Page 98 of Switch!
Jesse stares at me. “This is all real. Isn’t it?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
He considers the world beyond the windshield, takes a deep breath, and blows it out again. “Okay.”
“You believe me?”
After a few seconds, he nods. “Why not?”
“Great! Now I just need you to transfer all the money in your bank account to the super awesome cult that you’re about to join. Once you do, I’ll teach you the secret of my amazing powers.”
Jesse turns an incredulous expression on me. Then he laughs. I do too.
He starts the engine. “Where to?”
“Patrick’s apartment,” I say. “I appreciate you bringing me this outfit to wear—”
“But I should have brought more clothes than that.” Jesse’s cheeks flush a little. “You were my first involuntary hold patient. I’m new at this. I guess you know that already. And everything else about me.”
“Not really,” I say. “I only had access to it all while I was in your head. And uh, I always made sure to look away when you and Colin… You know.”
Jesse’s face graduates from pink to bright red. “What about when I was… umm, while alone?”
“I looked away then too,” I say with a chuckle.
“Good,” Jesse says, sounding relieved. “Anyway, by the time I realized that you would need more clothes, it was too late because I’d already locked your apartment and no longer had the keys. They gave those to you, right?”
“Yup,” I say, patting a pocket.
“Good,” he repeats. A few times. “Good… Good.”
I feel like he’s working his way up to a question, so I remain silent.
“I read most of your notebook,” he says at last. “All of it, actually. I feel bad now, because you gave me privacy and I—”
“It’s fine,” I assure him. “I invaded your life! You reading my diary is nothing compared to that.”
He flashes an appreciative smile. “I even tried the techniques you described.”
“Did they work?”
“No. I was relieved. It sounds terrifying.”
“It can be,” I admit. “Especially the void.”
He’s quiet again, and I know that he’s finally reached the crux of whatever is troubling him.
“As far as I’m concerned,” I assure him, “we’re like old friends, or at the very least, former roommates. We shared a lot, even if it was only for a few weeks.”
“I suppose so,” he says in good humor.
“What I’m getting at is that there’s nothing you can’t ask me.”
“Caleb,” he says instantly. “The motorcycle accident… He didn’t really die that night?”
“Just his original body,” I confirm. “He still has mine. I’m not sure if that’s a fair trade exactly, but he’s okay. I think.”
Jesse nods. “He’s alive though.”
