Between the Lives - By Jessica Shirvington Page 0,25

can explain it all so you understand. I just need you to know why I have the pills …’ I glanced at my bag’s incriminating contents, ‘… and the other stuff.’

Finally Dad nodded and turned to face me. ‘Well, make it clear to us, Sabine.’

‘Okay,’ I said, blowing out a breath, relieved he seemed to be at least willing to hear more. ‘I don’t know when the change happened, maybe since I turned eighteen, but when I broke my arm, that was the first sign. When I Shifted the other night, my arm wasn’t broken in my other world.’

Mom was silent, but Dad nodded me on and I couldn’t help but feel a rush at finally being able to tell them all of this. My deepest fears of him yelling ‘liar’ and throwing me out of the house weren’t coming true.

I sat up in my chair. ‘After that, I decided I needed to know for sure. I mean, the physical parts of me have always been connected, but now … Well, if they aren’t, everything is different. So I started conducting tests. First my hair.’

‘And how did that go?’ Dad asked.

I felt myself nodding. ‘Great. I mean, for the first time I was able to cut my hair and not have it change in my other world.’ I couldn’t help the hesitant smile. Dad made a feeble attempt to return one. I took it as another encouraging sign. ‘When I went back there I had my hair dyed blonde, and it didn’t change anything here either. And then …’ I stalled.

‘It’s okay, Sabine, you can tell us. We can see you’ve been … trying out some other theories,’ Dad said, sounding surprisingly calm as he glanced at the bloodied bandages heaped in the centre of the table.

For the first time in my life, I considered that maybe they’d always known, had figured it out somehow. I felt a surge of relief as I continued to explain. Maybe they could help me work this out. Maybe I wasn’t as alone as I’d always assumed.

‘Well, I wanted to test everything. So after my hair, I tested my skin and …’ Rather than trying to tell them I’d been hacking at myself, I pulled up the sleeve of my top to expose the bandage and grimaced. ‘I know it was stupid, but I was really careful and the thing is, it worked. When I Shifted last night, none of the wounds came with me!’

Dad nodded and pressed his lips together. Mom was sobbing at the table. I decided to keep my focus on Dad. He seemed to be taking it the best.

‘How many areas have you tested?’ he asked.

‘Just my arm, leg and belly,’ I said, wincing a little as Mom gasped. ‘But I was careful and none of them are deep, I swear!’

‘It’s okay, Sabine. It’s just a lot to … take in for your mother and me. We’ve always known that you’ve been … dealing with some things that other people weren’t. It’s good to get it all out in the open and we’re grateful you’ve confided in us.’ He scratched at his neck. He always did that when he was nervous.

Or lying.

Instinctively I recoiled and turned to Mom. She was still crying, barely looking at me.

‘Mom? You believe me, right?’ I said, suddenly fearing I’d made a horrible mistake. Mom couldn’t stop sobbing, but Dad came around and put a hand on my shoulder.

‘Of course we do, Sabine. It’s just going to take some time for us to absorb. How about you give your mother and me a few minutes to process everything and then we can have another chat? I’d like to know more about your other life.’

Still feeling uneasy, my eyes darted between them. ‘Okay. Well, I was going to head out for a bit anyway.’ I stood up. Exit was a good plan. Dad seemed to be trying to understand, but Mom wasn’t coping. Plus, those alarm bells were only ringing louder in my mind.

‘Actually would you mind staying around here? I think it’s important we talk this through. Could you wait in your room?’ Dad looked at me and then glanced pointedly at Mom, as if imploring me for a chance to calm her down before I left.

I weighed it up. I would never have expected Dad to take all of this so well, but he seemed genuinely interested in what was going on with me. I still felt a gnawing unease, but if I took