Was our friendship really over?
Reaching across the bed, I scooped up my cat before she could protest and hugged her to my chest, a tear trickling down my cheek and landing on her silvery fur. If only I could read Alyce’s mind to know what was wrong. She wouldn’t talk to me, so how could I help her? I didn’t dare go to her house now. Not when Attila the Horrible Mom might answer the door and slam it right in my face. But I could try at school. Alyce and I shared classes, so she couldn’t ignore me forever. Somehow I’d fix everything and we’d be BFFs again.
The phone rang, and I grabbed it.
“Alyce?” I cried, hopefully.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” came an amused male voice.
“Oh, Eli! I’m the opposite of disappointed,” I assured him, sitting up and further disturbing Snowy, who hissed at me and indignantly scampered over to the edge of the bed. “I’ve been worried about you … and Sharayah.” “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “And Sharayah seemed okay when she called a few hours ago. She’s with Hannah.” “She is?” I relaxed against my pillow. “That’s a relief. I worried about what happened after I left, but Sharayah will be fine with Hannah. I think Hannah is great — despite the stun gun.” “Stun gun?”
“A Taser. I’ll tell you everything when I see you. Are you back home?” “Not yet.”
“Well, hurry! It’ll be so cool to be with you and be myself. We can … ” I hesitated. “Well, finish what we started without breaking any moral or legal laws.” “I’d like that — but it could take awhile. There’s something you should know about the Voice Choice competition.” “Oh … that.” I frowned. “Sorry I bailed on you but I couldn’t help it. Hannah forced me into an intervention.” “What?”
“You know, an intervention. It’s usually for someone on drugs, or alcoholics, but Hannah did it to remind me — I mean, Sharayah — of their friendship. She had all these albums and—” “That’s really interesting,” he interrupted. “But something major has happened that you need to know about.” “What?” I gripped the phone, imagining illness, car accidents and Dark Lifers.
“Relax, it’s nothing bad. It’s ridiculous, really,” he said with an odd laugh. “I mean, I never expected anything like this to happen. I only stayed in line because I thought you were coming back. When I handed in the form, which I’d filled out fast and sloppy, they saw the name Rockingham and kept calling me ‘Rocky.’ Before I could explain, these official dudes led me to a stage, handed me a mike, and told me to start singing.” “Oh, poor Eli! How embarrassing!”
“It was at first, but all my goofing off with karaoke kicked in and I had fun.” “You’re just being nice so I won’t feel guilty for leaving you in such an awful situation. I’m so sorry I ever made you take me to that contest.” “Don’t be sorry. I’m not, and neither were the judges.” He chuckled. “I made it to the finals.”
25
It was strange and wonderful to fall asleep in my own bed and my real body that night. Although it was hard to sleep with my mind spinning so fast, going over everything that had happened. Some of it was good — like being with my family and seeing my own face in a mirror. There was also Eli’s accidental success. Who knew he had a fabulous voice? I was happy for him, but disappointed for myself because he had to stay in L.A. for a week.
But it was Sharayah I couldn’t forget. I was worried that my mission to help her was incomplete. I’d been wrong about her dreams and almost set her up for a competition she would have hated. And I didn’t restore her self-esteem or mend her broken heart. There hadn’t been enough time to even leave her a letter of encouragement. The only thing I’d left behind was my GEM. What would she think when she found it? Would she remember anything that had happened the last few days? If she did, how would she handle knowing that Gabe was a Dark Lifer?
Not well, I suspected, which made me feel even worse. I had to be the worst Temp Lifer in history. If Sharayah did gain self-esteem and return to being a loving sister, loyal friend and top student, the credit would go to Hannah. Not me.
Sharayah was lucky to have a best friend who stuck by her no matter what and never gave up on their friendship. That’s the kind of friendship I used to have with Alyce. But by not being there when Alyce needed me, I’d let her down.
Would she ever forgive me?
Tossing in my bed, I finally drifted off to sleep.
But somewhere in the middle of dreaming, I found myself surrounded by light and moving as if on an invisible escalator. I was rising up, up … until I was stepping into a surreal world where a path of silvery clouds led me to Grandma Greta.
Cola was there, too, sitting on what seemed to be a comfortable leather couch, his Duty Director lit up like holiday lights. He barked and rushed over, tail wagging. I hugged him, enjoying the tickles of his doggy tongue on my face. Then I looked up at Grammy, tensing because I was afraid of what she’d say about my first (and last) Temp Lifer mission.
So I said it for her.
“I know, I know … I blew it. I’m so sorry I let you down, Grammy.”
“You haven’t let anyone down,” she told me. “You fulfilled your duties splendidly.”
“But I didn’t improve Sharayah’s life.”
“The Nine Divine Rules clearly state that a Temp Lifer is to live their Host Soul’s life — not change it. You performed well. I’m very proud of you.”
“Proud?” I rubbed my head, wondering if maybe this was a dream after all and not an actual experience. I’d been so sure I’d messed up. How could Grammy think I’d done a good job?
“Amber, you should be proud of yourself, too,” she said as she opened her arms and pulled me against her warm, solid body. “You worked hard to follow the rules. Even though you bent them a little, it was all done for the right reasons.”
“But I tried so hard to get Sharayah to the singing competition and failed. Then I found out she didn’t want to be a star, she wants to work in a hospital and cure cancer. So I did absolutely nothing to make her dreams come true.”
“Sharayah has many talents and plenty of time to fulfill her own dreams. You gave her the rest she needed, so that now she has the strength to make the right choices. It’s her brother who has secret dreams of singing stardom.” Grammy touched my hair softly. “And that’s only one of many dreams you’ll share with him.”
There were subtle hints in her words that thrilled me. But asking about Eli’s future felt like cheating, given that I hoped to be part of it. So I asked if Sharayah was going to be okay.
“Better than okay.” Grammy led me over to the couch. We sat down and Cola curled up beside us. “She’s ready to tackle her life again now.”
“Will she remember everything that happened?”
“She’ll remember what’s important.”
“Does that include Gabe?”
“She knows he’s alive and that she shouldn’t feel guilty.” Grammy smiled at me. “You were wonderful, honey. Not many first-time Temp Lifers could handle a Dark Lifer.”
“But I was wrong about Warren.”
“You weren’t that wrong — he had come in contact with a Dark Lifer. And thanks to you, we gained more information about Gabriel Deverau. He’s the DD Team’s most wanted Dark Lifer. You were very brave to stand up to him.”
“I didn’t feel brave. I felt scared.” And strangely attracted, I thought guiltily.
“Don’t worry — he will be caught. So next time you go on a mission, you won’t have to worry about running into him.”