I take my finger off the fingerprint scanner and turn to face Tyler.
‘Soooo …?’
‘They all think I should do it.’
‘You should,’ he says.
‘Of course you should,’ Amina adds.
I look between them, both so adamant this is the right thing. ‘Okay then. When do we do this?’
Chapter Sixty-Four
We have to wait until the next evening to ensure we are perfectly replicating the experiment, even down to the exact time of the evening the Bethany from this world first hit the button.
It’s already gone eleven p.m., so we agree that Tyler will crash on the sofa and Amina can share the huge king-size bed with me. Amina brought an extra pair of pyjamas for me because she assumed I wouldn’t have thought to pack a bag when I left Nick – I’m starting to realize she really is one of those women who think of everything – and she calls down to reception who send up amenity packs with toothbrushes and tiny bottles of mouthwash for each of us.
I wake up at four a.m., desperate for a pee, and almost walk into the sofa in the pitch-black of the room. ‘Oh shit, sorry,’ I say as Tyler lets out an almost alarmingly high-pitched squeal.
‘That’s okay,’ he replies, voice thick with sleep.
‘Did I wake you?’ I ask, even though it’s a pretty redundant question.
He makes a noncommittal noise. ‘At least I don’t have to teach a class of unruly teens in the morning.’
‘Oh, that’s good.’
‘I’m kidding, Bethany. Back-to-back lessons from eight forty-five.’
‘Oh.’
He sits up, I can just make out the outline of him as my eyes adjust to the darkness. ‘It’s okay though. I can catch up on sleep tomorrow. And for now I get an extra few minutes with you so it’s worth it.’
I blush, glad he can’t see me properly.
He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me down gently so I’m sitting on the edge of the sofa, part of my weight supported by his other arm wrapping round my waist. ‘Promise me something when you get back?’ he whispers.
‘If,’ I correct him.
‘When.’ He uses the stern teacher voice and it makes me feel a little funny, but in a good way. He drops his voice back to a whisper, this time pulling me closer so his breath tickles my neck as he talks. ‘Promise me you’ll find your Tyler. I think he’d like to meet you. The real you.’
My Tyler. Or at least the Tyler who exists in my world. Could there be a chance for us back home? I hope so. ‘I promise,’ I tell this Tyler.
He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear and I can feel my heart hammering in my chest. His lips meet mine, just for a moment, the merest brush of a kiss before he pulls back. ‘You’ve brought chaos to my life, Bethany Raven, and I am so glad you did.’
In the morning, the three of us go for pancakes for breakfast. Tyler has to work but Amina is going to take the day off from the charity to keep me company.
‘There’s still one thing,’ I say as soon as the waitress has taken our order for short stacks with maple syrup and bacon. ‘What happens when she gets back here?’
‘Who?’
‘This world’s Bethany. Nothing will have changed for her. She’ll be trapped again in her awful marriage. Cesca will still be dead.’
Tyler tilts his head as he looks at me. ‘Are you serious? She did this to you and now you feel bad for her?’
‘I don’t think she wanted to hurt me. I think she was desperate and didn’t know what else to do. If she’d known what would happen, I don’t think she would ha—’
But Amina cuts me off. ‘She knew.’
