Harbinger of destiny, p.11
Harbinger of Destiny, page 11
After nearly forty-eight hours without seeing her, without touching her, he felt like a drug addict on withdrawal. Fuck! He’d never felt like that when he hadn’t seen Kelly in a few days. Was it because Amy was so much more generous, giving him free reign over her body when they made love? When he’d awoken with her in the pod on Sunday, he’d found Amy sucking his cock with such skill and abandon that he’d come so hard and so fast that he hadn’t even been able to pull out of her mouth.
Just thinking of this now, made him yearn for Amy’s touch. Damn it, he had to go and see her, even though he still had no answer to his ultimate question: could he fully commit to her and start a life with her, have a family with her? Maybe the answer to that question would reveal itself once they’d spent more time together, once they knew each other better.
He ordered a car to take him to the Institute for Time Travel. The gates of the institute were open now, which could only mean that quarantine had been lifted for all new arrivals. The women were allowed to receive visitors—not just their respective Romeos—and leave the compound if they wished to explore other parts of the city.
He took the footpath to Amy’s pod and noticed that many young women were chatting with each other or walking hand in hand with young men, presumably the ones who had brought them to the future. There were signs posted for various events the women were requested to attend to learn more about the future. Other signs pointed to the communal dining tent. The entire place looked peaceful.
At the door to Amy’s pod, Joshua took a deep breath. He opened the door quietly, because he wanted to surprise her. He found her standing in the living room, looking at the TV screen, which showed the agenda for the day. She wore shorts and a T-shirt.
“Amy,” he murmured.
Amy spun around, and he was already opening his arms and walking toward her to embrace her, when she glared at him and took a step back.
“What are you doing here?”
The hostile tone in her voice made him stop in his approach. “What do you mean? I’m here because I missed you. I want to spend time with you.”
She scoffed. “Right! What about your girlfriend? I suppose she doesn’t have time today, or is she just not in the mood for sex? So you figured you could sneak in here for sex.”
“What? I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Stop lying to me, Joshua. She came to see me. Kelly—she told me you’re getting married, and that I was just one last fling.”
Fuck! He ran a hand through his hair, trying to digest the news. “Kelly? She came here?” What the fuck! Why would Kelly claim that she was his girlfriend and they were getting married? She was engaged to Corbin Carmichael.
“It’s not true, Amy. Kelly is my ex-girlfriend. And I have no idea why she would claim that we’re getting married. She’s engaged to somebody else.”
He took a step toward her, but Amy lifted her hand to stop him. “Don’t! Do you really think I’d let you touch me when you’re just using me?” She shook her head. “How could I have been so stupid to think that you cared about me? It all makes sense now.” She sniffled. “I met the other women from 2025. Their Romeos are committed to them. They are couples. But we’re not! Because you only used me to do your duty, to bring me here. And I was so stupid to mistake sex for love.”
“Please, Amy, I’m not with Kelly anymore. She lied. I don’t know why. But I left her before I went back to 2025. We’re not a couple anymore.”
“Neither are you and I! Or can you tell me right here and right now that you want to spend your life with me? That you want to have a family with me?” Her voice broke. “That you love me?”
Joshua took a shaky inhale. Fuck! He couldn’t lie to her. He wasn’t ready to commit to her. But he didn’t want her to think that he was just using her, because he wasn’t.
“It’s because of this, isn’t it?” She turned her face so he had to look at the ugly scars.
He swallowed hard, not wanting to admit that her scars were still holding him back. “Please, Amy, give me some time.”
“Just like I thought,” she said, sounding resigned. “I’m not pretty enough for you. Go back to your girlfriend. She’s forgiven you for cheating on her. And she’s prettier than me. Then you don’t have to worry about what people will say when they see you with me.”
The words hit him in the gut. Amy had seen through him all along. She’d realized that her scars were still making him hesitate. But the thought of losing her suddenly frightened him. “Amy, you and I, we have something…”
There was a soft ping, then a voice came through the speakers. “Amy Brooks, please report to Laboratory H to be fitted with your holocom.”
“It was only sex. Nothing more. Leave, Joshua. I don’t want to see you anymore.” She walked past him toward the door. “If you’re still here when I’m back from my fitting, I’ll have security remove you.”
She left the pod. When the door fell shut behind her, Joshua stood there in the silence, his thoughts his only companion.
“We’re not done, Amy,” he murmured to himself. “Not by a long shot.”
21
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Getting the holocom fitted and going over the instructions of how to use it lasted about an hour. Amy was glad for the distraction. Looking into Joshua’s eyes and seeing that he couldn’t commit to her had hurt. And it would hurt for a long time. In a way, she blamed herself for falling for Joshua. When she thought back at every conversation they’d ever had, she could see clearly now that he’d never pretended that he loved her or that they would have a future together. She’d simply assumed it because physically, they’d been more than just compatible—they’d been perfect together.
But she couldn’t just be a man’s mistress, while he made a life with another woman, a much more beautiful one. Somehow, she had to survive this. Maybe one day, she would be ready to trust somebody else enough to allow herself to fall in love again. But right now, it was best to concentrate on her immediate future. One day at a time.
When she approached her pod, she noticed an old woman sitting on the bench outside. She was at least eighty years old, but looked healthy and strong in her loose-fitting navy pants and white blouse. She wore sunglasses, and her hair was almost white.
Amy walked toward the door to her pod, when the woman rose from the bench and addressed her.
“It’s really you.” She shook her head and smiled. “I’ve been waiting so long for this moment.” She took off her sunglasses and slipped them into her pants pocket. “Amy…” Tears welled up in her eyes.
Amy stared at the woman. Her eyes reminded her of somebody. The voice had changed, but it was familiar too. Tears suddenly stung in her eyes, and she took a step closer. “Rosie?”
Rosie smiled and nodded, before she wrapped her arms around Amy and hugged her closely. “I’ve been waiting over sixty years for this moment.”
“I can’t believe you’re here. How did you find me?”
Rosie released her from the embrace. “I have a friend at the Institute. He notified me when you arrived. You told me before you left to which year you’d be traveling with Joshua, so I made inquiries.”
“Come, you have to tell me everything that happened after I left,” Amy said. “Let’s sit on the terrace.”
When they sat down on the comfortable outdoor two-seater-sofa on the small terrace of her pod, Rosie squeezed her hand. “I have to thank you for warning me about the pandemic. At first, I didn’t want to believe you. But when the first people got sick in Los Angeles, just when and how you’d predicted, I knew what to do. I left L.A. My aunt had an old cabin in the San Bernardino mountains. I went there and stocked up on everything I would need for several months in isolation. It was hard to be alone for so long, but when I heard that everybody who worked at the Daily Grind got infected and several, including Mr. Mercola, died, I knew I’d made the right choice.”
“Mr. Mercola died? I’m so sorry.” Even though he hadn’t been the best employer, she was sorry about his fate. “And your family? Your relatives?”
A sad smile traveled over Rosie’s face. “Many died. I tried to warn them, told them to isolate, to avoid crowded places, to take precautions, but they didn’t listen. Amy, if you hadn’t warned me, I wouldn’t have survived. I would have either been infected in the café or when visiting my family. And I would never have had this wonderful life.”
“Tell me.” Amy felt joy for her friend. “Did you get married?”
“Yes. And my husband is a wonderful man, still strong, still handsome. We have three children, and a dozen grandchildren. Even one great-grandchild already, and more on the way. They’re all healthy, and because I never got infected with the 2025 virus, my offspring don’t carry the mutated gene that makes women infertile.”
“I’m so happy for you,” Amy said, her voice breaking.
“I also understand now why you only told me about the pandemic and what year you were traveling to. Had you told me that the pandemic would create a gene mutation responsible for infertility, I would have been tempted to try and work on a cure decades before our scientists even discovered it. But then Joshua would have never traveled to 2025. And you wouldn’t have met him. I would have destroyed your happiness.”
Tears started running down her cheeks, and she couldn’t hold back the sobs that ripped from her throat. There was no happiness, because Joshua didn’t want her.
Rosie put her arm around Amy’s shoulder and pulled her to her chest. “What’s wrong, Amy? Don’t cry. Everything turned out fine.”
Amy lifted her head and looked at her friend. “Not for me. Joshua doesn’t love me. He’s going to marry Kelly, his girlfriend.”
“That can’t be,” Rosie claimed. “They broke up before his trip to 2025, because Kelly accepted a marriage proposal from Corbin Carmichael. His family is very rich.”
“How do you know about Kelly?”
“I might have kept an eye on Joshua ever since he was born.” Mischief glinted in her eyes.
“You stalked him?”
“I don’t think it’s called stalking when it’s done only to make sure nothing bad happens to him. I knew he had a girlfriend, but I also knew that Kelly was shopping for the richest husband. She has quite the reputation of being high-maintenance. I knew she would dump him for somebody richer so Joshua would be free to travel to 2025. I might even have manipulated the ride he ordered that evening when Kelly broke up with him, to make sure it took him to the Institute for Time Travel.”
At Rosie’s revelation, Amy had to shake her head. “How?”
“I have lots of friends and family. My son-in-law works for the company that provides the self-driving car service in Los Angeles.”
“I can’t believe you did all this. For me… Oh, Rosie…”
“I had to thank you somehow. Without you, I wouldn’t be here today. I have a wonderful life, a loving family, a fulfilling job. All thanks to you.”
“A job? You still work? I mean, you must be eighty-one by now.”
“Eighty-two actually, but who’s counting?” She smiled. “I’m a plastic surgeon. One of the best.”
“I thought you were studying engineering back then.”
“I was, but after the pandemic, after I realized that I would see you again in the future, I switched to medicine. I wanted to give back what you’ve given me.” Rosie brushed her fingers over Amy’s scarred face. “I developed a unique laser technique that can erase any and all scars. It’s an outpatient procedure. It takes only a few hours, and the healing process is quick. In less than twenty-four hours I can make your face look flawless again.”
Flawless? Amy let the words sink in. She could be beautiful again. No more disfiguring scars. Nobody would stare at her anymore. Joshua wouldn’t reject her. She would be just as beautiful as Kelly. Would he choose her then? But if he did, would she ever really know if he truly loved her?
She knew the answer to it.
“If I do that, if I accept your offer, and Joshua comes back to me because of it, I could never be sure of his feelings for me. You understand that, don’t you?”
Rosie nodded. “I understand.”
“He has to love me with the scars, or not at all.”
Rosie took her hands and squeezed them. “Then we have to find out why Kelly is suddenly back in the picture. You need to open Joshua’s eyes so he can recognize that you’re the right woman for him, not Kelly.”
“How?”
Rosie winked and tapped on her holocom. “Let’s see what Kelly’s been up to since Joshua entered the time-travel program.”
22
YOU’RE SO VAIN
Joshua rang the doorbell, and waited. But nobody was answering at the Shipley residence. He put his face to the glass door and shaded his eyes so he could see inside. Nobody appeared to be in the large living area, but he saw a movement beyond it, where the backyard and pool were located. He turned away from the entrance door and walked to the side gate that led onto the property. The gate wasn’t locked, which wasn’t unusual. Crime was extremely low in 2085, even in a large city like Los Angeles.
When he turned the corner of the house, he saw Kelly lounging near the pool. She was dressed in a bikini with a short sarong around her waist and hips. Her blond hair shimmered golden in the sun, and she looked just as beautiful as he remembered her.
He approached, and Kelly turned her head in his direction. Surprise flashed in her eyes, and a smile formed on her lips, as she stood up.
“Joshua,” she murmured in that seductive tone she always employed when she wanted something.
“Kelly.” He remained standing several feet away from her.
“You came.” She took a few more steps toward him, her movements graceful and seductive. “I’m glad you’re back.” She put her hand on his chest and leaned in.
Joshua took her hand and pried it off him, before stepping back. “Don’t.”
Surprise flashed in her eyes once more, but this time it was laced with annoyance. “But I’ve forgiven you.”
“Forgiven me?”
“Yes, for your little time-traveling fling. I’m not mad at you anymore.”
Joshua narrowed his eyes. “You’re not the one who has reason to be mad. I’m the one who’s mad at you. What the fuck were you thinking harassing Amy and telling her lies about us?”
“Harassing? I wasn’t harassing her. I was simply telling her the truth.”
The anger inside him was close to boiling over. “And what truth is that?”
“That you’re not going to marry her.” She huffed. “I mean, why the hell would you marry somebody so ugly when you can have me?”
“You?” He shook his head. “May I remind you that you dumped me for Corbin Carmichael? Shouldn’t you be planning your wedding, rather than feeding lies to my girlfriend?”
There, he’d said it. He’d called Amy his girlfriend, and it didn’t feel like a lie. It felt right.
“But I’m free again, Joshua. I broke up with Corbin.”
The news jolted him. Simultaneously, distrust rose in him. “Why?”
“Why do you think?” She approached him once more and now put both hands on his chest. “Because I realized that I didn’t want Corbin. I love you.”
When she leaned in for a kiss, he pushed her back. “You should have thought about that before you accepted his proposal. Did you know that I was gonna propose to you that night?”
“Oh, Joshua,” she purred. “I’m so sorry. But now, I’m free again. I want you back.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, well, I’m not free anymore.”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “You can’t possibly want Amy. I mean, she looks grotesque!”
“I don’t care what she looks like. She’s a good person. A much better one than you. And we’re good together. With her I can be myself. I don’t have to play a role. And she cares about me.”
Kelly huffed indignantly, her mouth turning into a thin line. “She doesn’t care about you!” Her words were laced with poison. “You have no idea what she’s really like. I didn’t want to, but since you’re too stubborn to see the truth, I’ll have to do this.” She tapped on her holocom. “This is what she said when I went to see her to find out if she had real feelings for you. I only wanted your best. I would have never tried to split you guys up, if I knew that she really cared about you. But she doesn’t.”
“Stop it, Kelly! You’re just making things worse. I don’t love you anymore.”
“Listen, Joshua. Listen to this.”
She tapped on the hologram hovering over her arm, and suddenly, he heard Amy’s voice.
“Don’t worry. I only used him to make a better life for myself.”
It was Amy’s voice. There was no doubt. But he knew she would have never said something like that. “How low are you prepared to go? This is a deep fake. Amy would never say something like that. She has a heart. She’s a warm, loving woman. She’s not like you.”
Amy stepped out from behind the corner of the house where she’d heard the recording Kelly had played for Joshua.
“Yes, I said that,” Amy said as she approached the two.
Both of them whirled toward her. Joshua stared at her in disbelief. There was hurt and disappointment in his eyes.
“I said it, because of the painful things that Kelly said to me. That you could never love anybody who looked like me. I was trying to protect myself. After all, you never told me that you loved me.”
Joshua’s gaze softened, and she knew he believed her. “Amy—”
“I was going to leave you be and accept that you don’t want a life with me,” she interrupted him, “but then a friend came to see me and told me what Kelly is really like.”
“You bitch! Leave! Or I’m going to call the police,” Kelly ordered.
But Amy shook her head. “No, I won’t, not until I’ve said what I needed to say.” She looked at Joshua again. “I couldn’t have you run back to her for her to ruin your life. It doesn’t matter if you’re ever going to be with me, as long as you don’t go back to her. She’s no good for you. She’s toxic. Ask her why she’s not with Corbin Carmichael anymore and suddenly wants you back. Ask her.”
