Amina nods.
‘And please look after her. When you tell her it didn’t work, it will break her,’ I add.
‘I’ll help,’ Tyler says. ‘You’ll have to introduce me as some random dude you met in the gym or something, but I’ll be here too.’
I relax knowing Tyler will be around. Maybe he can help to heal her, show her there are good men in this universe. Maybe he can even let her see what love could look like?
‘It’s time,’ Amina says, looking at her watch to remind us that the window is narrow if we want to replicate the exact parameters of the original experiment. Minus the heart attack, we hope.
I hug her close. ‘Thank you. For everything you’ve donefor me. And for being such a good friend to this world’s Bethany. She’s lucky to have you.’
‘Remember your promise,’ Tyler whispers in my ear as he hugs me one last time.
And then I’m in the chair.
One last look around this strange world. The one that produced the brilliant but broken Bethany who started this all.
‘Ready?’ Amina asks.
I nod.
Chapter Sixty-Five
I wake up as the sun hits my face through the gap between the slats of the blind and I curse myself for not closing it properly the night before. I pull the duvet over my head, the cotton slightly scratchy against my skin.
Hang on…
I crack one eye open and push the covers down so I can peek over the top.
The blinds – my blinds – are open, letting light into the room and casting a glow over all my lovely things. There’s the photo of Cesca and me at the 2023 May Day extravaganza in our home village. Spoiler alert: it’s nothing more than a bouncy castle for the kids and a pop-up bar serving Pimm’s for the adults so the term ‘extravaganza’ is something of a stretch. We’re slightly tipsy, cheeks red from too much sun, both grinning like loons; we look deliriously happy.
I slip out of bed – I’m wearing the Schrodinger’s cat pyjamas – and head to the living room. There are my shelves of beautiful books, all lined up looking gorgeous. A few additions have been made to the collection, but it’s otherwise just as I left it. I turn in the space and notice something sticking out from under the sofa: a pair of Havaianas. They’re a subtle beige, the same colour as a milky cup of tea.
I hug them to my chest like a long-lost friend.
This is it.
This is home.
I made it.
‘I’m only five minutes late,’ Cesca says as she picks up my call.
‘You’re coming here?’ I ask, almost breathless. This is Cesca. My Cesca.
‘Pancake Saturday.’ Her tone is serious. Has this become athingin my absence? What else has she changed, the Bethany who tried to steal my life?
‘Of course,’ I reply, unable to mask my excitement.I’m about to see my sister.‘See you in a sec.’
‘Love you millions.’
‘Love you billions.’
She beeps the horn as she pulls up in front of the flat. I’m already standing outside, desperate to see her. I pull her into an awkward sideways hug the second I’m inside the car.
‘Woah,’ she says. ‘What’s got into you this morning? You okay?’
‘Just pleased to see you,’ I reply and squeeze her tighter.
