Page 80 of The Otherworld

Jack mutters an indignant laugh. “Occasionally.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing.”

“You’re right. It is. I just… I want to get to know you better.”

“I’d like that, too,” I admit quietly.

In Jack’s hazel eyes, I see my own thirst for more: for life, for freedom, for everything I’ve never known. It’s like he can see right through me, see me in a way Adam can’t. He knows how I feel. He knows the ache of the invisible, indestructible chains around me. And he knows something I don’t: how to break those chains.

“Orca.” Papa’s voice cuts into our conversation. “I think it’s time to say goodbye.”

“Already? But Jack only just—”

“Tide’s going out,” Papa says, nodding to the beach. “Any longer, and Jack’s plane might be stranded here.”

I follow his gaze to where Jack tied down the red-and-white floatplane. Papa is right. The line is pulled taut, leaving no slack for extra time with the Stevenson brothers.

Jack casts Papa an irked glance, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “Is Adam ready to go?”

My heart squeezes as I glance around, looking for him. I turn just in time to see him disappearing into the house.

“He’s collecting his things now,” Papa says, then goes on to ask Jack something about the flight conditions, the weather, I don’t know. Their words fade away behind me as I rush back into the house.

I find Adam in Papa’s room, zipping his backpack shut. He glances up when I appear in the doorway, an unreadable conflict in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Adam? What did Papa say to you out there?”

Adam stares at me for a long moment as if trying to decide how much to tell me. Or if he ought to tell me anything at all.

“Adam, please tell me.”

“I want you to have this,” he says, holding out his journal for me to take. “Write down your ideas about life. About philosophy and the universe.”

I glance up at him. “You mean the multiverse?”

“Yeah,” he says with a weary laugh. “The multiverse.”

The sadness in his voice makes my vision blur with tears. “Thank you,” I whisper, my throat tight. “I will cherish it, Adam Stevenson.”

I reach out and entwine my fingers with his. Rays of golden sunlight spill through the window and glow against our skin, shadowing the delicate lines of his veins and highlighting the blonde hairs on my forearm.

“I have to go,” Adam rasps so softly it’s as if he’s talking to himself. “I have to go back to the mainland, and I don’t know when I’ll see you again. Or… if I’ll be able to see you again.”

I had no idea such a small word could cut so deep into my heart.

If.

“Adam, please tell me what Papa—”

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “Don’t make me tell you, Orca. I don’t want to cause any hard feelings between you and your father. He’s a good man. I respect him, and I respect his wishes.”

The look in Adam’s eyes is unshakable. Resolute. Final.

This is goodbye.

Forever.

“No, Adam, I will see you again—I’m sure of it. Papa will let me go to the mainland once he comes to see that I can take care of myself out there. Once he realizes how well I’ve handled everything this past week… he’ll see that I am strong enough for the Otherworld. I know Papa. I know he’ll listen to me. I know he’ll be reasonable.” I manage a forced smile. “And you’ve encouraged me, Adam. You’ve given me confidence in myself. I can never thank you enough for that.”

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