Page 22 of Harbinger of Destiny

“Hey, it’s Amy, let me in,” she called out again.

A moment later, the footsteps became louder, and finally, Paula appeared in Amy’s field of vision.

“Hey, Amy,” she said, frowning.

“Sorry to wake you, but can you please just remove the chain?” How often did she have to ask for it? Wasn’t it obvious that she couldn’t get in?

“Yeah, about that,” Paula started without making any attempt at removing the chain and opening the door fully.

“What’s going on?”

“You didn’t pay the rent.”

“But I was gonna pay this morning,” Amy interrupted, feeling panic slither up her spine like a snake. “I’ve got the money now.”

Paula sighed. “It’s too late. We voted last night to replace you.”

“What?” Dread filled every cell of her body.

“Yeah, you’re constantly late with the rent. You’re not reliable.”

“But you can’t just lock me out,” Amy protested.

“We can and we did. You’re not on the lease. We had another girl move into your room last night. Sorry.” Paula shrugged, and it almost looked like she wanted to say something to console her, but then she tipped her chin up. “We packed your things. All your stuff is on the first floor in the corner cupboard next to the mailboxes.”

Tears welled up in Amy’s eyes, but she tried to push them down. “But what am I gonna do? I have nowhere else to go.”

Paula shook her head. “Not our problem. You had enough warnings.” Paula leaned in and dropped her voice. “If it had been up to Tracy, she would have kicked you out a month ago.”

Amy held her breath, knowing that if she breathed, she would burst into tears.

“So, please give me your key. If not, we’ll change the locks later today.”

Knowing she had lost, Amy handed over the keys in almost robotic movements. She was numb now.

She barely noticed when Paula closed the door. She just kept standing there, frozen in disbelief. After the best night of her life, she’d hovered on cloud nine, and a few hours later, she found herself descending into despair. If only she’d gone home last night and paid her rent then, she could have averted this. Instead, she’d allowed herself to enjoy one night of pleasure. One single night. And now she was paying for it. As if she’d asked for too much. Were a few hours of happiness really too much to ask for? Why did she have to pay for the little joy she’d allowed herself to indulge in? And to pay so dearly: She was homeless now. Homeless in a city of millions. What would she do now?

14

IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

Joshua parked half a block away from the Happy Grind coffee shop. When Amy had gotten up in the morning and taken a shower before leaving, he’d pretended to be asleep. He had no idea how to face her after their unexpected night of passion. He didn’t know what it all meant. Yes, the Institute for Time Travel had used a scientific method to select which men were paired with which women from the past to assure maximum compatibility. Did they know something he didn’t know? After all, he wasn’t attracted to Amy, yet his body had reacted contrary to his mind. She’d made him harder and hornier than he’d been in a long time.

At first, he’d blamed it on the fact that Amy had looked at him as if he was her hero. What man didn’t like basking in the admiring gaze of a grateful woman? And grateful she’d been. More than he’d expected. Her lips around his cock had been out-of-this-world amazing. No wonder he’d fucked her. What man wouldn’t? And her body was perfect, maybe a little too thin, but that was something easily changed with the right nutrition, something she would never have to worry about in the future, because every citizen received an allowance that covered their basic needs: food, shelter, healthcare.

He’d loved the feeling of cradling her as she slept in his arms. A protectiveness had come over him when she’d told him how she’d obtained her scars. While he’d made love to her a second time, he hadn’t even noticed her scars, but later, when she’d stirred, he’d seen her face in the harsh morning light, and he’d shuddered and chosen the easy way out: to pretend he was still sleeping.

All day, he’d pondered what to do about Amy. Could he in all good conscience take her to the future with him, letting her believe he cared about her, when he had no idea what was going on inside him, how he felt about her?

The odd thing was how his body had behaved after Amy had left his bed. He’d yearned for her to be back in his bed, back in his arms. And at every recollection of their night of sex, he’d gotten aroused all over again.

Still, he’d stopped himself from going to visit her at her flat or at the coffee shop, unsure what to say to her. Because the truth of it was that he loved having sex with her. And that couldn’t be right. He was supposed to want a relationship with the woman assigned to him, not just sex. And if Amy found out about his thoughts, surely, she would push him away, not wanting to be used just for sex. He felt like a complete bastard.

All day he’d battled with his conscience, hoping to come up with his next step. One consolation was that they’d given him six months to get to know Amy before he had to make a decision. Maybe after a few months, her scars wouldn’t repel him the way they did now. Maybe the attraction would develop eventually. He had to trust in that, or the next few months would be miserable.

Joshua took a deep breath. He felt bad that he hadn’t talked to Amy after their night together, and he didn’t want her to feel that he’d used her simply for sex. He wanted her to know that he wouldn’t dump her unceremoniously. That’s why he’d finally driven to the coffee shop. Through the windows, he saw Amy tidying up the shop, and turning the sign on the door from open to closed.

Any minute now, she’d come out. He would apologize that he hadn’t contacted her earlier, and make up some excuse. And after a few kisses, he would drive her home and promise to take her out for a proper date later in the week. Happy with his plan, Joshua stared at the door to the shop. The light inside was switched off, but the door wasn’t being opened. From what he knew about the shop, there was no back exit, so why was Amy not coming out?