sat down on his lap, allowing him to keep working while I sifted through some of the papers on the desk—sheet after sheet of scribbled data. I had no idea what to make of it all.
“What’s all this stuff?” I asked once he stopped typing and leaned back in his chair.
“Physics project. Due this week. I am almost done with my part.”
I looked at him blankly.
“Not to worry.”
“What’s it about?”
“Time travel.” He laughed.
“Keeping it real, I hope, or did you add a para about Wanderers?”
He chuckled and enveloped me in a hug, kissing my neck gently.
Kellan was the only thing about my life that felt completely right. I rested my face on his shoulder, breathing into his neck.
“Are the girls gone already?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I grimaced. “I really pissed off Ariele and just felt bleh after that.”
“How did you piss her off?”
“I got angry with her and yelled at her after she proclaimed that I didn’t even know who I was. The nerve!”
He nodded slowly. “I can understand her frustration. You guys were very close, so go easy on her.”
“That’s what Ali and Maria said as well. It’s just a bit annoying how I’ve got to be all considerate when no one seems to realize how this sucks for me.”
Kellan squeezed my hand. “That’s not true. We do, and we’re all trying to figure out how to help you. Even if what we try doesn’t work. Like Gertrude, for example. I’m sure David brought her over for a visit so she could help you fill in the blanks.”
“I guess,” I conceded. “But… what if they aren’t my blanks to fill in? Remember in Vegas, we talked about how I could have a doppelganger in another dimension?”
“Yeah, though we were just kinda kidding, but sure, we could all have doppelgangers in other dimensions.”
“True. But what if my doppelganger came here, to this dimension, and lived here last year pretending to be me? Now that would explain why the heck I can’t remember anything.”
Kellan gasped, his mouth falling open. “No way!”
“Wait! Calm down. But if you think about it, it makes sense.”
“No.” He swept his hair back with his fingers and moved me from his lap, stood up, and paced the floor. He came to a stop right in front of me and gazed into my eyes. He didn’t say anything but looked lost in thought.
He broke the silence abruptly, spitting out, “What color is your hockey helmet?”
“Pink, of course,” I said without hesitation.
He threw his hands up in the air and smiled with satisfaction, then he brushed my lips with his and kissed me for a long intense moment. He let go of me and took my hand. “That was no doppelganger. It was you.”
I nodded. I didn’t understand how, but deep within me, I knew that I had been here—with Kellan. I had played hockey. My body told me so. “I may still have a doppelganger, though. In fact, I think I might have spoken to her.”
“What? How?” Kellan’s eyes narrowed.
I told him about the phone call when I had been hiding out with David.
“That’s a bit of a long shot.” He sounded unconvinced. “
A
could be anyone. Annabel, Alicia, Allirea, Anne-Marie…”
“There’s more,” I said before he recited the whole list of names starting with the first letter of the alphabet. I told him about the memory Gertrude had revealed. The first one—there was no way I was sharing the other one with Kellan. Especially after the way he reacted when I told him about the kiss at the rink. His fists clenched into tight balls, and a red hue washed over him.
“Brown hair!” I repeated loudly. “It wasn’t me!” I tugged at my blond strands.
When it was clear that I wasn’t getting through to him—his anger so intense that he’d frozen up—I walked over and touched his shoulder. He flinched, stepping back.
“Kell! It wasn’t me! Can’t you see that?”
He didn’t respond, turning away from me and sitting down. I walked around so that I was face-to-face with him
“What’s all this stuff?” I asked once he stopped typing and leaned back in his chair.
“Physics project. Due this week. I am almost done with my part.”
I looked at him blankly.
“Not to worry.”
“What’s it about?”
“Time travel.” He laughed.
“Keeping it real, I hope, or did you add a para about Wanderers?”
He chuckled and enveloped me in a hug, kissing my neck gently.
Kellan was the only thing about my life that felt completely right. I rested my face on his shoulder, breathing into his neck.
“Are the girls gone already?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I grimaced. “I really pissed off Ariele and just felt bleh after that.”
“How did you piss her off?”
“I got angry with her and yelled at her after she proclaimed that I didn’t even know who I was. The nerve!”
He nodded slowly. “I can understand her frustration. You guys were very close, so go easy on her.”
“That’s what Ali and Maria said as well. It’s just a bit annoying how I’ve got to be all considerate when no one seems to realize how this sucks for me.”
Kellan squeezed my hand. “That’s not true. We do, and we’re all trying to figure out how to help you. Even if what we try doesn’t work. Like Gertrude, for example. I’m sure David brought her over for a visit so she could help you fill in the blanks.”
“I guess,” I conceded. “But… what if they aren’t my blanks to fill in? Remember in Vegas, we talked about how I could have a doppelganger in another dimension?”
“Yeah, though we were just kinda kidding, but sure, we could all have doppelgangers in other dimensions.”
“True. But what if my doppelganger came here, to this dimension, and lived here last year pretending to be me? Now that would explain why the heck I can’t remember anything.”
Kellan gasped, his mouth falling open. “No way!”
“Wait! Calm down. But if you think about it, it makes sense.”
“No.” He swept his hair back with his fingers and moved me from his lap, stood up, and paced the floor. He came to a stop right in front of me and gazed into my eyes. He didn’t say anything but looked lost in thought.
He broke the silence abruptly, spitting out, “What color is your hockey helmet?”
“Pink, of course,” I said without hesitation.
He threw his hands up in the air and smiled with satisfaction, then he brushed my lips with his and kissed me for a long intense moment. He let go of me and took my hand. “That was no doppelganger. It was you.”
I nodded. I didn’t understand how, but deep within me, I knew that I had been here—with Kellan. I had played hockey. My body told me so. “I may still have a doppelganger, though. In fact, I think I might have spoken to her.”
“What? How?” Kellan’s eyes narrowed.
I told him about the phone call when I had been hiding out with David.
“That’s a bit of a long shot.” He sounded unconvinced. “
A
could be anyone. Annabel, Alicia, Allirea, Anne-Marie…”
“There’s more,” I said before he recited the whole list of names starting with the first letter of the alphabet. I told him about the memory Gertrude had revealed. The first one—there was no way I was sharing the other one with Kellan. Especially after the way he reacted when I told him about the kiss at the rink. His fists clenched into tight balls, and a red hue washed over him.
“Brown hair!” I repeated loudly. “It wasn’t me!” I tugged at my blond strands.
When it was clear that I wasn’t getting through to him—his anger so intense that he’d frozen up—I walked over and touched his shoulder. He flinched, stepping back.
“Kell! It wasn’t me! Can’t you see that?”
He didn’t respond, turning away from me and sitting down. I walked around so that I was face-to-face with him
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