In Between Dreams (26 page)

“Because I woke up here,” Bailey explained. “I live in Seattle. Halene, what the hell is going on?”

“How’d you—” Halene trailed off. Her breathing became rapid, frantic. She was close to hysterics. “How did you know to call me? What happened?”

“Halene, I need you to listen to me. I ran into Sam today,” Bailey said. She wanted to ask her questions and figure out so many things, but she realized there wasn’t time. If it was all real, though the how was still confusing, then was Mei really in danger? If she was, there was no time for talking things out.

“You need to go back. You need to be in China,” Halene screamed. “You need to get to Mei before—” Halene’s words stopped abruptly.

“Okay,” Bailey said calmly. Bailey’s gift of being able to comfort had always worked best when others let their emotions get carried away. “I recognize we need to go back. I get that. We just don’t know
how
. Or what is even going on. Where are you?”

Halene’s breathing was erratic. “I don’t understand how this could have happened,” her accent grew with her panic. “How’d you wake up? We were in the middle of a mission.”

Bailey took a breath; she knew it was time for her to use her skill. She needed to comfort Halene. Even if she needed to get back, she wouldn’t be getting any answers for
this
Halene. “Hales,” Bailey said softly. Sam watched Bailey as she transitioned into comforting mode. He was always so impressed by her. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to make this work. Just tell me where you are.”

“I’m in France,” Halene explained. “Where you left me when you left for China.”

This information made Bailey realize one very pivotal piece of information. They were not in dreams. They were not dreaming. They were somewhere else in the same time, in the same world. It wasn’t time travel, or a parallel universe. It was happening at the same time as they slept, in the same world. The information crashed into Bailey’s psyche like a wave. The harsh realization only brought on more questions. Most of them were something like,
What the fuck is going on?

Bailey knew she couldn’t freak out. She knew she needed to work with Halene to figure out what to do next.

“I swear to you, Halene, it’s going to be all right. We’re going to figure this out. I just need you to take a breath and talk to me here.” Bailey could hear Halene’s breathing slow down. “The truth is, Hales, it’s better this way. But I need to know how to get back to China. We need to help Mei. Do you know how we do it?”

“Yeah.” Halene’s voice was not quite normal, but it was getting there. “I have so much to explain to you.” The inner turmoil was there.

“You’re right. You owe us a huge explanation, but for now all I’m asking is that you tell us how to get back to China without flying for thirty-five hours.”

“Okay,” Halene breathed out. “Katherine and I got a huge lead on that missing person’s case here in France; we have the cops involved
and know where the missing boy is,” she explained. “We’re getting a cab to the airport now. So we’ll be there in about sixteen hours or so.” Halene’s words were rushed. “All you need to do is turn on your trigger.”

“Trigger?” Bailey asked, her voice leery. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s a movie or a song. Daniel told me what it’s called. It what brings you back to a mission when it’s still occurring,” Halene explained. She mumbled a couple different titles that Bailey couldn’t make out. “
The Big W
? I think that’s what it’s called.”

“My movie? How do you know about—”

Sam’s forehead wrinkled at the sound of the word “movie.” He turned his head, looking out the window of Bailey’s apartment allowing his mind to think about what was happening. His trigger for relief from his painful existence was an old detective film.

“I can’t explain now,” Halene said, her voice climbing again. “Please. Turn it on.”

“That’s Sam’s trigger too?”

“Yes,” Halene said. “I will explain it all later.”

Bailey knew she couldn’t ask for any more information. She asked to get back to China, and that’s what Halene did for her. “We’ll see you soon,” Bailey said.

“When you see Daniel, keep him in line,” Halene stated. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” With that, the line went dead.

Bailey pulled the phone from her ear and looked at Sam. He spun around, biting his lip in anticipation. “We’ve gotta go to sleep,” Bailey told him nervously. “Got any other plans for the day?”

“I’m all yours,” Sam said with no irony in his voice. “I didn’t think I’d get you in bed so easily,” Sam joked, trying to lighten the intensity of their situation.

Bailey elbowed him playfully as she walked over to the TV. She grabbed the remote and turned it on. She pressed the play button on her remote. The movie that held a permanent spot in her DVD player turned on loudly and the music of the DVD menu filled the room. Sam’s head popped up. “What the—?”

“You know this movie?” Bailey asked, flabbergasted. So many questions reeled through her mind.

“I watch it all the time.” Sam looked over at Bailey, stunned. They stared at each other for a moment before Bailey remembered the urgency. When they were last in China, Mei was still missing, and they were putting a plan together to get her out. They needed to get to Mei soon; they had no idea what the gang would do to her.

Bailey went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of men’s basketball shorts leftover from a former boyfriend. “Get comfy,” she said, throwing them toward him.

Bailey walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror with wide eyes, asking her reflection to explain exactly what was going on. Her world had been turned upside down in the time frame of an hour. She pulled off her dress and grabbed her sweats and a pink tank top from the floor and put them on. She ruffled her hair, touched her stomach. She felt something between nausea and anxiety building in her throat. She took a breath, swallowed her anxiety, and exited the bathroom with a new sense of determination.

When she came out of the bathroom, Sam was sitting on the edge of her bed awkwardly. “You don’t have a couch,” he said nervously.

Bailey beamed at Sam. She found his timid ways were sweet and adorable. The thought of Sam in her bed was a lot to think about. She bit her lip.

“There is plenty of room for you,” Bailey promised as she got on her side of the bed. “Remember we’re only sleeping.” The irony of the sentence wasn’t lost on Bailey. They were not only sleeping. They were going to sleep and wake up in China. Her mind seemed to be moving from thought to thought so quickly she couldn’t latch onto any one in particular. Halene answered the call. Did that mean Bailey could also be in two places at once? The confusion set off a myriad of questions. She didn’t think she could have so many questions in her brain at once.

She lay down and covered herself with the blanket.

Sam scooted next to her and pulled the other half of the blanket onto him. “Okay if I share?”

“Of course,” she whispered. He wanted to put his arms around her but didn’t want to be to forward. Having her so close to him, in such an intimate setting, felt like the perfect place to make a move. But he didn’t know how to go about it. He wanted to be respectful.

“This is weird, right?” Bailey turned toward him and studied his face. Her eyes traveled from his eyes to his lips. She wondered if he would ever kiss her. Daniel had, without permission or warrant. And a piece of Bailey wanted that from Sam, but she knew that wasn’t his style.

“I think that entering a mental institution is in our near future,” Sam offered with a wink. “But I feel like I’ve been going crazy for the last eight years and now it’s all kind of…coming together.”

Bailey rubbed her lips together, her nervous habit. She looked over at Sam. She was even more attracted to him here in Seattle. His biceps were flexed under his green work shirt, like an invitation to touch them. He gave her a small, comforting grin. She knew questions were overtaking his thoughts, as they were hers. But for now she took the moment in. Sam Morris was in her bed. She leaned over to kiss him softly. His lips were soft on hers, and his hand came up to her face to bring her into him more. Sam tasted and smelled like coffee, which was a welcome flavor. When their kiss broke, Sam breathed out. The breath hit her face, and she took the moment in.

“I wanted to do that now,” she said. “I didn’t know when I’d get another chance.”

Sam liked the kiss but didn’t like the idea of not being able to do it again anytime soon. Sam stroked his thumb over her cheek for a moment before breaking the contact. She turned her back to Sam to see the screen better. Sam moved in closer to her and put his arm around her and his head on her shoulder. Sam had a wide smile that he didn’t want to be rid of. All of the questions in his mind ceased as soon her lips touched his. He kissed her shoulder softly.

They watched the movie that they knew so well they could say every word along with the actors. Both of their eyes began to droop at the same time.

Bailey woke up in the room where Daniel had attempted to choke her. She stood up and saw Sam on the ground. She knelt beside him as he began to awaken. They must have fallen asleep within seconds of each other.

“This is freaky as hell,” he mumbled. She took a swift breath inward and stood. She opened the door and ran into the living room. She saw Hui sitting on the couch.

“Hui. Thank God. Where’s Daniel?”

“Daniel went to Mei. Alone,” Hui said, his voice cracked.

“What?”
Sam and Bailey said in unison. Bailey hadn’t noticed that Sam had followed her back into the living room.

“Two hour ago. Something wrong.”

Bailey felt tears well up in her eyes, not only was Daniel missing, but she now knew that this was real. Bailey felt herself coming undone. What was Daniel thinking? Before she could get too deep into her thoughts, Hui spoke again. “He left phone.” He pointed to a phone on the coffee table. “Said to call Arene.”

“Halene,” Bailey whispered, half to correct Hui and half to herself. She dialed the number as Sam and Hui started to have a conversation in Mandarin.

“Daniel? Thank God!”
Halene answered, her voice panicked.

“No.” Bailey breathed out, a single tear falling down her cheek. “It’s me,” she choked out. Her throat quivered in anticipation of sobs. She rubbed her forehead in frustration and turned from Hui and Sam.

“Oh good, you’re there,” Halene said with a sigh of relief. She clearly didn’t hear the sobs that rose in Bailey stomach. Landing into a crisis after everything that transpired was overwhelming her.

“No,” Bailey whimpered. “No,
not
good. Daniel is gone.” Bailey’s breathing was shaky and sporadic. She could feel herself slipping into a panic attack, and she dropped to the floor. She let out a harsh sob and dropped the phone. She needed Halene to tell them what to do, but all she felt was despair. They had lost Mei
and
Daniel. The feeling of guilt coupled with the sharp realization that all of this wasn’t just a dream was too much for her to handle.

Sam was on his knees next to her in seconds. “Breathe, Bailey. Breathe,” he pleaded with her, and yelled at Hui in Mandarin. “We’re going to make this right, Bailey. I need you to breathe.”

Bailey let out guttural cries, on her knees on the floor. Sam grabbed her face, trying to get her to calm down. She didn’t want to calm down.
Too much had happened. Too much was real. She felt sick. She put her head between her knees. She would almost look like she was doing yoga if her body wasn’t shaking so intensely.

“Find a paper bag,” Sam told Hui frantically.

Sam rubbed her back, trying to calm her. He picked up the phone.

“Halene,” he said over Bailey’s cries. “We need a plan. We need something. Bailey isn’t doing very good.”

He heard Halene whimper. There was a lot of noise on the other end of the phone. Halene was at the airport. “I can’t get there any faster than sixteen hours, Sammy.”

“I know,” Sam said, his voice rough with emotion. “I know you can’t. Hui gave us a plan, but we need two more people, at least.”

“Chinese people,” Hui clarified.

“Hui is saying we need
Chinese
people,” Sam offered. Bailey’s sobs quieted. Making a plan calmed her down.

Bailey focused aggressively on her breathing. She knew she couldn’t fall apart like this. She felt so hopeless. So useless. Losing Mei was unbearable, and now the possibility that she may never see Daniel again had tipped her emotional stability.

With all of her and Daniel’s bickering and disagreeing, she still really cared about Daniel. She had feelings for him that she couldn’t explain. She loved him. She didn’t want to lose him.

She heard Sam and Halene talking, but couldn’t focus on their words. They were making a plan, making progress. It was a good thing.

A memory of a hopeless time ran through her mind. Though it wasn’t a time when she felt hopeless. She focused on the memory.

“Daniel,” Rodney said. They were on a street corner in Boston. It was a nice day in early fall. The leaves on the trees were beginning to turn. There was a crisp chill to the air. Bailey rubbed her hands over her arms to warm herself up. Rodney handed Daniel a fifty-dollar bill. “Why don’t you take a beat? Go get a coffee?”

“I don’t need your money, old man,” Daniel growled. Bailey knew she wasn’t supposed to be listening to the conversation, but they were
having it right in front of her. She knew she should walk away, leave them. Give them privacy. But her curiosity won her internal argument.

“You’re making everyone uncomfortable,” Rodney scolded. Rodney was shorter then Daniel and older. Most men would be afraid of Daniel but not Rodney. The look in Rodney’s eyes showed both Daniel and Bailey that he was in charge.

Daniel had become very attached to the woman they were helping. They were trying to get her out of a toxic relationship with a man who had been emotionally abusing her. At that point in the mission, it seemed like their efforts had been for nothing. The woman they were helping refused to listen to them any longer.

“I’m not the problem here, Rodney. It’s
you
. You’re not giving us a good enough plan.” Daniel looked up at the sky, like he was blaming God. “Why are you even here? You clearly don’t think this is worth it.”