Page 20 of Perfectly Matched

“You okay? You seem a little agitated,” Tegan said.

“I, um…” Hannah tried to clear the dryness from her throat as Oriana’s words echoed in her head: “I’m counting on you to fix your mistake and come home.” But was the mistake really on Hannah, or was the mistake on the universe? She felt her chest tighten and her stomach bottom out as she began to think the unthinkable.

“I gotta go.” She scooted out of the booth. Something deep in her gut told her to stop the kiss and intervene in the universe’s plan. “This is crazy,” she whispered to herself as she paced in front of the booth while trying to reason with herself. On the one hand, she could be completely ostracized from the island ifshe interfered with their destiny, but on the other, she could be righting a wrong. “Shit,” she whispered.

What was it about Payson that enchanted her so much that Payson’s future wellbeing was of such concern to her? None of this was making any sense. In less than twenty-four hours, her world had been turned upside down, and a life that seemed as predictable as the daily rising of the sun was now in question. She didn’t understand what was going on, but if the wind had taught her anything, it was that she needed to listen when something was trying to get her attention. And right now, it was her heart that was whispering in her ear. “I gotta go,” she repeated as she habitually slapped her fingers on her wrist once, then twice, then glanced at her arms as the reality of not having her bracers to teleport sunk in.

“Um,” Tegan said as she arched a brow. “You doing okay there, Hannah? Anything I can help with?”

“No, thanks,” Hannah called over her shoulder as she hurried into the main floor of the casino. But anxiety gripped her as she tried to get her bearings. She had been so transfixed on Payson when she’d followed her in, she hadn’t taken note of her surroundings. She spun in a circle as she scanned the sea of people and blinking lights. Where the hell was the exit? She weaved her way through the slots, past several tables, and ended up at a dead end in the sports bar. “Shit.”

She spun again, but finding her direction without the aid of the stars or the sounds of nature to help her navigate was impossible. Everything about the casino seemed to be designed to keep someone in, not let them out, and she could sense the window of opportunity to stop the kiss was closing. In desperation, she grabbed a man’s arm as he passed.

“Hey!” The man jerked back.

“The exit,” she pleaded. “How do I get out of here?”

“I don’t know.” He took a step farther away from her. “Why don’t you follow the signs?” he said as he pushed past her.

Signs…what signs? Hannah glanced around, then up. A placard with a list and several arrows, all pointing in different direction, hung above her head. She quickly scanned the sign until she saw the word she was looking for: parking. The arrow pointed to the right, so she sprinted in that direction until a beam of light, bleeding through a section of glass doors, guided her the final distance.

“Payson! Payson!” she called out as she ran through the sliding doors and down a row of cars. But it didn’t take long to realize that something wasn’t right. “No.” She placed her hands on her head. “No,” she repeated as she glanced around the parking garage. She let her arms drop to her sides as she hunched her shoulders and lowered her head. She was in the wrong place, and because of it, she was sure she had just missed another shot at sealing Payson’s destiny.

---