Cataclysm (Alternate Earth Series, Book One) (3 page)

“The baby!” Leah squeals in delight when she sees Kate, who is still in my arms.

She walks over to me and leans in to kiss me on the cheek.

“Happy birthday, Jess,” she says, but her full attention is quickly consumed by Kate.

“Here,” I say, handing Kate over to Leah, “you can take her back to Caylin. She and Aiden are in the kitchen. I’m sure the three of you have a lot of catching up to do.”

“How is Princeton treating you?” Lilly asks Leah.

“It’s going really well, Ms. Lilly,” Leah replies. “Two years down and two more to go.”

“You’re majoring in history, right?” Lilly asks.

Leah nods her head as she cradles Kate close to her chest. “Yes, ma’am. After coming to live on this Earth, I just found a love for it once I started reading about it.”

“Are you ready to go back home?” Mason asks me.

“Yes, I want to spend some time with Max and Brynlee before tonight.” I turn to Lilly and ask, “What time is the party?”

“Three,” she answers, not even bothering to hide the fact that they’re throwing me a birthday celebration. “But try to act surprised for the kids’ benefit.”

I laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

As Lilly and Leah walk to the back of the house to find Caylin and Aiden, Mason gently takes hold of my hand closest to him and phases us to the bedroom of our beach home.

“Are the kids here?” I ask him, surprised he didn’t take us directly back to our home in Cypress Hollow.

“No,” he tells me, bringing me into the circle of his arms, “which is exactly why I brought you here. I wanted some time alone with you, in case a miracle happens and we don’t get any later.”

“I see,” I whisper, resting my palms against his chest. “So, now that you have me alone, whatever do you plan to do to me, Mr. Collier?”

“
With
you,” he corrects gently, slipping his warm hands underneath my shirt to caress the small of my back. “Always
with
you, Jess.”

“Could you be a little bit more descriptive?” I tease.

Mason smiles and leans in as if he’s going to kiss my lips, but doesn’t. He tilts his head to the right, barely touching his cheek to mine as he whispers in my ear.

“I plan to take all of your clothes off and tease those sensitive little areas on your body that only I know about,” he promises, starting with a light kiss right below my ear.

“And then what?” I murmur, desiring for Mason to continue his slow seduction.

Mason’s hands glide up my back until he reaches the fabric of my bra. After he deftly releases its clasp, he slides his hands around to the front of me to cup my breasts against the warmth of his palms, and gently massages them.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I show you instead of just talk about it?” Mason asks, sliding his hands down to the front of my jeans.

“Most definitely,” I answer, as he releases the top button before the sound of my zipper being let down fills the bedroom.

From the first time we made love to this one, Mason has always been an attentive and generous lover. During our years together, he has all but erased what happened to me during my childhood. I knew I would never be able to forget what was done to the child me, but those memories were growing more and more distant. They no longer controlled who I was or how I responded to Mason’s gentle lovemaking.

After our secret rendezvous, we go back to Cypress Hollow to spend the rest of the day with our family. My father, his wife, Simone, and their little boy, Dale, come over to have lunch with us. As my father and I sit in the backyard at the picnic table, watching the kids play on the treehouse playset Mason built, my dad hands me a small white box with a pink and white bow on top.

“You know the rule about my birthday,” I admonish him. “No presents.”

“Humor me this one time, Jessi,” my dad says, smiling at me in such a way that I can’t possibly say no to him.

I take the box and lift the lid to see what’s inside.

It’s a locket, but unlike one I’ve ever seen before. It looks a little retro, similar in style to something you would see a woman wear back in the 1950s. The locket itself is oval and appears to be made from skillfully-wrapped silver and gold wire. In the center are mother-of-pearl beads arranged in the shape of three, five-petal flowers with gold beads as their centers. A small pin is on the side and slides within loops of wire to keep the locket closed.

“It’s beautiful,” I tell my dad.

“Look inside,” he says excitedly, obviously proud of his gift.

I lift the locket out of the box and pull the pin out to open it. On the right is a picture of Brynlee, and on the left is a picture of Max.

“I had the pictures etched in glass,” my dad informs me, “so it won’t matter if the locket gets wet.”

I lean over and give my dad a hug.

“I love it,” I tell him, not just saying the words to be polite but truly meaning them. “Thank you, Dad.”

“I thought you might want to take it with you tonight. You know…in case things work this time. There’s also an inscription on the back,” he tells me.

I flip the locket over and read:

Cast your cares on the Lord

And He will sustain you

He will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:22

I slip the chain around my neck. The locket lies perfectly against my chest.

“I’ve decided something,” I announce. “I made a promise to Mason that, if we can’t find a way back to alternate Earth this year, we’re going to stop trying.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” my dad agrees, sounding relieved. “I know how much you want to go back to help them, but maybe it’s just not meant to be, Jessi.”

“I wish God would just say so, one way or the other.”

“He’s always supported the power of free will. I think He’s been trying to give you the option of not going.”

“Well, I’m taking it,” I say. “One more year of this is about all I can stand. I’m sick of trying and failing all the time.”

“But you haven’t failed,” my dad reminds me. “You’ve figured out everyone who needs to go, except for one. Maybe Lilly will be your missing link.”

I don’t reply because I know I don’t have to. My dad already understands that the last thing I want is for Lilly to be the key to solving my problem. I don’t want any of her family to be involved in what I consider my own private crusade. Yet, it really isn’t my decision to make. Lilly has already reassured me that she is more than willing to help in any way she can. I need to just accept it and move on.

Yet something keeps nagging at my heart, warning me that things won’t be that simple.

CHAPTER THREE

By the time three o’clock arrives, I am more than ready to go to my party. I don’t enjoy celebrating the fact that I am another year older, but I know all of my family and friends will be there, and that is more than worth the effort of blowing out a few candles. With everyone’s busy schedules, it’s hard to find a time when we can all be in the same room together. That’s one reason it’s taken us so long to test all of the various combinations of travelers to alternate Earth. Everyone had to come up with a plausible excuse as to why they would be missing for an extended period of time. JoJo and Chandler were the ones who would be missed the most, because of their worldwide fame. Luckily for JoJo, Gabe gave her an excellent excuse for a prolonged absence from her hectic life as one of the world’s leading fashion designers.

Exactly two years ago, Gabe finally worked up the courage to ask JoJo out on a date. Since the closing of the Tear, I had been noticing small flirtations between the two of them, but figured it wasn’t anything of consequence since neither of them acted any further. Then, at my twenty-seventh birthday party, I noticed how Gabe’s gaze would linger on JoJo when she wasn’t paying attention. I finally confronted him about it and asked him why he hadn’t told JoJo the depth of his feelings for her.

“I’m not sure she feels the same way for me,” he confessed as we stood off to the side of everyone else at the party.

Since I’ve been with Mason, all of my birthday parties have been held at our beach home in the Bahamas. With the timing so close to summer, everyone took pleasure in having the option of playing in the pool or frolicking on the beach.

“Do you want me to pass her a note that says ‘Do you like Gabe?’ with little ‘yes’ and ‘no’ boxes for her to check?” I teased.

Gabe grinned, looking slightly embarrassed by the suggestion, and shook his head. “No. Most definitely not.”

“Then ask her out, Gabe. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I could lose a friend,” he immediately answered, seeming to consider it a real possibility.

“This is JoJo we’re talking about. Even if she doesn’t want to go out with you, she will always love you as a friend.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Gabe said with a deep sigh as he watched JoJo laugh at something Malcolm said to her. “I’m not sure if I can just shut off how I feel about her and go back to being only friends, Jess. Plus…there’s that other thing.”

“Other thing?” I asked, completely at a loss as to what Gabe was referring to. “You’re going to have to spell it out for me, because I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

“Him,” Gabe said, nodding his head in the direction of JoJo and Malcolm.

“Malcolm?” I asked, still confused by what Gabe was trying to say. “What about him?”

“I know they had an affair when JoJo was younger, but their relationship still seems to be rather intimate. Do you think something is still going on between the two of them?” Gabe asked me, looking troubled by the possibility.

“No,” I said with complete confidence. “They’re just friends, Gabe. I know that for a fact.”

“You’re sure?” Gabe asked, still uncertain about the extent of JoJo and Malcolm’s relationship.

“Positive,” I told him.

“They always seem so close whenever they’re together. I thought there might still be something going on between them.”

“Malcolm looks out for her in the same way he does everyone else he cares about. That’s all.”

Gabe remained silent for a moment while he watched JoJo and Malcolm interact.

“Are those the only two things keeping you from asking JoJo out?” I asked him.

Gabe nodded. “Yes. That’s it.”

“Then go over there and ask her on a date, for Heaven’s sake,” I ordered. “If she ends up ripping your heart out and stomping on it with her dainty, little French foot, I’ve got an empty shoulder you can come cry on afterwards.”

Gabe chuckled. “Thanks for the pep talk, Jess.”

“I joke because I know it won’t turn out that way. I’ve noticed how JoJo looks at you, too, Gabe. I seriously doubt she’ll turn you down.”

A look of hope entered Gabe’s eyes as he looked back at me. “Really? You think she likes me, too?”

I rolled my eyes at him and said, “This is not high school. I refuse to stand here and have this conversation with you. Go tell her how you feel. I don’t think you’ll regret it.”

Gabe plucked up his nerve that night and walked over to JoJo and Malcolm. I think Malcolm knew what Gabe wanted to do, because he excused himself almost instantly. I watched as Gabe talked with JoJo. He had his hands stuffed inside his front pants pockets, fidgeting slightly as he worked up to asking her out on a date. The encouraging smile she was giving him should have calmed his nervousness, but it didn’t seem to. When you’re in love with someone, and unsure if that person can or will return the emotion, it must be comparable to jumping off a high cliff, uncertain if you will survive the fall. When I saw JoJo nod her head to his question, smiling even brighter than she had been when he was asking, Gabe’s shoulders sagged in relief. It was only then that I noticed I had been holding my own breath waiting for her answer.

Since that night, he and JoJo had been virtually inseparable. After Gabe’s ‘miraculous’ disappearance on live TV, he had become quite a celebrity in media circles. He continued to work as a newscaster for a while, but late last year, Gabe became JoJo’s publicist so they could spend their days and nights together. I knew it was only a matter of time before JoJo would be designing her very own wedding dress, and I couldn’t have been happier for either of them. I wasn’t sure what the delay was, though. I thought one of them would have popped the question to the other by now.

Gabe’s relationship with JoJo also allowed him to form a stronger friendship with Malcolm. Once he understood Malcolm only wanted to keep JoJo protected, Gabe told me he was grateful Malcolm cared so much about her. He knew Malcolm would always keep JoJo protected from forces he himself couldn’t fight against.

When Mason phases me to our beach home and everyone yells ‘surprise’, I do my best to look that way. I’m sure all the grown-ups know that I was expecting the party. It’s not as if I didn’t have one every year. But the little ones still got a kick out of thinking they were truly surprising me, and there was no way on earth I would do anything to disappoint them.

After the pre-requisite singing of
Happy Birthday
and cutting the cake, everyone enjoys time around the pool and/or on the beach. I always asked people not to give me any presents, because just having them with me on my birthday is gift enough.

As I lean against the open doorway leading out to the pool area, I feel Mason wrap his arms around my waist and press against me from behind. We stand there in mutual silence, watching Max and Brynlee play in the pool with Mae and Ella. Aiden and Caylin are both laughing at Baby Kate as she slaps her hands against the surface of the water from the safety of her pink dolphin-shaped float. I spy Lilly and Brand walking hand-in-hand down towards the beach, seeking a private moment alone with one another. My grandfather, father, and Remy are talking to one another, and I see Rafe join in on their conversation. Leah, Will, and Linc are all huddled around Joshua, watching something on his phone and laughing.

“How did we get this lucky?” I ask Mason as I continue to watch the people I love most in the world. “We have so many good people in our life.”

“Clean living,” Mason declares, placing a small kiss on my exposed shoulder.

Unexpectedly, Malcolm runs past Mason and me out of the house and heads straight for the deep end of the pool, yelling, “Cannonball!”

After he hits the water, no one is spared from the splash or from laughing at his antics.

“That man is never going to grow up,” I tell Mason.

“Let’s hope not,” Mason responds. “A sense of humor will make it easier for him to survive once the rest of us are gone.”

“He’s strong,” I say, more to myself than a reminder to Mason.

“He’ll have to be.”

Jered phases in a few feet away from us, with Chandler in tow. I knew Chandler had a concert that afternoon in New York City, and that’s why he’s still dressed in his black, goth-rock outfit. His hair is gelled up, looking a bit spikey, and he’s still wearing his stage make-up, which accentuates his eyes, lips, and high cheekbones.

“Sorry I’m late,” he apologizes as he walks over to me. “I left as soon as I could without causing suspicion.”

“I knew you were busy,” I tell him as Mason lets go of me so I can give Chandler a hug. “How did the concert go?”

“I left the girls swooning and wanting more, as usual,” Chandler says with an immodest grin.

“Are you sure the girls were swooning? Maybe they were just trying to stay awake,” Malcolm suggests from his position in the pool.

Chandler looks over his shoulder at Malcolm. “Better be careful, Malcolm. Your jealousy is showing. Not everyone can have thousands of girls chanting their name.”

Malcolm smiles.

“It would take a lot more than that to make me jealous of you,” Malcolm assures him. “I’m just making sure that big head of yours doesn’t get any bigger than it already is.”

“That’s enough, boys,” I say, looking at both of them and having to bring out my ‘mother voice’ to chastise two grown men. “This is supposed to be a party.
My
party. And I don’t want any arguing at it.”

“We’re not arguing,” Malcolm grumbles. “I just want the boy to remember he isn’t any better than the rest of us. Fame can make some people forget how they should behave, as you well know, Jess.”

I can only imagine Malcolm is referring to the one and only time Chandler kissed me for the sake of the paparazzi. And here I thought Mason was the only one who would hold a grudge against Chandler for his lack of judgment that evening. It seemed Malcolm had a long memory, too.

“I’m going to go up and change my clothes,” Chandler tells me, choosing to ignore Malcolm. “It’s getting close to time, right?”

I nod. “Yes. We’ll try taking Lilly with us within the hour.”

“Ok, cool. I’ll go ahead and get ready then,” Chandler says, walking into the house and up to his room.

We had given each of the vessels a room in the beach house. They stayed in them when they came to visit, and kept a few of their belongings permanently stored here to bring along with them during these attempts to reach alternate Earth. I waited a few minutes more before reluctantly telling everyone that it was time to bring the party to an end for the evening.

After most everyone is gone, I help change Brynlee and Max out of their wet swimsuits in the bedroom they share. I hold back tears at the thought of leaving my children behind. I don’t want to, but I also don’t want them to keep hearing me scream out every time I wake up from one of my dreams. About a year ago, they stopped asking me what made me cry out in the night. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. The last thing I wanted was for them to think that what I did was normal, and I didn’t want to be a source of their own nightmares.

Mama Lynn walks into the room.

“All set for the sleepover?” Mama Lynn asks Brynlee and Max, doing her best to sound cheery.

“Yes, Grandma,” they both say, as I button the last button on Brynlee’s Cinderella pajama top.

Max grabs his overnight bag from his Darth Vader-themed bed, and Brynlee grabs her Tinkerbell case and favorite teddy bear from her Disney Princess one. Mason comes into the room, and we both bend down on our knees to give the kids a hug.

“Now, you do whatever your grandmother asks you to while you’re with her and Grandpa George,” I tell them.

“We will,” Max promises me, taking on the role of leader since he’s the big brother. “Are you taking your big trip tonight or coming to get us in the morning?”

“I don’t know yet,” I tell him. “But if it doesn’t work this time, your daddy and I will be there bright and early tomorrow to have breakfast with you.”

Max nods his head in understanding. Brynlee lets her bag and bear fall to the floor as she throws her arms around my neck for a tight hug.

“Good luck, Mommy,” she says, knowing even at her young age that my need to go on my ‘trip’ is important to me.

We didn’t give the children any specifics about where it was we were trying to go, but we did tell them that some people were in trouble and that they needed our help. More than that wasn’t necessary at their age. They wouldn’t be able to fully grasp the situation we were walking into, and they didn’t need to. One member of the family having nightmares about it was bad enough.

“Thank you, baby,” I tell her, hugging her fiercely. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mommy,” she says, pulling back to give me a kiss on the lips to punctuate her words.

I give Max a hug and a kiss, too. “Take care of your sister.”

“I will,” he promises.

Mason and I stand back up.

Mama Lynn holds her arms out to me.

“I need a hug, too, just in case,” she says, holding back her own tears.

“It probably won’t even work,” I tell her, trying to ease her worry as I give her a hug. “It hasn’t so far.”

“I know,” she says as I pull away. “But…this time seems different for some reason. I can’t shake the feeling that I won’t be seeing you for a while.”