Page 10 of Captured Immune

“I believe that alternate universes exist, so why not wizards?” She gasps with a hand to her mouth. “What if he’s from an alternate universe?”

Alternate universe?Hmm...Is that the explanation for all of Trey’s oddities? Maybe in his universe, never sleeping is normal. I’ll have to look into that later.

“I’m still pissed that you waited this long to tell me.” Javina waves her spoon in the air. “I warned him not to hurt you. I told him if he did, I’d rip his balls off with my bare hands.”

I don’t doubt that Javina would try to if given the chance.

She leans back against the front of my couch. “So, do ya think Trey was havin’ another woman overeverytime you were at work?”

Pfft.“I didn’t... until now.”

Shaking her head, she says, “I knew pretty boy was trouble.”

“What? You were the one who said, ‘If you don’t marry him, I will.’”

“I still would! We’d have the grandest, most expensive wedding ever. Then, once I was the sole beneficiary of his will, I’d make sure heaccidentallyfell into a mysterious cavern within three years. Can’t do it too soon, or it’ll be obvious it was me.”

Okay, maybe Javina and I watch too many true crime shows.

“Anyway, enough about that asshat.” She licks her spoon clean, then tosses it onto my coffee table. “Tell me what’s up with you not being on the schedule at the daycare. All your shifts have other people’s names on them.”

I knew this topic was coming. I’ve been avoiding it. “Um, I got let go.”

Javina lifts an eyebrow like,No, seriously. What really happened?

I return her look with a deadpan face.

Finally, she gasps. “What? Why?”

“Remember last month when I was attacked by spiders?”

“How could I forget? After hearing you describe it, I’mstillhaving nightmares. You’re lucky I’m even sitting inside this arachnid magnet you call an apartment.”

Whenever I see a black spot on the wall, I get a flashback of being attacked by thousands of spiders, and it suddenly gets hard to breathe. Thankfully, I haven’t found any creepy-crawlies yet, but that moment was so traumatizing that sometimes, everything around here looks like a spider.

I place the lid back over our ice cream. “Since I was gone for a whole week, our director said I needed to provide a doctor’s note. Company policy. Trey had one, but he lost it, so he wrote me a new one instead. Our director checked up on it, and apparently, the doctor never said I couldn’t go to work.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have done something.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to start a fight with our director in front of everyone.”

Javina scoffs. “That’s exactly what I’ma do on Monday.”

“No, Javie. Please, don’t. She was nice about it. She said she didn’t want to fire me but had to because of policies.”

“Fuck the policies. You’re one of the best we’ve got.”

“It’s okay,” I say, half meaning it. “I can find another job.”

“Have you started lookin’ yet?”

“Not yet. I’ve got some money stashed away, so I’ll be fine.”For now.Soon, I’ll need to have enough income to support myself and an expensive newborn.

Javina and I continue talking about life, movies, and her girlfriend until she can’t stop yawning. Eventually, the clock hits 1:00 a.m., and Javina leaves.

As I crawl back into bed, the heartache resurfaces like a tsunami. A minute ago, I was laughing at my best friend’s jokes. Now I feel like I could burst into tears with the simple thought of him.

Under the covers, I listen to the steady pour of raindrops on my window while I scroll through our old texts. What did I ever say to make him think I’d be capable of sleeping with another man behind his back? The only thing I gain from rereading our messages is a reminder of how in love with him I still am.

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