Chapter Thirty-One

My body spun like a dreidel. I thought I would throw up. And then suddenly, it stopped. I was on solid ground.

“Kyle,” I said, opening my eyes and reaching out my hand.

My heart hammered against my chest. This. Wasn’t. The. Getty. And I was all alone.

I stood in the sand surrounded by palm trees. Lights sparkled off the branches, sending cones of different shades of green onto the ground. A strong salty smell penetrated the air. Seagulls cawed in the distance.

“Kyle!” His name scratched the back of my throat. No matter how loud I screamed, he wouldn’t ever hear. He couldn’t hear. He was somewhere in another time.

The last thing I remembered was seeing the back of Kyle’s head, wavering in the sunlight before I fell onto the museum grass.

I wrapped my arms around my chest, taking deep breaths, willing myself not to freak out. Stay calm. Wasn’t that what I had read? Law #14 - Upon arrival in a new time, breathe deeply, inhaling particles of current airwaves.

That law applied to a time traveling matchmaker. Not to me. But it was all the arsenal I had. I kept breathing. In and out. Slowly. Stay calm. Breathe. In and out.

Renn had rescued me the last time. He would be here again. No, a scared voice answered. He might not show up.

I pushed the voice away. He had to know Natasha had taken me. He would be here. I had to remain calm.

He has no idea where I am. Yes, he will be here. No. Yes.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

With each breath, everything hurt. My legs. My chest. My scalp.

The ground began shaking. Vibrations ran along on the soles of my feet. Slowly, they moved up my legs, until the rhythm engulfed my entire body. Rock music coursed through my veins.

“She looks beautiful, doesn’t she?”

I spun around.

“I’ll say.”

I turned in the other direction.

“More champagne, please.”

I didn’t see anyone.

“Hello?” I shouted. “Who’s there?”

Oh, my god. I was stuck in time, in a strange place, hearing voices.

“Hello?” I called out again.

The bass explosion inside my head was deafening. I covered my ears to quiet the sound. It was no use. It was only getting louder.

A hot breeze blew against my back, pushing me forward. When I put my foot down in front of me, it slipped, and I fell sideways onto the ground. I pushed myself to a sitting position. Something that should have been easy was now almost impossible. Even breathing took too much energy.

“Renn,” I whispered. “I need you. So much, I need you.” My words squeezed out between my fear.

I sat with my hands wrapped around my knees, rocking back and forth. Please find me.

The familiar smell was faint at first. And then it nearly swept me off the ground. This time it wasn’t Renn. It was someone even better.

“Mom?” I whispered.

Her sweet cucumber scent filled the air. And just like that, I was six years old again. A calmness settled over me at the idea of my mom being present.

I rose easily to my feet. Every nerve in my body reacted to the nearness of my mom. As if being pulled by a rope, I walked forward. One foot after the other.

The sand gave way to a crowded patio with a dance floor in the center. The beach lay beyond in the distance. A band played I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me. A song made famous by Whitney Houston, and one I’d heard my mother sing a million times. A song I’d heard her talk about from the best party of her life. Her wedding day.

Small gasps of air escaped from my mouth. Colored lights filled my vision.

“Mom,” I whispered again.

There she was, twirling around the dance floor with my father. Her silky hair fell in waves, resting on her bare shoulders. Her gown clung to her body, showing off her tiny waist and delicate ankles.

Seeing the pearl around her neck, I instinctively touched my bare skin. I watched her rub her finger over the soft surface, remembering how I used to touch the pearl that same way before I lost it in the sand. If she gave it to me again, I would wear it for the rest of my life.

Mom whispered something in my father’s ear, making him smile. Then he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

For a split second, I forgot I had time traveled. I was a guest at their wedding, and life would continue from this moment forward. But who would I be to them?

“They make a lovely couple,” a man next to me said. He wore a beige vest and white shirt. His hair tickled the top of his shirt collar. “They’re going to have beautiful children.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

When the song stopped, my mom walked up to Aunt Beth and my grandmother. Mom took off her heels and tossed them under a table. She touched the shoulder of Aunt Beth’s gauzy blue dress and then kissed Grandma on the cheek.

I held my cupped hands under my chin. They were the most beautiful women in the world. My family. My entire family.

My grandmother looked regal in a long, green dress. Her hair was short, like today, but instead of white, it was brown with flecks of blonde. Aunt Beth’s beauty couldn’t be denied. Her thick hair was pulled off to one side, held in place with a large, sparkling clip.

But my mom was the star. The stunning, shining star of the evening. And she was alive.

As I stared, something shimmered in my peripheral vision. Renn stood across the room next to a large flowerpot. He tilted his head at me.

Relief flooded through my body like a dam exploding. He was here. He found me. But I wasn’t ready to leave, not yet. I yearned to hug my mother, hold her in my arms, ask her to please not get in the car that night.

Taking a step forward, I felt a tap on my arm. “Want to dance?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Excuse me,” I said, glancing at the man next to me.

It was a quick look but long enough for everything to change. When I brought my eyes back in Renn’s direction, he was gone. I ran across the dance floor toward my mom.

“You stupid girl.” I heard Natasha’s evil laugh. And then the pain seared through my body.

This time, when the spinning ceased, I knew exactly where I was. At home in our living room. It was July 14, 1998. Six thirty-two in the evening.

The TV blared Home Improvement loudly into the room. My dad sat in his recliner, snoring. Our dinner simmered in the Crock-Pot.

And in exactly thirteen minutes, the phone was going to ring with the news that changed my life forever.

But not this time. I was going to change that future.

Without a second thought, I ran from our house and down the block to the intersection where the horrible man didn’t stop. Where he had crashed into my mother’s car, sending it spinning into a tree, taking my mom away from me forever.

I reached the corner, panting and gasping for air.

I planted myself in the middle of the street. If he saw me, he would have to stop. They said he’d been drinking and didn’t see the sign. But he’d have to see a girl standing in the middle of the road.

When I heard his car zooming toward me. I jumped up and down, waving my arms and screaming until my throat hurt.

My mom’s car came from my right. Her headlights lit up the street. Now for sure, he’d see me. But he wasn’t stopping. And I wasn’t moving out of the way.

Faster and faster, his car approached, swerving along the road.

“Stop,” I screamed.

Out of nowhere, arms grabbed me and shoved me to the sidewalk. A mass of curly hair blocked my view of the accident.

But I heard it all, every shattering of glass, every crackling of the tree branches, every whir of my mom’s car as it flew above me. Everything. Until the only sound left was a small girl’s cry.

I struggled to get out of Arlianna’s arms, to save the girl, until I realized it was me. I was sobbing. I was alive. And nothing had changed.

I couldn’t stop Mom’s death. Not then. Not now.

Fear paralyzed whatever strength I had left. I wanted to run over to my mom, but I couldn’t move. Even as the large piece of glass dropped from the tree. Arlianna gave me a push. I felt the pain rip through my body.

And then the whiteness.

****

“Jessie!” Strong arms lifted me off the pavement and yanked me to my feet. I was back at The Getty.

“Kyle?” The color was gone from his face, leaving his eyes large and dark.

“What happened to you? Where did you go?”

“Ohmygod.” I threw my arms around him. My whole body shook as I gasped for air. The zings shot through my body, but I didn’t flinch. His arms provided me the safety I needed. “She took me. Just like she said she would. And I saw my mom and… You saw Natasha this time, didn’t you?”

“No. I didn’t see anything. I turned around, and you were gone. You were right there.” He pointed to a spot several feet away on the grass. “And then you were here, on this path.” He ran his hand up and down my back.

“I’m so cold, and I can’t stop shaking. Please, don’t let go of me.”

He stroked my hair, holding me close. His heart hammered against my chest.

I nodded. “It was so horrible, Kyle. I saw my mom, right before she died, and I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t stop her. I couldn’t do anything, but just watch.” Tears ran down my cheeks.

“I got you.” Kyle hugged me closer.

“And the sound. It’s inside my head. I can’t even…” I covered my ears with the palms of my hands.

“You’re safe now.”

“I’m back. That doesn’t mean I’m safe,” I said.

“You could have been hallucinating.” He cupped my hands inside his.

“You said I disappeared?”

“Not exactly.”

“I saw you disappear,” Heather said. Her voice was barely audible. “Wha…wha…what’s happening to you? Should we call 911?”

“No.” I gave her a weak smile. “But thanks.”

“How did you…?”

“Not now,” Kyle interrupted. “I better get her home.”

“Yeah. Um, call me later.” She rubbed the side of her head. “I..I better go. I, um. It’s not me, though, right? I’m not seeing things. You did…”

“It’s not you, Heather.”

“Let me know if you need anything. “ She touched my arm, lightly, and hurried away.

Kyle held me tightly to his side as we left the garden. Without asking, he led me to the coffee kiosk in the courtyard and bought two hot lattes. It felt luscious going down, thawing my bones, and spreading throughout my body.

“She was so beautiful that day, my mother.” I leaned against Kyle’s shoulder, holding the take-out cup between my hands.

He didn’t say anything, just kept rubbing my arm in a comforting rhythmic manner as the wedding played over and over in my mind. Renn had been at the wedding. Why hadn’t he rescued me at the accident instead of Arlianna? I feared the worst.

“I couldn’t save her,” I whimpered.

“We can’t change the past.” Kyle wiped the tears off my face. “If that were possible, just think how messy things would get.”

I closed my eyes, trying to block out the accident. Before, all I had was memories of the phone and my father rushing around in a panic. Now I had all those horrible crashing sounds branded inside my brain.

“She sent me there for a reason,” I said. “I think she’s trying to kill me.”

“If it happened at all.”

I tilted my head up, staring into his eyes. “Don’t think, don’t analyze. Put all that aside and just go with what I’m saying. She took me, and she’ll get me again.”

“Not when I’m around.”