Page 76 of Not You Again
“Hey,” Rick’s worried voice broke through as he rushed to straighten the flamingo.
“So I just kicked that piece of pink plastic, right? As a result, the flamingo fell, hit the leaves and the leaves scattered to the side.” Heather bent to help Rick put the flamingo upright again. “So we have to wonder, why did Shireen vanish in the first place? Was her disappearance a reaction to something? And why did she return? We could argue that the action of Adam vanishing caused Shireen to return, but why? What did Adamdoto bring Shireen back here? And what action will we have to take to bring him back?”
“Fuck,” Rick said, removing his prescription goggles. “She keeps hitting scientific home runs.”
“Oh, thanks.” Dr. Song waved his compliment off, but a blush crossed her cheeks.
Carly was trying to make sense of what Heather had said.For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.It sounded like something Adam would rattle off. What had Adam done to trade places with Shireen, though?
“I’m telling you what, the aliens would have a field day with this one.” Rick angled a proud thumb in Heather’s direction.
If Adam had heard that, he’d roll his eyes and bite back a comment. For the first time all that loop, Carly couldn’t help smile as she imagined what Adam would say about all of this.
Chapter 27
Carly
Day 253
There was a saying about how distance makes the heart grow fonder and Carly could, in fact, confirm this. Because as the tingling on her skin vanished and the funeral room came into focus, there was a kind of anticipatory flutter in her stomach.
Was Adam waiting in his office? Would she get to tell the crazy story of how he’d vanished? How long would it take for him to kiss her?
“He’s not here!” Shireen shouted down the hallway.
Carly’s nails dug into her thighs.Breathe, breathe, breathe, she told herself. She sucked in one long, steadying breath, then let it out and repeated it again and again.
Adam hadn’t returned.
But that was okay. That was normal! Shireen didn’t return until the third loop. For Adam, that meant he’d be back tomorrow.
Carly turned at a knock, and Shireen leaned against the door frame with a sad expression. She came down the aisle of chairs and took a seat next to Carly.
“I’m sorry that I never checked in on you in all theseloops.” Shireen played with the wedding ring on her finger. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to see your dad like this every day.”
“I’ve sort of gotten used to it. Or numb? It’s hard to tell.” Carly swallowed and studied her hands.
“My dad died when I was five.” Shireen’s gaze met hers, and there was an unspoken kinship.
Carly grimaced. “I’m sorry. I think this is the worst club I’ve ever been part of.”
“Yeah, Dead Dads Club suuuucks.” Shireen elongated the last word, and they both let out an unexpected chuckle. “I always wanted to get married. I was one of those girls who had a box under my bed with pictures printed out of wedding gowns and decor ideas. I think I just wanted to re-create the family I lost, ya know?”
“Do you still love Adam?” Carly asked, though she was afraid of the answer.
“He was my first everything.” Shireen took off the wedding ring and held it in her palm. “And he’s a really,reallygood guy. Part of me will always be in love with the idea of what we could’ve been. But we fell out of love a long time ago.”
Shireen pocketed the ring. “Doyoulove him?”
Carly’s brows shot up from the question. Did she love Adam? Without him, she felt like a piece of her had vanished, too. But she couldn’t love him—it was too soon for that.
“We really like each other.” Carly leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. She felt like that wasn’t totally true, though, because what she felt was more than like. “A lot. We like each other a lot.”
“A lot is good.” Shireen gave her a small smile. “Like I said, he’s a good guy. And how you’re bringing everyone together to look for him is amazing. Should we do the same today? Split up and do a search party?”
Because of her ADHD, Carly would occasionally get fixated on something—watching all of Gillian Anderson’s performances, making the perfect cup of matcha, hitting ten thousand steps every day. Once she’d mastered the thing, though, her interest waned.
Finding Adam would be her new challenge. If she could focus her energy on bringing him back, maybe all the effort would pay off. And so, channeling Adam, she said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
