Page 9 of A Gift of Time
As quickly as I could, I got up and looked for my phone. Spotting it on the nightstand, I grabbed it.
My background was different. Instead of the picture of me and Caden as my lock screen, it was one of those landscape backgrounds that came with the phone.
I scrolled through my contacts… and didn’t see Caden’s name anywhere.
What the hell’s going on?
Damn modern technology had made me too reliant, and I tried recalling his number from memory. It had become too easy just to click on people’s names that I’d stopped memorizing numbers.
After dialing two wrong numbers—one to a Chinese restaurant and the other to some old lady named Janice—I tossed my phone down and clutched my head. Before I could lose my mind even more, I peeled myself up and decided to look through the apartment.
I went to one of the windows and was shocked to see I was probably ten floors off the ground.
Definitely an apartment.
The living room screamed luxury: high-end furniture and a modern, sleek design. It reminded me of those places the rich guys had in movies; the ones where they held all the huge ass parties. The kitchen was an open plan, with an island in the middle, and alotof counter space.
Caden had always wanted a kitchen like that.
A set of doors beyond the living room led to a balcony, and I stepped outside, amazed at the picturesque view. Going to the railing, I looked down. Fuck. It was high. And cold. I went back inside, running my hands along my arms to create friction.
Everything about the apartment was nice and had more than likely cost a fortune, but it wasn’t me. There were no pictures on the wall of me and Caden or of our friends. There wasn’t one personal item that I could see, as if the person living there cared more about appearances than comfortability.
After searching the place some more, I found traces that I actually did live there.
My clothes hung in the closet, but expensive suits now hung with them, as did nicer shoes. Watches that cost more than my car were lined on a shelf in the walk-in closet, as were pricey ties.
I had to be dreaming. It was impossible to go to bed one person and wake up as another. I made a decent living, but nowhere near as much as that apartment must’ve cost, plus all the things in it.
So that left two options; it was either a dream, or someone was playing a damn joke on me.
Something occurred to me, and I ran back to where I’d thrown my phone on the bed to get it. I looked at the date and froze.
December first.
When I’d gone to sleep the night before, it had been Christmas Eve, so how in thefuckwas it only the first of December? A person couldn’t just travel back in time.
Where was Caden? It was as if he didn’t even exist. If only I could remember his damn number…
His website!
Caden had a designing website that listed his number.
Opening up the browser on my phone, I typed inCay Designsand hitsearch.When the site popped up, I blew out a relieved breath. With as crazy and unexpected as my morning had been, I feared the website would be gone along with everything else.
I called three times, and no one answered.
My screen flashed as a text came through.
Logan:Not sure what’s up with you 2day, but get your shit together. Remember you have a presentation today at eleven. I put all the notes in a file on your desk.
I read his message a few times, wondering why he was reminding me about work.
Shit. I wondered iflosing my mindwas a valid excuse for a sick day.
Wait.A presentation? I didn’t give those.
Putting all thoughts of reaching out to Caden aside, I took a shower and got ready to go to work. When I walked into the parking garage, I had to hunt for my car. I went to the lot reserved for my floor and froze when I got to my spot.
