Who’s Daisy?
My mouth flapped like a fish a few times. What was going on here?
I swallowed, and stared at my mum. She didn’t know who Daisy was.
Gathering my scattered thoughts, I gave her a weak smile.
“So, brunch… where are we going?”
If I took things slowly, adjusted to my surroundings without constantly putting my foot in my mouth, I could piece together what was going on.
“I thought we could go back to that lovely little restaurant in town, Pieces. I’ve been dreaming about those delicious American pancakes we had there last time.”
I stared at my mum, struggling to wrap my head around her being here, let alone this new ultra-together Cindy Anderson. The mum I knew dreamed about a gin and tonic, not American pancakes, and I didn’t think she even knew the term ‘brunch’ existed, let alone be up early enough to eat it.
My dad rested his hand on my shoulder, pulling me from my daze.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s go. I’m starving.”
I hurried to finish getting dressed, and as I was adding the final touches to my make-up, Roxy came up behind me. Her arm circled my waist, and she gave me a squeeze as she met my eyes in the mirror.
“Natural look suits you. I like it.”
I glanced at the framed photo of us hanging above her desk. The smiling blood-red lips and contoured cheekbones staring back at me were a stark comparison to the slick of mascara, rushed dab of concealer, and lip gloss I had on today.
“It’s only brunch,” I said, a hint of defensiveness creeping into my voice. Considering I had spent the last few months without a tube of lipstick in sight, and then with silver tribal signs all over my face, I thought I had done a good job. Not that I could tell her as much.
Roxy gave me a strange look and said, “Enjoy your time with the parents. We’ll meet you at the Student Union Bar later.”
* * *
Walking across campus felt like a dream. The university itself was a magnificent Gothic building with pointed arches that gave it the height and majesty of a cathedral. Students milled around the courtyard going to classes, enjoying their daily lives. Laughter drifted over from a nearby group, and I drank in the innocence of it all. Everything was like before, as if the Grey attack had never happened. Correction: the Grey attack hadn’t ever happened—not here. The ‘powers that be’ or whatever ruled Conscientia said I was being rewarded with my life, and this was it.
We passed a grand marble fountain as we crossed the campus to the car park, and I marvelled at people going about their business with no idea of the devastation that had taken place.
We drove across town, which I discovered was also called Riverdell, like the university. According to the map on my phone, we were only about a forty-five-minute drive from Burnt Oak. My venture into further education hadn’t taken me far, then. I always pictured myself getting as far away as possible. That was when my life was a mess. Here, the distance was enough to live away from home but still close enough to have brunch with my well-adjusted, happy parents. Best of both worlds, as far I could tell.
The High Street had a chocolate-box-village vibe with neat hedgerows, thatched-roof Tudor cottages, and a few people enjoying a stroll on the village green.
“This place is interesting,” I said without thinking as we settled at our table at Pieces. I had been taken aback by the nautical decor and forgotten they’d said we had been there before. “I still can’t get over how much it reminds me of Evil Pete’s,” I added quickly, hoping the Burnt Oak bar hadn’t changed too.
Thankfully, my parents didn’t pick up on my slip-up. They were more concerned with what they were going to order. My gaze settled on my dad as he browsed the menu. In his casual outfit, he automatically seemed softer than the back-from-the-dead, head-of-Equinox, backstabber Clark Anderson I had come to know. An image of him wearing his eyepatch with glowing red symbols, the surrounding skin mottled and burned, flashed through my mind. The idea seemed ludicrous in this calm, normal restaurant. Sensing my eyes on him, he glanced up.
“Hangover’s not so bad you’re off your food, is it? Usually you’re ravenous.” His eyes twinkled when he smiled.
“I… I’m… yeah, I’m starving.” I swallowed back the sudden lump in my throat and dropped my gaze to peruse the menu. I found it hard to wrap my head around all this delicious food available so readily when we had been surviving on basic rations in Coldbridge. The food on Aether had been better but strange, then finally Bayronite… I hadn’t been there long enough to eat. When was the last time I ate? My stomach growled in response.
The waiter took our order, and I focused on acting normal. The act of having a meal in a restaurant seemed so commonplace. Breaking bread with my both parents, on the other hand, hadn’t been done in over a decade, and even back then they had never been so… happy.
A giddy sense washed over me when our food arrived, and I nearly groaned out load at the first mouthful of my old favourite: a turkey and lettuce sandwich with extra mayo. A silence fell over the table as we all tucked in.
“Clark, can we do it now?” Mum asked the moment she finished her food, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“I thought we were going to wait until later,” Dad said.
I watched on in fascination as Mum pouted until Dad eventually caved. Then she clapped her hands like a little girl, reached down beside her, and plonked a gift box on the table in front of me.
“What is this?” I asked, fishing the pink ribbon out of the mayo left on my plate.
“Open it and find out,” she said.
The date on my phone said it was October, so perhaps it was a late birthday present? But then my mum said, “I know we just bought you the Audi for your birthday, but when you said you needed an iPad to take notes in class we couldn’t disappoint you.”
The Audi? They’d bought me a car for my birthday?
I opened the box and blinked down at a shiny new iPad.
“Do you like it? The man in the shop said it’s the latest model with the highest specs. You can practically use it instead of a laptop…” Mum’s voice faded out as the background noise from the restaurant grew louder, a painful buzz in my ears. It was all too much. The way they were acting. It was them, yet… not. Sitting here with my mum and dad together, their spoiling me with expensive gifts when not so long ago I had been fighting for life, witnessing the destruction of a planet…
Everywhere I looked I saw destruction. Bodies lay amongst the waste, the building had collapsed, and lava flowed through the remains, swallowing anything in its path.
I gripped the table. It’s over. You’re okay, hold it together, I told myself firmly.
Looking up at Mum with watery eyes, I reached over and squeezed her hand.
“Are you crying, Eliza?”
I sucked in a breath and gave her a big smile. “I’m just overwhelmed. This is such a generous present.”
My dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his chest. “Nothing is too much for my girl.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I wiped my eyes.
We ordered some more drinks and took our time with lunch. Part of me revelled in the wholesomeness of it all. The other part felt like we were characters in a play. Chiding myself for being negative, I focused on them as they joked and laughed. Dad teased Mum about how long she had taken to get ready, and she pretended to be annoyed, then kissed him on the cheek. They were so easy with one another. Was this how they’d been before my dad’s head was turned by lights in the sky? Had losing this destroyed my mum?
I shook my head. You’re doing it again. Dwelling on the past when it has literally been erased for you. I was certain that was what had happened. My dad had never left my mum, and this was the result. A normal couple taking their teenage daughter out to lunch, who was rolling her eyes at their PDA.
“Are you sure it is only a hangover, Eliza? Maybe you’re coming down with something. You look a little green around the gills.” Mum felt my head with the back of her hand like she used to when I was five.
“She’s overdone it, that’s all,” Dad said with a grin. The expression looked strange on his face. The Clark I knew wore a permanent scowl.
“I’m feeling a bit delicate, that’s all. It will pass,” I assured her.
I sat back in my chair and tried to appreciate the creamy taste of the large piece of cheesecake I’d ordered. Maybe my stomach had become too used to eating less, because I had to force the rest of my food down. In the end I couldn’t finish it.
* * *
The Swan was a combination of a traditional tavern like the Horse and Cart, the old pub where my mum used to work as a bartender, and the young, electric vibe of Evil Pete’s. Inside was filled with dark wood and gloomy lighting, the walls lined with portraits and bric-a-brac.
Someone called my name, and I spotted Roxy at a table by the bar, with Dane and another girl. My stomach fluttered with nerves. Chatting with my parents was one thing, but I hung out with these people every day. I really hoped I wouldn’t mess up.
When I reached them, Dane stood up and leaned over me. His lips brushed my cheek.
“Are you alright?” he asked when I barely concealed my flinch.
“She’s been in a weird mood since this morning,” Roxy said, shuffling her chair up to make room as Dane grabbed a chair from another table. He set it next to his and sat back down, resting his arm on the back of my chair, his fingers lightly brushing my back.
Wow, this was awkward. The last time I’d seen Dane we had been on opposite sides of an alien-versus-human conflict, resulting in his girlfriend—my ex–best friend—handing me over to an alien bounty hunter. Apparently, the last time this Dane had seen me we’d been all over each other.
“The way you were putting away those tequila shots last night, I’m surprised to see you at all today,” said the blonde opposite me. My eyes widened when I realised the girl was Sadie. With a sly smile, she lowered her voice. “Tell me, did you see what Veronica Simmons was wearing?”
Sadie and I had become close after I’d discovered she was pregnant. This Sadie looked and sounded more like the one I’d known before that, a catty princess who’d slept with Dane before he became my ex-boyfriend. I resisted the urge to slam my head against the table.
They all looked at me.
“What? Oh, I don’t know. What do you think?”
Sadie and Roxy exchanged a glance.
“I think she needs to check the mirror before she leaves her dorm. Body-con dresses are not for everyone.”
Dane snorted, and Roxy hid a smile behind her hand.
Sadie launched into another tirade about how clueless everyone else was. Dane’s hand slipped beneath my hair; his fingers curled around the back of my neck.
He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “My place is free.”
His place was free? Oh no. I needed to put an end to this before things went too far.
I shifted out of his grasp.
The other two were still busy critiquing the rest of the student population and weren’t paying us any attention. Still, I didn’t want an audience for this conversation. “Can we talk in private?”
Dane and I excused ourselves and found a quiet corner of the pub.
“Dane, I wanted to talk about our… situation.” This was a difficult enough conversation to have when you tried to be gentle with someone’s feelings, but when you had no memory of the relationship, it was next to impossible.
Dane’s face clouded over. “Uh-oh. This doesn’t sound good.”
I tried again. “I know we have been… close. But I think for me, being in a different place, with so many new experiences—”
His scowl deepened. “Are you trying to cool things off?”
“Yes. I’m not doing it very well, am I?”
“No.”
I sighed. “I’m sorry. I just want to be by myself for a while. Figure out what I really want.”
“Sure.” A look of genuine hurt flickered in his eyes.
“Dane—”
“It’s fine. Means I’ll be free to see other girls.”
“Exactly.” He gave me a funny look, and I wondered if I was supposed to object to that.
We hovered in uncomfortable silence for a minute, then Dane made his excuses and took off. I didn’t want to hurt him but already felt one thousand times lighter after that conversation.
When I returned to the table, the girls had been joined by another face from my past.
“Scott!”
Scott Hanson was my childhood best friend who moved with his family to Cyprus. To say I was pleased to see him was an understatement; I wanted to jump across the table and hug him to death.
He leaned in for what I expect he intended as a hello peck on the cheek, but I clung to him like a limpet. In his world we’d only seen each other last night. For me, it had been years.
“It’s good to see you.”
He cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows. “Someone’s emotional. Anything to do with the look I saw on Dane’s face when he left?”
“I’ve cooled things off with him.”
Roxy and Sadie’s ears pricked up.
“Really, why?” Sadie asked.
“I’m just not feeling it. I need some space.”
“Are you sure?” Scott asked. “I’m not objecting—you know how I feel about you and him. I had almost given up hope that you’d see sense. It’s just last night you and him definitely seemed ‘on’.” He made air quotes, and I tried not to shudder.
“Let’s get another round in to commiserate with Eliza,” Roxy suggested.
“Really, guys, I’m okay. I’ll have one more, but I’m not staying long.”
“Where are you going? Is there another party?” Roxy asked.
“No, I want to get an early night. I have class in the morning.”
Scott slammed down his glass. “Alright, now I know something’s wrong.” He grinned. “Who are you and what have you done with Eliza? Were you abducted by aliens or something?”
I took a sip of my drink and gave him a dark smile. “Something like that.”
* * *
Sunlight bathed my skin with warmth. The white sand was soft between my toes as the waves lapped at the shore, gently rolling in and out. My head felt fuzzy like the reason I was here was just out of reach
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Every cell in my body relaxed as his voice washed over me. I spun around. The sight of Jack striding towards me in his swimming shorts made me breathless. “I missed you.”
I smiled as his arms slid around my waist, pulling me to his body. “I missed you too. How did you find me?”
I slid my fingertips through his hair, something still niggling at me, but being in his arms felt so right.
“I’ll always find you. It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”
I nodded, my eyes never leaving his. “We always said we’d come to the beach.”
I laughed. “There were times when I never thought we’d make it.”
The rubbish tips of Bayronite flickered through my mind. My smile dropped as chills ran over my skin.
“Shh. Don’t think about that now.” He pulled me down onto the powdery sand and covered my body with his. “It’s just us here. You and me. We’re together. That’s all that matters.”
Our lips met, brushing together gently at first as we savoured the feel of each other. The taste of him was so familiar. I wanted more. Our kisses grew hungry. I ran my hands down his back, pulling him closer. He shifted his weight, pressing me into the sand.
Jack turned his attention to my neck, kissing me and tracing his tongue along my ear. He moved his hands down to grip my hips, causing more chills on my skin. This time for an entirely different reason. I tipped my head back and noticed the sun had begun to fade. Something felt strange.
Jack was right here, his lips all over my body. Then why did I feel a distance creeping in over the ocean?
“Where are we?” I asked breathlessly.
“Some place no one can find us. I love you, Eliza,” he whispered as his lips skirted across my skin.
“I love you too.”
My eyes flew open, darting around in the darkness. Soft snores came from Roxy’s side of the room.
A dream. My stomach sank. It was only a dream. My skin still tingled from his touch. It had felt so real.
Tears burned my eyes as the stark reality of my situation hit me. Things had begun to make sense. I had been given my life back. This wasn’t some different parallel universe version of me. It was me. This was how my life would be without aliens being any part of it.
* * *
“Since when did you start jogging?” Roxy asked as I laced up my trainers.
I swallowed a sigh. So I was back with Dane and I didn’t run either? Who was this girl? Because she didn’t feel like me.
Tamping down my irritation, I forced a smile in Roxy’s direction. “I used to run all the time at home. I love it. Especially in the forest or out in nature somewhere. It helps me clear my head and unwind.”
Roxy shrugged. “Enjoy. A ten-minute burst on the treadmill at the gym is all I can manage.”
I set off along the path that led to the park next to our halls of residence. I meant what I said about running clearing my head. As I ran, the tension in my shoulders began to ebb away.
Maybe things here seemed strange to me, but that didn’t mean it had to stay like that. I had already put a stop to things with Dane. Scott was here, which was amazing. My mum and dad were together, and Tasha was alive. After everything I had been through in Bayronite, it was understandable if it took me a little time to adjust. My head began to spin, and I veered off the path. My legs buckled. Fractured images flashed through my mind.
Guards beating prisoners in dark-blue jumpsuits with metal collars around their necks. Screams filled the air as the ground split open and people ran for their lives. Lava cascaded over mountains of trash. Jack begged me not to leave when I kissed him goodbye.
The leaves and bushes slipped out of focus. My chest was so tight I couldn’t pull any air into my lungs. The trees blurred as I looked up. No one was around. I clawed at my throat as I gasped for breath. As the world closed in on me, I sank to my hands and knees and tried to focus on my breathing.
In… out.
In… out.
Gradually, the sensation passed. My breathing regulated, and my chest loosened. I flopped back onto the grass and stared up at the sky.
That was nothing like the flashes I got from Conscientia. These were my memories. I curled my fists into the grass. I slowly made it to my feet and turned to go back.
A life without aliens was like stepping back in time, which was great if it meant no Queen Aylaiana, no Greys, and even no Conscientia. But without Jack or Daisy? How was I supposed to live without them?
I was free-falling in this new life, and I needed an anchor.