Never As It Seems

Chapter 17

           Alarm bells rang through my head as the third and final Dawson boy stepped into view. Something wasn’t right. Something was off, but I couldn’t figure it out. My stomach was churning and I thought I was going to be sick.

           His eyes swept the room, seeming to skip right over everyone until they landed on me. And then he froze. “N...No way.” He said, practically inaudibly.

           “It’s not real.” He whispered under his breath several times before taking a small step into the room.

           “What’s not real?” I asked, wanting to break the awkward silence.

           “Shit!”Jordan yelled, looking at me with extremely wide eyes. He turned around and ran, exiting the room before anyone could even begin to question what was going on.

           We all stared at the doorframe in confusion. What the hell just happened?

           I had to go after him. I couldn’t just let the last triplet get away now that he was finally here. “I’m gonna go get him.” I said absently, hurrying towards the door.

           I looked down each side of the hallway, noticing one side had disgruntled nurses shooting a dirty look down the hallway at a retreating figure. That must be him.

           I took off after him, avoiding the hospital staff that were clearly annoyed with the commotion.

           “Jordan, wait!” I tried calling to him, but he was already out of the door.

           I busted through the door, preparing to continue running, when I saw him standing just a few feet away.

           “Are you okay?” I asked to his back, coming up behind him.

           “Yeah, I’m fine. I just had to get away from her.” He said.

           “Get away from who?” I asked, seriously confused.

           “Nothing, sorry. I’m just talking aloud.” He said, turning to face me. Once his gaze landed on mine, his face paled.

           “Stop. You’re making me crazy!” He suddenly yelled furiously, putting his hands over his ears and dropping to his knees, right there in the middle of the sidewalk.

           “Jordan, what are you talking about?” I asked, placing my hand on his back.

           A chill went through him, almost like a ripple. “You just touched me.” He said, suddenly, looking up at me and removing his hands from his ears.

           “Yes, I did.” I said, giving him a weird look. Maybe he really was crazy.

           “But... That’s impossible. How could you be touching me if you don’t exist?”

           I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not an expert or anything, but I’m pretty sure I’m very alive right now. You sure you’re feeling alright?” I asked cautiously.

           He stood up, his eyes never leaving mine. He reached up and touched my face, and his eyes widened considerably.

           “You’re alive! But how? I don’t understand!” He said, all of this while grabbing me and engulfing me into a breath restricting hug.

           “What do you mean you don’t understand? And how do you know me already?” I asked.

           “What the hell are you talking about, Victoria? I mean, I’ve been thinking you were dead for the past two months. It was the worst two months of my life.” He said sadly.