“They did,” I whispered. “They said he looked exactly like you.”
“They thought he was me,” Noc replied, his voice quiet.
“Did they get video? Pictures?” I asked hopefully because if I never made it back to Tor, at least maybe I could convince Noc to give me the pictures.
“Only of the back of his head,” Noc answered, I closed my eyes and leaned back an inch. “Babe,” he called and I opened my eyes. When I did he said not a word, just stared into my eyes then his gaze moved over my face before it came back to me. “Jesus, f**k,” he murmured, “you believe this shit.”
“Only because it’s true,” I replied then I asked softly, “Standing here talking to you, am I anything at all like her? And looking around my place, is it anything at all like it was when she was here?”
His jaw clenched and he didn’t even bother looking at my tidy apartment.
This was my answer. It wasn’t and I wasn’t.
“At birth, in his world, half of his soul was separated from him and put in me. Now that we’ve met, our souls united so when he was pulled away, our souls were torn apart,” I explained. “You won’t ever be able to understand it, and I’m glad of that, but let me just say that the pain of having the other half of your soul ripped away doesn’t feel all that nice as in…” I leaned in again and my voice carried the ache I felt inside when I finished, “at all.”
He heard it, he may have even felt it and I knew that because it made him flinch.
Then he lifted his hand, curled it around my neck and whispered, “Cora.”
I closed my eyes again and dropped my head. His touch, so strong, so warm… but not Tor’s. His voice saying my name, so deep, so rough, the same… but not Tor’s.
God, it f**king hurt.
His other hand came up; he caught me under my chin and gently pulled my head back up.
I opened my eyes and searched his face.
Then I stated, “You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you believe you.”
I nodded and tried to move away but his hand at my neck held tighter and I stopped.
“Babe,” he said gently, so gently that that one word and the way he said it proved… yes, he was sweet, probably very sweet, “you gotta get help.”
“I know,” I answered with feeling because I knew I did, I just couldn’t find her.
His hand left my chin and dropped so his arm could curve around my waist and pull me closer as he kept talking gently. “You got my kid inside you, baby, we gotta get your head sorted. After we do that, we sort out other shit, yeah?”
I sucked in breath.
He thought I was mental.
This was not going my way.
That was when I decided to bargain.
“All right, Noc. I’ll make you a deal. I know someone who can get me back to Tor’s world,” I told him.
“Tor?”
“The other you.”
His eyes flashed. “You called me that –”
“I know, the other week, when I got back and the other Cora left. Anyway, I promise to go…” I hesitated before saying, “see someone if you help me find the person that can help me get back to Tor. If she doesn’t help me, then I’ll go to someone else to help me, someone you pick.”
“Babe –”