CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DAY 15. MORNING
Everything stilled.
My insides froze. My heart stopped. Her words punctured the surface and sunk beneath my skin and then everything was in motion. My brain sifted through theories and my hands reached out and gripped her shoulders, my head leaning in close to hers, bending down enough to be eye level. “What, Hol? What do you remember?” I demanded.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her breath and voice coming out shaky. “Paint. I remember red paint. And kissing.”
007 memories. It was happening to her like it had happened to Stewart and Dr. Melvin. And Adam. In that note he’d left me, he said he was seeing visions of himself younger and that he knew me because of those visions.
I had forgotten that we weren’t alone. Forgotten that this wasn’t 007 Holly. “You remember that?” I couldn’t believe she had those memories. It felt like a blessing. Like seeing an old friend again for the first time after a long absence. Even her expression seemed to change and evolve into a look 007 Holly might have worn.
My hands slid from her shoulders to her face, the heat from her mouth hitting mine even before my lips made contact with hers. She melted right into me, her fingers lifting to touch my hair, her tongue dancing with mine.
I don’t know how long we stood in that spot kissing and breathing each other’s air, but eventually the need for outside oxygen became too great to ignore and our mouths broke apart. Her forehead rested against mine, eyes closed, both of our chests rising and falling with the same rapid rhythm.
“I’m sorry I left,” I whispered, without thinking about who I was actually talking to.
The spell broke immediately and her hands were on my chest, shoving me back. She stared at me in disbelief, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “What the hell … what are you doing to me?”
I reached for her again, but she jerked away. “Listen, Holly, I didn’t know that was happening to you, I’ll tell you stuff now. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, anger quickly shifting to fear. “You mean it was real? What I’m seeing? That really happened?”
I nodded. “It was a different timeline. You were younger then. I was trapped in 2007.”
“2007,” she muttered under her breath.
“Let me explain it better—”
Her eyes were huge as she raised her hands in surrender, stepping back away from me. “No, that’s okay. You were right. I shouldn’t know this. I shouldn’t know any of it.”
She spun around quickly and then took off running.
“Holly!” I shouted after her, but Dad stepped in front of me, holding me back.
I hadn’t even noticed him standing so close. “Let her go,” he said. “Give her some space.”
Grayson moved to stand beside Dad. I hadn’t noticed him in the vicinity either. My nerves were on edge, my hands shaking, but I tried to focus when Grayson said, “We need her calmed down. Tomorrow morning we’re going to attempt to make our escape.”