For some reason, I'm hesitant to walk down the stairs. He can't hurt me from here, but he still feels present. Maybe I'm not completely myself. I do eventually tip-toe down the stairs and scan the empty floor for any signs of life.
A box of cereal and a bowl and spoon lay on the table, waiting for me. Two chairs at the table, a cabinet to the side, one chair not pushed under the table completely. It's almost uncanny. I sit down, still hesitant and feeling more like a guest than a resident. As I eat breakfast - during which, I stretch my fingers and fascinate myself over my new familiar body - I happen to look off to the side, at the cabinet.
Mom's smile looks right back at me from across the room. Her photo is barely recognisable. I feel guilty for having lived with another mother for a month, not that I could've done anything about it. I tear up as I look into her eyes, not solely due to grief, but also joy.
That's not to say there's no grief. Reality sinks in when she doesn't come to hug me, comfort me or say "good morning" to me. For a moment, I miss my other mom. Can I even call her that? She was only caring for me under the illusion that I was her daughter. Is it fair to miss her? And Liam? Now I feel guilty for preferring him over Sarah.
The tears subside and make way for anguish. I feel like a person whose split personalities are splitting their head open. Am I even Zachary Marlowe? I didn't resemble him two days ago, how does this change anything?
Am I worthy of calling myself Zachary Marlowe just because I look like him? Allison flashes through my mind. I'm no better than her, am I?
I take a deep breath.
...
I want to- I need to stop thinking.
We swapped bodies, and now we're back to normal.
It was all just a fluke, and now everything is back to how it should be. I can live my life again; see my friends again; see my sister again; live, eat and sleep in my own house; I can be myself again. It might take a month or so, but eventually everything will be back to normal. It will be like nothing has happened.
I get how Allison felt when she made her decision, and I feel like I've inherited her guilt.
Am I still Zachary Marlowe? I decide to take her advice.
People change.
I am Zachary Marlowe.
YOU ARE READING
The Swap
Novela Juvenil"Where am I? This isn't my room. Wait, this isn't my voice, either! This isn't my body!" Allison Par is a timid girl. She just moved to a new town and her mom started dating a new man. Allison just wants him gone, but she's too terrified to speak up...
