Paradigm (Travelers Series Book 3) (17 page)

“My father,” she stammers. “It was all his idea.”

“What about your father? You’re an orphan just like me.”

“Remember when you we were fostered by the Thornberry’s?”

That’s how we knew each other. At one point, we had been fostered by the same family, and when I became a political liability—my foster dad was running for office—they dumped me and kept Jaime. After a few years, and a lost bid, they abandoned her as well, allowing for us to be reunited at Dominion House for Girls.

“You still think of them as your parents? Come on, Jaime. They ditched you faster than you can say exit polls. Don’t you remember how quickly you were forgotten right after Thornberry lost his election bid?” I vaguely remember my short stint with Oliver and his self-absorbed wife. Secretly, I was glad I didn’t stay with the family very long. There was always something creepy about that man. Even at fourteen years old, I knew something was off when it came to Oliver Thornberry.

That’s when another piece of the puzzle falls into place. The Thornberry’s. Oliver Thornberry. The man that is responsible for destroying the future I just visited. The partner of my father who used my abilities to his advantage in my real reality. The foster parent who sheltered me here in this one. Another piece of the puzzle falls into place.

“They adopted me,” she says, almost biting back the words, as if she doesn’t want to admit it.

“What do you mean they adopted you? You ended up at Dominion just like I did.” Soon after the Thornberry’s sent her back to the state, she ended up at the foster home with me. That was when we rekindled our childhood friendship and became inseparable ever since.

Jaime shakes her head vehemently. “That’s what you were supposed to believe. I ended up here in this reality, not just the home.”

Seriously, what the hell? How does Jaime know anything about alternate worlds? Is everyone in on this but me? “How do you know about that? Why didn’t Cooper tell me you knew?” I knew she was hiding something from me, I just didn’t think it was this.

Jaime shoots straight up. “I know from my father. And Cooper doesn’t know anything about it. But he’s the reason I’m stuck here.”

“He –” I start. “You were the one that tried to keep me away from him in high school. What aren’t you telling me?” What does she know about him anyway, other than thinking he was some kind of stalker all those years ago? If anything, if it weren’t for her putting ideas in my head that he was dangerous, I probably would have gone with him in the first place.

“That’s what I’m trying really hard to tell you, Etta. My father set all this up.”

“Again with your father. You don’t have one,” I insist.

“Yes I do! And he left me in this godforsaken universe to keep you away from Cooper.”

As Jaime finishes her little outburst, I stand there stunned. I back away from Jaime. “You’re out of your mind.” I mean, she has to be, right? “Is this some kind of a joke?”

“No, it’s not. In my
real
world, the Thornberry’s adopt me. Then one day, my father takes me to this government facility and tells me he’s going to send me to another reality. He told me you were in danger from this guy Cooper and I was to do everything in my power to keep you away from him.”

“And you believed him? Since when is Thornberry a model father?” I don’t doubt for a second he was any different than the man that briefly fostered me in this reality.

“And when do you start believing strangers like Cooper? Huh? To believe someone more than your best friend.”

“My pseudo best friend you mean. And yeah, I believe Cooper. He’s never given me any reason to doubt him. Unlike you. I can’t even trust you anymore, Jaime. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

“You trusted him then and you trust him now. Just what is it exactly about him that you run to him whenever he appears? It’s like you’re possessed and can’t see clearly. You know what? Maybe my dad was right to keep you away from him. Cooper’s done nothing but brainwash you.”

Jaime’s grasping at straws at this point, so I soften my tone. “You don’t think that’s what Thornberry did to you? I trust Cooper because it’s what I dream about. For years, I’ve had dreams of other worlds and I believe it’s part of my future. I have abilities and powers you can’t even being to understand. So, yeah, I’m going to go with my foolish visions of the future, versus your father’s warped-up plan to take it over.”

Then I remember what set the chain of events off in the first place. Jaime. She was the missing link. She’s the one who interfered with the timeline. It was staring at me in the face and I neglected to see the signs. It was she who interrupted my conversation with Cooper all those years ago. It was Jaime who put the thoughts in my head that Cooper was a danger to me.

“It was you, wasn’t it? What the hell did you do?” My insides are seething at this point. I stare at Jaime as if she’s some kind of a stranger to me. How could she withhold a secret like this from me? It’s like I don’t even know her. “Were you ever going to tell me?” From the look on her face, I knew she never had any intention of telling me what she’d done.

“I want –” Jaime hesitates. “I wanted to tell you a thousand times. Really, I did. Then the days turned into months, then years, and well, since you never brought Cooper up, I just figured it was for the best, I’m so sorry, Etta.” She begins to cry and while I want to comfort her, I don’t. “I just wanted to protect you from him.”

“Do you realize what you’ve done?” My voice is barely above a whisper. At this point, I’m not really addressing Jaime anymore, but confronting the truth I’ve tried so desperately to avoid all week. Everything Cooper and the others have tried to tell me was the truth and I tried to dismiss it. “I’ve seen the the destruction of the future by your father’s hand and I can tell from the look on your face that you have no idea what his plans really are. You got your fancy trust fund and did his bidding with absolutely no concern over your actions.”

Jaime just stands there, her tears subsiding as her sniffles became louder. I think I hear her hiccup, she’s crying so hard. “I swear I didn’t know what I was agreeing to when my father sent me here,” she finally says, the tears falling down her cheeks again. “Don’t you think this has cost me, too? I was supposed go back home! He told me that once I kept you away from him, he would bring me back; he never did. I’ve been living a lie for the last four years and the only person I could turn to talk about it is the one person I couldn’t tell.”

I’ve gotten pretty good at controlling my emotions, but I can’t ever truly suppress them. The more I hear about Jaime and her plan to change the course of my future, the angrier I become. The lined bookcases begin to shift and a huge book—I think it was this year’s edition of the Virginia Code—plops itself right next to Jaime’s foot. The look on her face is priceless when she realizes that it’s not a small earthquake, but me.

“And Audrey?” I ask again. I now realize that she’s involved somehow. “She’s involved in this somehow, I know. Don’t tell me I was imagining things when you two exchanged looks earlier.”

Another book flies off the shelf, making Jaime jump back.

“Her real name is April. She works with, or rather for, my father.”

“So it was all a set up. Introducing us so that she’d hire me. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,” I say, stunned by her admission. “I guess that includes you, too.”

My former best friend just stands there, not even trying to defend herself against me or the books that keep dropping off the shelves.

On some level, I feel bad for Jaime, having her father use her, only to ultimately desert her once she’d done what she’d been asked, but I can’t forgive her. “Look, I’m sorry you got involved, but I think I need some time to myself. I think you better leave before someone gets hurt.”

And just like that, I dismiss her.

Present Reality

I
storm out of the office, giving myself a couple minutes from Jaime’s own departure. I’m so pissed off, I don’t even know in which direction I want to go. Do I go home and vent my frustration in the privacy of the four walls I call home or do I go somewhere public and seethe in silence? The high level of anxiety that sparks my telekinesis is finally beginning to subside.

There’s only one place I can think of to further reduce the level of stress I’m feeling. I’m calm enough now not to let my pent-up anger cause any mugs and saucers to go flying. I know caffeine is the last thing I need right now, but a hot steaming cappuccino is exactly what the doctor ordered—or a good shrink, anyway.

I actually manage to find a spot in the corner of Battle Grounds, and I nestle against the worn armchair and watch the customers come and go. Do they realize that there’s an infinite numbers of realities going on at exactly the same time? Here, they’re simply enjoying their caffeinated beverage or eating a fresh-baked scone, while in another they may be dead, never been born, or worst yet, miserable in life. That’s how I feel. Miserable. I don’t know that I would be happier if I’d followed my destined past, but it can’t be any worse than what I’m feeling right now.

Who is Jaime to change the course of my destiny? I play back the scene that happened no more than ten minutes ago. She just stood there and tried to justify her actions! With my life! I don’t know what’s worse, knowing that my life was totally altered because of her or that I just lost my best friend in the world. I remember our mantra after high school, “It’s us against the world.” Ha! Right.

My hand immediately goes to the locket I’ve worn ever since Cooper gifted it to me. Only it wasn’t around my neck. It’d been a source of comfort for me these last few days, a talisman if you will, but it was gone. My eyes begin to well up at the thought of losing the one thing that connected me to my mother. I must have lost it when I traveled with Moose to the future.

“You look like you just lost your best friend,” Cooper says, sliding a chair next to mine. “Either that or you found out this place only serves decaf.”

He catches me off-guard, but I manage a nervous laugh. I wipe the sole tear that had just fallen down my cheek. “If I hadn’t just lost my best friend, your joke would be hilarious.” I don’t tell him about losing the locket. Maybe it’s still at the apartment and I didn’t lose it after all.

“Ah, but you laughed anyway.”

“Call it a moment of weakness,” I say, lifting up my cappuccino. “See? No shortage of caffeine here.”

“So what happened? You sure you’re all right?”

“No. Yes,” I say. “I don’t know.”

“You know you can tell me anything.”

After how my week has turned out, he’s not off the mark. “Jaime.”

“What happened? Did you guys have a fight?”

“The mother of all fights. She’s the link, Cooper. It was all her.” I say this with a touch of indifference, and it sounds like I don’t even care. Defeated is more like it.

Confusion is written all over Cooper’s handsome face. The small crinkles around his eyes deepen as he considers what I just said. “Jaime? What does she have to do with any of this?”

“She’s the one who interrupted us here all those years ago. Did you know that she’s not even from this reality? Her
father
, Thornberry, sent her here to make sure we don’t get together.”

The deep etches around his eyes get even deeper. “Whoa, hold on. She was behind it?”

“Well, her father, anyway. So now I have no best friend, no job, and no idea what to do next.”

“Not to get sidetracked or anything, but what happened to your job?

“Ha! That’s the kicker. Audrey, or
April
, works for Thornberry. Who is she, anyway, and why was she impersonating someone else? Is anyone in this reality actually from this reality?”

Cooper slumps into his chair. “We certainly never figured her in the equation, but I’m not surprised. She was supposed to be your advisor in your other reality. To teach you about traveling and the Council.”

“But she’s in on it with Thornberry and Jaime. How did this happen?”

“April’s one thing, but Jaime?” He shakes his head. “We never expected that she’d be a part of this.”

“And how is that? You guys manage to travel between universes with no problem, you can even travel in time. How can you not have foreseen Jaime’s involvement?”

“That’s the funny thing about the future. We can’t always predict it. You of all people should know there are an infinite –”

“– number of realities. Yeah, yeah, I know. But what exactly does that mean?”

“It means we can’t keep track of it all. There is only one future, Etta… the one we ultimately end up with. To a point, we can see all of the hundreds or million future scenarios, but we don’t know the final score.

“And that’s why we need you. We can’t foresee whether or not we defeat Thornberry in the end. All we can do is fight and have faith that we achieve the outcome we want.”

“What’s the point of having a destiny, if it can change?”

“Oh, I never said it could change, I just merely stated that as we move through the line of time, realities, or rather we, splinter off in the direction we’re supposed to be headed.”

“So we can’t change time, but we can jump on into the timeline we want?”

“Not quite. This is why we’ve carefully mapped out the most opportune moments in time to find you. It may seem like we’re changing the future, but we’re actually trying to correct it. It’s like the butterfly effect. If we were to change the course of history, then we’d disrupt the paradigm of continuity. You’re friend Jaime, err, ex-friend Jaime, succeeded in disrupting that constant. In order for you to jump back into your destined role, we have to try to approach you during a time that you’ll be more receptive to the idea, so as not to create chaos.”

“What about free will? Doesn’t that come into play in this paradigm of continuity or whatever?”

“That’s like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg. Some would argue that we cannot change our past nor our future and that it is all predetermined. Others believe we cannot go back and change the past, but our future remains unwritten, still following the linear laws of causation. We now know that it’s the latter, based on the research the Dyson Twins have been working on.”