And she wasn’t going to let that happen again.
With a shake of her shoulders, Josie banished the growing attraction she had for this Nick. He would only hurt her, as his doppelg?nger had done. Because regardless of which dimension he was in, Nick wasn’t in love with her. She thought of the way he touched Madison in the warehouse, how intimate it had been. She wouldn’t let him break her heart again, intentionally or not.
“I’ll be fine,” she said in a very businesslike manner.
“Oh, okay.” Nick sighed. “But Josie?” he added quickly. His voice sounded anxious. “Be careful.”
Josie swallowed hard. He doesn’t love you. “I will.”
THIRTY-TWO
6:33 A.M.
MR. BYRNE WAS ALREADY AT BREAKFAST WHEN Josie bounded into the dining room. There was an extra bounce in her step, a levity and excitement Josie hadn’t felt since she first stepped through the mirror. She was going to see her mom today.
“Aren’t you looking bright and happy this morning, princess,” Mr. Byrne said, glancing up from his tablet. “Is it going to be a good day?”
“I hope so,” Josie said with as much perkiness as she could muster.
“I’m glad.” Mr. Byrne beamed as she took a seat and poured herself some coffee. Teresa was at her shoulder almost immediately with a bagel and cream cheese. She hovered near the buffet, straightening unused serving platters for a full five minutes before she silently slipped out of the room. Josie waited until she heard the swinging door to the kitchen whoosh into place before she opened a conversation with Mr. Byrne. It was a conversation she’d been rehearsing in her head all night.
“Daddy?” she said meekly.
Mr. Byrne never even looked up from his tablet. “Yes, princess?”
“I’ve been thinking. About what you said last night.”
Mr. Byrne carefully laid his tablet facedown on the table and folded his hands in front of him. “About going to see your mother?”
Josie nodded.
“Why this sudden change of heart, princess?”
She’d been mulling it over in her head since she’d woken up from Jo’s dream. Tell Mr. Byrne what’s going on or not?
On the one hand, he deserved to know. Just like Josie, his life had been ripped apart. His wife and now his daughter were far away, replaced by doppelg?ngers he didn’t know. Josie thought of her own dad, sitting in his apartment in Landover, wondering what had happened to his happy marriage. She wished she could contact him, let him know it was all a mistake and a misunderstanding. That her mom still loved him and was desperate to get home to him.
But she couldn’t. She could, however, tell this man the same thing. Maybe he could help get his daughter and wife back, and send Josie and her mom home?
On the other hand, telling Mr. Byrne that she had been pretending to be his daughter might totally backfire. Would he freak out? Have her arrested? Or maybe think that the insanity her mom suffered from was spreading to his daughter? And how much more painful might it be for him if Josie and her mom were stuck there for good? Was it worth mentioning he might never see his wife and daughter again?
No. She couldn’t risk it. As much as she wanted to trust Mr. Byrne, it was for his own good that she kept him in the dark as long as possible.
“I need to see her,” Josie said simply. “Can I go after school today?”
Mr. Byrne smiled warmly. “Of course. I’ll arrange it with the hospital. Do you want me to come with you?”
“No,” she said quickly. The last thing she needed was for Mr. Byrne to witness this mother-daughter reunion.
“I understand.” He reached out and laid his hand over hers. “I’m so glad you reconsidered. I think she’d really like to see you. I hope . . . ” His voice trailed off and he swallowed, trying to maintain his composure. “I hope she recognizes you.”
Josie did too.
12:56 P.M.
“There you are,” Josie said, descending upon Penelope in the science lab. “I need to talk to you.”
Penelope jolted at the sight of Josie and launched the apple she was eating three feet in the air. It soared over Mr. Baines’s desk and splatted onto the floor.
“Sorry,” Josie said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m okay,” Penelope said. Her voice shook ever so slightly. “W-what do you want?”
Josie looked around the abandoned science lab. It had taken her twenty minutes to find Penelope’s lunch spot. She’d combed the cafeteria and all the hallways, and only started checking classrooms as a last resort. “Why are you eating in here all by yourself?”
Penelope shrugged. “It’s better than eating in the cafeteria all by myself.”
“Good point.” One Josie had learned only too well.
Penelope picked at one of her cuticles and refused to look Josie in the eye. “So, um, what do you want?”
Josie pulled out the stool opposite Penelope and sat down. “Look, I know you don’t trust me.”