the lack of a uniform. Don’t they normally wear something that signifies the company they work for? I start to close the gap between the door and the guy standing behind the frame. “You don’t have any tools. How do I know you’re from the cable company? Do you have ID?”

“I assure you, I can fix your box. You probably have the 3678 model, am I correct? Those things are notorious with lost signals.”

He sounds like a tech, all right. Against my better judgment, I allow him in and lead him towards the television. My desperate need for quality television overrides any concern for safety. “It’s right over here. Thing just stopped working yesterday afternoon. You can fix it right?”

The guy kneels down, face level with the box. “Uh, huh. Yeah, I see your problem. I’ll just have to tweak a few wires and you’ll be all set. It’s been ages since I’ve worked on anything this outdated, but I should have you up and running in no time.”

Ages? When the cable company installed it a year ago they claimed it was a new model. That and the tech doesn’t look old enough to have worked for the cable company that long. “Wait. What do you mean
ages
? You said –”

He stands back up to address me. “I’m not from around here. Are you familiar with the theories pertaining to alternate dimensions?”

Oh no, not him, too.
I back away from the man slowly. Nerdy looks or not, this guy is some kind of nutjob wacko. Is this who Cooper meant when he said he was going to send someone over to talk to me? Not my idea of a convincing plan. “Why don’t you just leave and we’ll call it a day?”

“Well of course we can. It’s daytime,” he says, obviously not getting what I’m saying.

“Seriously, just leave. I’ll just call the cable company another time.” At this point, television is seriously becoming overrated and he’s still not getting the hint, I can tell. I don’t know for sure if he’s one of Cooper’s friends or not, but I’m not taking any chances. There’s no way I’m going to engage him long enough to find out if this is one of Cooper’s friends. The guy totally came into my house under false pretenses.

“Did you know your father helped craft some of the methods of time-travel through the use of portals?”

Huh? Where the hell did that come from? And what does he know of my father? “I don’t have a father.”

“Sure you do. In another reality. I thought Cooper explained all that to you.”

I stop backing away from him enough to listen. He confirmed that he not only knows Cooper, but everything he’s told me so far. Maybe this guy is a wacko, but a harmless one. Maybe I can appease him by pretending I’m paying attention to his ramblings. “What do you know about my father?”