After (Parallel Series, Book 4) Read online

  “Here.” I pushed my tray into his hands. “You take this. I’ll get another.”

  Alarm filled his eyes. “Won’t you get in trouble if you get back in line?”

  Gently placing a hand on his arm, I smiled. “No. It’s totally fine.”

  Doubt replaced the alarm. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Trust me. It’s fine.”

  “Okay.”

  I pointed to a nearby table. “Grab that table and I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

  He nodded, then headed to the empty table.

  I got back in line and a few minutes later I slid into the seat next to him, noticing he’d already eaten half of his pepperoni pizza. “How is it?”

  His mouth full, he nodded with approval. After he swallowed, he smiled. “This is delicious. Almost as good as that lasagna you made last night.”

  “Pizza’s kind of a favorite here.” I leaned towards him and my voice dropped to a whisper. “In this world, that is.”

  His lips quirked into a half-smile. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that idea.”

  I nodded. I knew exactly how he felt because I’d felt the same way when I’d discovered I was in an alternate reality.

  “Hey, Morgan,” Rochelle said as she stood next to our table. “Mind if I join you?”

  Not sure if I was ready to share Billy with anyone, but not wanting to look like a jerk, I nodded. “Sure.”

  She sat next to me, then leaned around me and smiled at Billy. “You must be new here. I’m Rochelle Candee.”

  When recognition lit his eyes I assumed he remembered Rochelle’s name from the conversation he’d had with the other Morgan. The night before Billy had told me that he’d spoken to his world’s version of me when she’d come out of the forest, and that she had explained to him that she’d been staying at Rochelle Candee’s cabin when she’d gone off by herself and had some strange things happen. “Billy,” he said with a smile. “And yeah, I’m new.”

  “Welcome to Fox Run High,” Rochelle said.

  “Thanks.”

  “Where are you from?” she asked, then took a bite of her sandwich.

  My gaze shot to his face. We hadn’t discussed what his cover story would be, and I worried that he might say something that would make him or me look whacko. That’s all I needed. I was still a new girl here and I didn’t want to stand out as crazy, but I should have known I didn’t need to worry. Billy’s cool demeanor had always impressed me, and as he gave Rochelle his backstory, my fluttering stomach settled down.

  “My parents were killed in a car accident earlier this year,” he said, then he looked at his lap like he was saddened by this memory. He looked back at Rochelle. “I was on my own for a while, but I just recently found a friend of my dad’s who let me move in with him.”

  “I’m so sorry about your parents,” Rochelle said.

  Genuine sadness showed on Billy’s face. Though I knew his parents were still alive, to him they were dead. “Thanks.”

  “What do you think of our school so far?” she asked.

  “I like the pizza,” he said as he lifted the slice to his mouth.

  Her nose crinkled. “Really?”

  He nodded.

  I wondered what Rochelle thought. Who liked school pizza better than pizza parlor pizza? Someone who’d never had pizza at all, obviously. Thinking it would be better to get off the subject of food, I turned to Rochelle. “Did you get that project done in social studies, Rochelle?”

  “What?” she said as she looked at me. “Oh, almost. I just have a few more things to do, then I’ll be done. What about you?”

  Glad our conversation had veered away from Billy, I told her about my project, although I had a hard time remembering exactly what I’d done on it since I’d been “gone” for two months.

  When it was time to go to class, I asked Billy what classes he had. It turned out that we had our last class together—health.

  “Great,” he said. “Save me a seat if you get there before me.”

  Wishing he was in all of my classes, I smiled. “Okay.”

  He left a moment later.

  “He’s really cute,” Rochelle said. “How’d you get to him so fast?”

  “Oh, uh . . .” I hadn’t considered that people might notice that I seemed to know the new kid already. “My dad knows the guy he’s living with, so I got to know him before.” I left it vague so that I wouldn’t have to pile one lie on top of another.

  “Lucky you,” she said with a smile.

  Whether or not luck had united us, Billy and I had been through something that no one else could possibly understand, something that had bonded us together.

  Chapter 4

  Morgan

  “Hey,” I said to Billy as I slid into the empty seat next to him before our health class began. “How’s everything going?”

  “It’s not really that different from what I’m used to,” he said, then he leaned closer and dropped his voice so that only I could hear it. “Apart from the fact that there’s no pledge to follow the rules and put the needs of others above our own.”

  “A healthy me is a healthy world,” I murmured, then shook my head.

  “Exactly.” He smiled, then sat up straight. “By the way, Rochelle invited me to go to the mall with her after school.”

  I stared at him in surprise. Why is Rochelle inviting my best friend to the mall? “She did? What did you say?”

  He smiled. “I thought it would be interesting, so I said yes.”

  “Oh.” Wow. She moved fast.

  He laughed. “But I told her that you would probably come too.”

  That made me feel better. I didn’t like the idea of him going places with Rochelle—or any other girl—without me. I knew we weren’t officially boyfriend/girlfriend or anything—although we seemed to be on the verge—but he was my best friend, and it just didn’t seem right for him to spend time with another girl at this point.

  “She said she’d drive us,” he continued. “I guess she just got her license and her parents have an old car they’re letting her use. She said she’d meet us outside after school.”

  Wonderful. I just have a learner’s permit, and Rochelle has a driver’s license and access to a car. “Okay.” What else was I supposed to say? It felt so weird to be back to regular high school stuff after all I’d been through in the last two months. I’d been on high alert for so long that it felt anti-climatic to be talking about going to the mall like a regular teenager.

  The teacher began and we didn’t talk again until class finished.

  “So, do I need to sign up for a sport?” Billy asked as we walked outside to meet up with Rochelle.

  “Only if you want to.”

  He looked surprised. “Really? Everyone doesn’t have to?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. It’s all optional here.”

  “That’s good, I guess.”

  “What do you mean, you guess?”

  “It’s just that . . .” He paused as he looked at me. “This is going to sound weird coming from me, but some kids look like they could use a little physical activity.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Wow. That does sound strange coming from you.”

  When he laughed, he sounded unsure of himself. “In the other . . . place . . . well, they went too far in almost every way, but not all of their ideas were bad.”

  I so didn’t agree. I thought all of their ideas were bad. I hated how they forced people to live their lives a certain way. Sure, most people were healthier, but I didn’t like that people didn’t get to choose for themselves what to eat, how much to exercise, what to look like. “What ideas do you think were good?” I couldn’t stand by and listen to him say one good thing about his world, not after the hell I’d been through.

  He looked uncomfortable, like he knew he’d set me off and wished he hadn’t. “Just forget it, Morgan. Okay?”

  I didn’t want to forget it. I wanted to convince him that this world was better than his.
That the way they did things there—everything—was so wrong.

  “Hey, guys,” Rochelle said as she joined us, stopping me from speaking my mind. “Are you ready to go?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Billy said without hesitation.

  “Sure,” I said. Then I thought about Mom and how she might feel about me going somewhere without telling her. Still shocked that she’d believed me when I’d told her how I’d crossed into an alternate universe where it was illegal to be overweight, I didn’t want to do anything that would put me on her bad side. “Can I borrow your phone?” I asked Rochelle.

  “What happened to yours?” she asked as she pulled hers out of her back pocket.

  “Uh, my mom took it away.” The idea of her taking my phone had been so upsetting to me when it had happened that I’d decided to run away, which is what had led me to the hut in the woods, which had then led me to the alternate universe. As terrible as that had been, two good things had come out of it: I’d learned to appreciate my family, and I’d found Billy.

  “That sucks,” Rochelle said as she handed me her phone.

  I called home and asked Mom if it would be okay if I went to the mall with Rochelle and Billy.

  “I don’t know, Morgan,” she said. “I know I told you I believed your story and all . . .”

  Is she beginning to doubt it now? I turned away from Rochelle and whispered urgently into the phone. “It’s true, Mom.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Please. Billy’s never seen what a real mall is, and I’m dying to show him.” Plus I didn’t love the idea of him going somewhere with just Rochelle.

  Mom was quiet for a minute. “I’ll give you an hour.”

  I knew that was a big concession for her, and I didn’t argue. “Thank you.” I handed the phone back to Rochelle. “All set.”

  She smiled at me as she slid the phone into her pocket. “Great. Let’s go.” When we reached her car, she smiled at Billy. “You can sit in front if you want.”

  He glanced at me. “That’s okay. Morgan can sit in front.”

  Rochelle’s smile faltered, then she nodded. “Okay.”

  “Is having your license awesome?” I asked as we pulled out of the school parking lot.

  “Yes. I love being able to go wherever I want.”

  I hoped I’d be able to say the same thing soon, though I didn’t think my parents were in a big hurry for me to get my license.

  Ten minutes later the three of us walked through the doors of the mall. The familiarity of the place washed over me, and it felt good to be there. The lovely scents from the food court were in the air—smells I’d sorely missed when I’d gone to the ‘plaza’ in the other world, a place that didn’t sell food.

  “I’m hungry,” Rochelle said, like it was the most natural thing in the world to come to the mall to eat—which it was.

  I glanced at Billy to see if I could tell what he was thinking, but as usual his expression was cool and unreadable.

  “Me, too.” I was curious to see what Billy would think about all the foods available in the food court.

  We walked the short distance to the group of fast-food restaurants, then slowed as we perused our options. “What sounds good to you?” I asked Rochelle. My voice sounded casual, but it still felt odd to be able to buy any number of fattening food choices that I wanted.

  “I’m in the mood for something gooey. I’m thinking a cinnamon roll.”

  “Oooh, that does sound good.” I looked at Billy, but he was busy gawking at the obviously unfamiliar offerings. “Do you want anything?” I asked him. “I have a few dollars.”

  He glanced at me, clearly in awe. “Sure.”

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  His gaze traveled up and down the food court, but then he tensed. “Are those the Enforcers?” he murmured near my ear.

  I followed his gaze and saw a pair of security guards. “Not exactly. They’re nothing like the Enforcers you’re familiar with. They’re just here to make sure no one steals stuff or gets in a fight. You know, they make sure everyone is following the rules.”

  He frowned. “That’s the problem, Morgan. I don’t know the rules here.” He sounded so unsure of himself—so unBilly-like.

  My heart dropped a little because I knew exactly how he felt. I’d experienced the same feelings when I’d realized I was in another universe. I’d had no clue that there were Federally Assisted Thinning centers where you could be sent if you weighed too much, or shared your homemade cookies with friends at school.

  Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry,” I murmured. “I won’t let you mess up. The rules here are much more reasonable.”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Rochelle asked as she turned to us. Glancing at our intertwined fingers, her eyebrows pulled together, then she looked at me with mild surprise. “I’m going to get a cinnamon roll.”

  “Okay,” I said, but she’d already turned away from us and begun walking toward the counter.

  Focused on the choices at the smoothie place, Billy seemed oblivious to Rochelle and what she’d seen. “That raspberry one sounds good,” he said as he smiled at me.

  He kept his hand clasped with mine, which made me happy. “Yeah, it does. But I think I’ll get the chocolate one.”

  “Chocolate, huh? I haven’t had much chocolate.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing,” I said with a grin.

  “Maybe you can give me a sip of yours.”

  “Sure.” A few minutes later we held our drinks. “Have a taste.” I held my cup out to him.

  He sucked on the straw, then looked at me with raised eyebrows. “Mmm. That’s really good.”

  “Told ya.”

  “Over here, you guys,” Rochelle said as she slid into a seat at a nearby table.

  Billy and I sat across from her. “That looks so good,” I said.

  She stuck her fork into the gooey icing. “It is.” She smiled at me. “Do you want a bite?”

  I shook my head. “No, but thanks.”

  “Billy?” Her eyes focused on his face.

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.” She carved off a bite, then held out her fork to him. He pulled the piece off of the fork and put it in his mouth, then slowly chewed. “Oh wow. That’s fantastic.” He looked at me with a smile. “They have really good food in your . . . mall.”

  I bit my lip, certain he’d almost said in your world. “Yeah.”

  “Where did you say you were from again?” Rochelle asked.

  Billy glanced at me before meeting Rochelle’s eyes. “I moved around a lot.”

  Reaching under the table, I took his hand, wanting to reassure him that I was there for him and that I was his friend no matter what. When his fingers wrapped around mine, warmth spread throughout my chest. No one could understand us like we understood each other. No one had experienced what we had. It was something that linked us together in a unique and unbreakable way.

  We chatted about school and other safe topics, then I realized my hour had nearly ended. “I have to be home soon,” I said.

  “I didn’t even get to show you that jacket I like,” Rochelle said.

  “I know. But if I’m late getting home, my mom will ground me.” The argument I’d had with my mom seemed so stupid now. If Billy knew how selfish and immature I’d been, he’d lose all respect for me. Especially after what his parents had done to him. He probably thought my parents were wonderful—which they were, I’d come to realize.

  “Okay,” Rochelle said, then she looked at Billy. “Maybe after we take Morgan home, you and I can come back here.”

  Billy’s hand tightened on mine under the table. “I, uh . . . I have homework.”

  Rochelle frowned. “Okay.”

  “Maybe we can come back later this week and you can show me,” I offered.

  She shrugged, but I could tell the idea perked her up a little. “Sure.”

  When we reached my house, I turned to Rochelle. “
Thanks for driving us.”

  She smiled, her earlier disappointment evidently forgotten. “It was my pleasure.”

  I opened my door, then looked over my shoulder at Billy. “You’re still going to help me with the math assignment, right?”

  He looked at me blankly, then nodded. “Yeah, right.” He smiled at Rochelle, then opened his door. “See you later.”

  Her gaze went between the two of us. “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

  Billy and I climbed out of the car, then I waved to Rochelle. As she drove away I decided Billy and I needed to have a talk.

  Chapter 5

  Billy

  “That mall was so much better than I thought it would be,” I said as I walked with Morgan toward the picket fence that surrounded her front yard. Her dog—Goldie, I remembered—barked as she jumped in obvious excitement. I opened the gate, then knelt next to her. “Hi, Goldie.” When I began petting her, her tongue hung out and her tail swung in a wide arc.

  “It was the food, huh?” Morgan said. “That’s why you liked the mall.”

  I thought about my experience at her mall. At first I’d felt on edge as we’d stood near all the food options. Especially with the Enforcers—or whatever they were called—nearby. But once my nerves had settled, I’d found I’d enjoyed the ability to have a snack in the middle of the day, in a public place, and in front of this world’s Enforcers. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to that.

  I turned to Morgan with a smile, then stood. “Yeah. It feels weird to be able to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and not have people give you dirty looks. Or worry about Enforcers harassing you.” As I considered her experience in my world, I stared at her a moment. “I’m getting a better idea of how hard it must have been for you to be in a place so much more restrictive than what you were used to.” I frowned. “It must have been pretty shocking.”

  Fear and confusion slid through her eyes as she stared into the distance before focusing on me. “Yeah. First I’d had to wrap my mind around the idea that I’d somehow crossed into an alternate reality, then I’d had to come to grips with the absurd rules—at least they seemed absurd to me.”