“I know,” I whisper, slipping my hand from his. And I really do know. But what Parker fails to understand is how much I don’t want to feel this way about him. I don’twanthim to make room for me in his heart. I don’t want my chest to palpitate every time I close my eyes and see his tilted grin. I need to make it stop, to give myself a break.My aching heart. My pounding head. My worn out body. I’ve spent the last six months putting Parker before myself, but I can’t do it any longer. Something’s going to break, and I can’t let it be me.
Heart sinking, stomach too tight, I hold my hand out to him and put on a firm voice. “I’m taking this book to McGregor, and I’m going with or without you. Decide.”
He shakes his head but mutters, “Fine,” and takes my hand. “But after this,promiseme you’ll rest.”
“I promise.” I close my eyes and push the volatile energy swarming my chest into Parker. My body heats from the inside, every cell in our bodies vibrating. “Please don’t forget everything I’m doing is for you. To get your powers back.”
He gives my hand a squeeze. “Never.”
Pain rips through my head, and my power whips through our bodies, carrying us forward through time.
“Goodbye,” I whisper, but with the blood whooshing through Parker’s ears, I know he can’t hear me.
23Mariella
I cross the corridor and return to Anna’s apartment, fumbling with the lock. Once inside, I fall back against the door and press my fingertips to my tingling lips.
“Hey,” Anna says, appearing in her doorway wearing a blood red, strapless gown that clings to her hips. “You remember my girl, Emma?”
Her friend Emma appears beside her, wearing an equally gorgeous silver dress with a 1920s edge.
“Hi,” she says with a smile.
“You both look beautiful,” I say.
“Duh,” Anna says, beaming, while Emma offers a humbler, “Thank you.”
“So, where have you been?” Anna asks, leaning against the door frame.
I want to tell her about Parker. How when he pressed his lips to mine, every thought in my brain flitted away, along with the ground beneath my feet. That by opening up to him, the crushing weight I’ve been carrying on my shoulders for the past decade has lifted.
That I am a time traveler.
A wide smile spreads across my face, faltering a little because I can’t tell her any of it. “I was with Sarah.”
“Nice. You should invite her to the ball,” Anna says. She disappears into her room and returns with another dress bundled in her arms. “What do you think?”
The navy silk fabric falls from her arms like cascading water and, as she readjusts her hold on the hanger and lifts it higher, my response catches in my throat. The fitted, V-neck bodice is covered in tiny crystals, sparkling against the dark fabric like stars in the night sky. From the waist, the fabric plummets to the floor, the dense crystals dwindling into delicate streaks resembling falling stars.
“I—it’s gorgeous.”
“Right?” Anna’s hand snakes around my wrist, and she yanks me into her room. “Get in here and try it on.”
My instinct is to pull away, to retreat to my bedroom and hide. But Parker’s words echo in my head.You should do it, you know? Start living your life.
We spend the next hour trying on dress after dress, Anna hurling matching shoes and accessories at Emma and me with the fervor of a shop assistant working on commission. Anna settles on an emerald dress with side cut-outs, while Emma opts for a fitted, curve-accentuating lavender dress. Of the dozen designer dresses I haul over my head or shimmy past my hips, none compare to the floor-length, navy dress Anna originally selected for me.
“I’m starving,” Anna says after we’ve rehung each dress and tucked them back into their bags. We leave her bedroom and collapse onto the sofa.
“What should we get for dinner?” Emma asks, tucking her feet underneath her.
In the last hour, I’ve learned she’s pre-med, has the same fervor for fashion as Anna, and isn’t half as scary asI assumed she would be. How many days like this have I missed out on?
“Ahh, sushi?” Anna says.
“Tarogashi’s started delivering last week,” Emma says, fingers flying over the keys on her phone.
“Yes,” Anna exclaims, and they both turn to me.
