Fusion (6 page)

“I can try to help with that. Let’s give her a treat and some water first.”

As we walked into the kitchen, I noticed Mom showing Bruno up the stairs. “Is he staying over?” I asked David.

“Yes, he’s been assigned to your mom.”

I had to laugh. “I’ll bet she’s loving that. So, she’s got Bruno. I’ve got you and Kellan. What about Ella and Harry?”

“Oh, Kellan told you?”

“Yes, we FaceTimed earlier.”

“Bruno is working double duty, covering Harry as well, and Alexa is on her way for Ella.”

“Good! She’ll love that. Harry will be home for a while?”

“Yes. And I’ll be staying over as well. Anyhow, let’s see what we can do with Gertrude. She’s heading back tomorrow.”

“Oh? I didn’t know. Where exactly is
back
?”

“She is someone else’s guardian, so she needs to get back…”

“Secretive much?”

“Sorry, it’s not my information to share. Please don’t be so mad at me.” He moved closer and drew me in for a hug.

His chest felt warm and comfortable against my cheek, and my feelings for him erupted again as I fought to stifle them.

“It’s okay,” he soothed, kissing the top of my head gently. Then he stepped away from me, pulling me down to sit at the kitchen table. He picked up Gertrude and put her on a chair between us. “Gertrude,” he said, looking grave.

Much as the giggles wanted to escape my mouth, I swallowed them, managing to keep a straight face.

David threw me his
look
. Then he turned back to Gertrude, who watched him intently. “Take it slow,” he said to her. “Just one thought at a time.”

She looked bored and put her face down on his leg.

“Give it a go, Arizona. Put your hand on her back and see what happens.”

I did as he asked, preparing myself for the usual overwhelming attack of random images. Nothing happened at first, but then it started. Not random pop-up images this time, but a slow-moving film in black and white. It was like those old silent movies except this was in color. I tried to discern what was going on, but it was like watching a very small screen at a great distance. This was no 3D home-cinema-type display. I squinted even though my eyes were closed. I wasn’t actually watching this with my eyes. I saw two people on the screen, moving around randomly… on ice. They were skating. It was David and me, skating and messing around. I had no recollection of this and had to assume it must have happened when I was the other Arizona. I kept watching as we skated to the side and stopped, taking off our helmets. Sheesh! My hair was brown! I grabbed the back of David’s head and brought his face close to mine, brushing my lips against his, and then practically assaulted him. I let go of Gertrude and opened my eyes, glaring at David.

“Anything?” he asked.

“You snogged me! Well, I guess it was more like me kissing you, but still… I thought you said that you had another girlfriend.”

“Kissed you?” He looked genuinely puzzled. “Like a real kiss? Not a peck? What exactly did you see?”

I described it to him, watching his expression grow more and more uncomfortable. “And I had brown hair! When did I dye my hair that color? I looked weird.”

David didn’t respond but glared at Gertrude instead.

“Well? Explain,” I prompted.

“She must be confused,” he whispered throwing Gertrude another sideways glance. “She’s probably mixed a bunch of memories into a mess of recollections.”

Gertrude growled.

“Wait a minute. Are you saying that you didn’t kiss me at the ice rink the way I described?”

“Yep, that’s right. That didn’t happen.”

“And my brown hair?”

“You’ve been blond for as long as I can remember.”

He seemed to be telling the truth. “Well, there isn’t much point carrying on with this if I’m not going to get an accurate picture, is there?”

“Nope, none at all. I’ll drive Gertrude over to Mom’s house for the night. She’s got to leave tomorrow anyway. Harry and Bruno are in the house, so you should be okay.”

“Yes, that’s fine.” I looked down at Gertrude. “Stop by anytime you want. I kinda like you.”

She wagged her tail at me, and as I bent down to pat her again, she passed one last memory clip to me. I stood back up, completely shaken by it as David led Gertrude out.

I
walked back to my bedroom in a zombie state, sat down on the edge of my bed, and stared blankly out the window. The sky was turning a beautiful orange as the sun rose. Was it already morning? I had no idea how long I sat there, with the same clip running through my mind again and again, chilling me to the bone. There was no way Gertrude could have magically conjured up that scene from nothing, but how could I forget such a thing? Had it been my first time? It didn’t seem like it from how I’d acted in Gertrude’s memory. I seemed to know what I was doing. The image made me blush and sent strange feelings of desire through my body—for David. I shook my head. David had denied the kiss. Would he deny this as well? Could it all just be a figment of Gertrude’s imagination? I found that hard to believe.

I had to ask Mom about the brown hair. David had denied that too, but Gertrude clearly remembered my hair as brown. Or was that just the way it looked through Gertrude’s eyes? Shouldn’t she be seeing in black and white? I guessed that Wanderer dogs must be different.

“Arizona!” Ella launched herself into my bed. “Thank God it’s Sunday! I’ve got a playdate with Jonas. What are you doing today? Hockey?”

I lay down beside her and gave her a hug. “Think I’m just going to laze today. Didn’t get much sleep. None to be precise.”

“What about Gertrude? Where is she? Tallulah is downstairs having breakfast. We could take them for a walk together.”

“Gertrude had to leave, but I am sure she’ll be back for another visit soon,” I added hastily as I watched Ella’s eyes well up.

Her lips quivered, but she managed to hold it together.

“Hey, let’s go down and get some breakfast.”

She nodded as I pulled her up from the bed but then shook her head vehemently when I tried leading her out the door. I guess she wasn’t ready just yet. When I let go of her elbow, much to my surprise, she walked over to my closet. After digging through my stuff, she came back out with a pair of jeans and a Hollister t-shirt. She held them out for me, and I took them, having no intention of getting changed before breakfast. I was totally comfy in my pajamas. In fact, I planned to laze about in them all day. I flung the jeans and shirt on the bed and waved at Ella to follow me.

But she didn’t move. “You have to change,” she said.

“Why? I’m not going anywhere today. Not this morning anyway. Come on. The smell of that bacon is making me drool.”

“Kellan is down there. So are David, Ali, and Maria. And Bruno. I almost forgot him, but he’s down there too.”

I rolled my eyes. I had totally forgotten that David and Bruno had stayed over. I’d have been okay wearing my jammies in front of the rest of them, but not with Bruno. I nodded and changed into the clothes Ella had chosen. As I finished, I took the lip gloss she held out for me and laughed. “You’ve turned into the perfect wardrobe assistant!”

Her frown made it obvious that this was not a laughing matter to her. “Well, you’ve sucked at it for a long time! And you were just about to go down in your sheep pajamas. I’ve been helping you almost every day,” she grumped.

“Was it you who rearranged my closet? And my room?”

“Yeah! Someone had to. You’ve been so messy.”

“Well, that’s nice of you, but I think I can handle it again.”

She pursed her lips. “Can I still borrow your stuff?”

I had very strict rules about my stuff, and I hated lending anything out. Most of my things lasted for ages because I took great care of them. Letting Ella use anything didn’t seem like a great idea. “What kind of stuff?” I asked her, hoping it would be the odd t-shirt.

“Well, I was planning to use your Pucci bag today, you know, the one Mom got you in Paris.”

Of course I knew. It was one of my prized possessions, one that I carefully stored in a dust bag when not in use. My natural instinct was to say no. She was way too young to be playing dress-up with it, but her expression—her lips set in a defiant line—made me hesitate.

“I already have it packed and ready to go,” she informed me curtly.

“Well, unpack it, then! You should have asked!” I snarled at her.

“I did! You said I could borrow whatever I wanted.” She burst into tears and yelled, “I hate you! I liked you so much better as the other Arizona!” She turned around and fled down the stairs.

Perfect! I had turned my only sister against me. I felt my eyes water up, and tears ran down my cheek. I was a mess. Breakfast would have to wait. There was no way I was going down there looking like this, and now they were probably waiting to yell at me for upsetting Ella. Had I really just given her permission to use my stuff whenever? That was just insane. I must have lost my mind completely. She’d have to adjust back to what it was like before.

A shower had become a necessity. I stood under the hot spray for ages, letting the drops wash away my anger. The irritation was replaced by remorse. Poor Ella. She must be wondering what the heck was going on. One minute I was lending her stuff, and the next I was back to my old rules. She’d had a whole year of the other me. At her age, that probably felt like forever. She’d probably forgotten what I had been like before. I turned off the water, dried myself, got ready super fast, and rushed down the stairs.

All the chatting stopped as I entered the kitchen. Everyone looked up at me, their faces grumpy. Ella had obviously told them.

“Ella, I am so sorry,” I said quickly and walked around to her chair. “I’m having a hard time getting used to things. Everything has changed. But I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I am really sorry.”

She looked up and nodded slightly. “So, it’s okay if I take your Pucci, then?”

The little monkey. “Yes, I guess. But let’s talk about other borrows before you help yourself. Okay?”

“I suppose. Most of your bags are in my closet. You said you didn’t want them.”

Sheesh! I took a deep breath, breathing out again to maintain my cool. “Let’s talk about that later.” I turned to sit down between Ali and Maria.

As Mom passed me the bacon, Ali leaned in and squeezed my arm. “Totally with you. Can’t believe you let her have them in the first place! Can’t see you getting them back, though. But no worries, we can always go shopping.” She smiled.

“And replace my whole bag collection?” I whispered back.

“Oh, she doesn’t have them all. Just the Pucci, your MJ clutch, and the Chanel messenger.”

The Chanel messenger! My pride and joy. It was all I could do to not throw a complete wobbly. I’d have to find a way to get that one back. She could keep the other two. I bit into the bacon, catching Kellan’s look from across the table. Well, not exactly his look: his full-blown snorts of laughter. I threw a piece of bacon at him. “Stop! It’s not funny!”

He held his hands up in surrender as he tried to stifle his chortles.

“Enough, Arizona. No throwing food around.” Mom’s tone was stern and final.

“So, what’s everyone doing today?” Harry asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’ve got a playdate with Jonas and Sally,” Ella said. “Mom, you’re taking me, right?”

“I’m dropping you off, Ella,” Harry said.

“That’s right.” Mom stood up. “I’ve actually got to head into my office for a while, so I will see you later. Call me if you need anything.”

“Is Dad coming home today?” Ella asked.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll try to find out. See you later, Munchkin.” Mom kissed the top of Ella’s head and left with Bruno.

“Ella, you ready?” Harry asked.

“Yes.” She threw me a cursory glance before reaching down under the table and emerging with my Pucci. And they were off.

Ali laughed. “Little monkey! But you can’t really blame her. You’ve been shockingly disinterested in your bags.”

“And on that note, I am going to head out,” David said, leaving just the girls, Kellan, and me. They had already finished breakfast, so they hung around while I chowed on mine.

“Are you totally back to your normal self?” Maria asked. “Including your obsession with bags.”

“I’m not sure what that means. I am just me. I think.”

“You think?” Maria raised an eyebrow. “I guess you’re all confused? I mean, you were thinking of cheering yesterday…”

“What’s so strange about that?” I asked snippily.

“Nothing, I guess. Except that you haven’t done it for so long. Try not to take everything so personally. We’ve all been living with another you for almost a year. Imagine what it was like for us! It’s great that you’re back to normal, but give us a break. It took us a while to get used to the other you.”

Ali laughed.

“What?” I asked.

“I was just remembering back to the time when you told us that you were giving up cheer to play ice hockey. That was so insane.”

“Yeah,” Maria agreed. “But we went along with it. Even supported you. So cut us a bit of slack.”

“I guess. You’re right. It’s going to take me a while. Kellan took me skating yesterday, and I loved it.”