Glimpse

Chapter 31: Courtney

An overplayed Christmas movie cast a red and green glow over Shayne's living room, its flickering light bouncing off the reflective finish of his coffee table. It painted the back of Shayne's laptop that was perched on Courtney's lap, who sat cross-legged between his thighs. The film's monotonous dialogue and interspersed commercials drowned the erratic clicking of unskilled fingers stumbling across a keyboard; though, her focus resided on his typing.

Emeralds tracked the sluggish addition of letters pushing his words across the screen. Once in a while, they ventured south to where, letter by letter, Shayne's pointers scavenged the disorganized alphabet for his next selection.

Aching to carry his burden, she had volunteered to help, her nimble fingers, and superior typing skills at his service. An offer to transcribe his journal entry intended to ease the stress weighing his shoulders. Despite presenting her best efforts, Shayne had insisted on tormenting her with this excruciatingly slow process.

That had been an hour ago. An hour spent relishing his heat. An hour spent following his breathing. An hour sheltered in his arms. It quieted the aftershocks of that morning's panic.

Shayne trusting her with his unfiltered narrative topped the icing on the cake. Like reading a diary entry in real-time, she peered into the inner workings of his mind. A display of vulnerability that she wanted but never asked for. Upon settling in the living room, he had just hauled her into his lap and started typing.

Its conclusion nearing, Courtney skimmed the entry one last time to absorb his experience and process it.

Little Courtney. The bizarre dynamic. The inevitable switch. Alternate Shayne's proposal. All of it, or what she presumed to be all of it, at least. The only thing omitted, the explicit details upon her request to preserve Damien's innocence. Something she had also neglected to mention in her last journal sent. It failed to seem relevant, anyways, considering the grand discovery of this impending switch.

Switching, not disappearing.

Backing against Shayne, solid muscle solidified the distinction that switching implied. With Shayne in the Alternate's world...

I can find you. You'll still exist.

Separated yet connected. Just a forced Glimpse away. A long-distance relationship, except instead of land and sea, an entire dimension would divide them. Saving grace breached a limitless sea of despair.

'What does this mean for our tangled souls' situation? And my Glimpsing?' Shayne typed out, concluding the journal entry. Saving the document, he exported it to a 'PDF' file before starting Google Chrome.

Delving into Shayne's inquiry, branches sprouted into a web of possibilities, forking paths interlocking in a winding labyrinth with two avenues of success. All shrouded in mystery, and all cloaked in dread. Though one, in particular, stilled her breath.

What happens if your connection severs and all of this ends?

Shayne opening his E-mail, she pocketed her train of thought. His cursor inched across the page and attached his entry to a blank message. Racing the arrow to the 'send' button, it never arrived. Instead, the return of clicking piqued her interest.

'I'm ready to give that plan of yours a shot.' Shayne entered into the subject line before forwarding it to Damien and closing the laptop. Chin hooking onto her shoulder, heat crushed her back as Shayne strained to set the laptop on the coffee table.

"Let's go celebrate Christmas, hmm?" Shayne said, planting an open-mouthed kiss on her neck. Coiling his arms around her waist, he pitched back against the couch, taking her along with him.