Page 163 of Switch!

“No!” she calls after him. “Come back!”

I take her hand in mine, squeezing it to get her attention. When she looks down at me, I manage to speak one final word before darkness embraces me.

“Hide.”

Thirty-five ↔ Chapter

“It’s okay, honey. Everything is fine. You must have had a bad dream.”

I open my eyes, wincing against the light, and notice my mother standing over me. She’s holding one of my hands, her face lined with worry.

“A dream?” I murmur.

“That’s right. And now you’re back, safe and sound.”

Like theWizard of Oz. I always hated that movie. Except I didn’t. I used to love it and any story where the protagonist left their world behind for a magical land. The only part I didn’t like was when Dorothy woke up back in boring old Kansas, instead of staying in an awesome land filled with flying monkeys and talking trees. What a copout.

“Trixie!” I gasp.

“At least you remember your name,” my mother says in a voice husky from smoking so much.

That’s not right. My name is Travis Anderson, proud card-carrying member of the Laramie County Public Library. I attempt to sit up, my limbs stiff and numb from lack of blood flow. I can feel them tingling back to life as I continue to struggle.

“Just a moment,” my mom says, pushing a button on the bed.

The back raises automatically. I can see now that I’m in a hospital room, but I’d already guessed as much from the sterile scent. I take stock of myself. One of my wrists stings, tubes are snaking out of my other hand, and I’ve got boobs.

I’m in Trixie’s body! The paramedics must have stabilized her. But if that’s the case, then why am I here with…

“Mom?”

Her mouth becomes a thin flat line. Then she busies herself, snatching a cup of water from the side table and holding the straw near my mouth so I can take a sip. She doesn’t recognize me. Of course not. How will I ever explain this to her? I need to anyway, because I’m feeling vulnerable and confused, and she was always the person I turned to for comfort.

“I know you’re going to find this hard to believe,” I begin, “but I’m not who you think I am.”

Her mouth begins to quiver as she sets down the cup. Then she collects herself, expression stern. “He told me that you would be able to prove it, that he was a skeptic too, but his story was a load of nonsense. I’m only here because I hoped you would have the decency to tell me the truth. What happened to my son?”

“You talked to Jesse,” I say.

She nods. Curtly. “I listened to a total stranger tell me the most convoluted lies, but I’m not an idiot. Let’s start with who you are. My son’s girlfriend? Did you meet while he was locked up in that terrible place? Or are you with this Jesse person?”

“Hold on,” I say, shaking my head. “Give me a second. Please.” I take stock of myself again. I’m in Trixie’s head, which is full of her memories, but for once it’s my own that I need. “Remember the first time I went horseback riding? I was still going through that phase where I wanted to be a cowboy, and I begged and begged entiremonthsfor you to sign me up for riding lessons. You said we couldn’t afford it. You managed though. That’s why a neighbor used to pick me up from school instead of you, right? You were working extra hours.”

“That’s right!” my mother says, clearly taken aback. Then she clears her throat. “And it was worth it. I surprised you on Easter and we had a perfect day together.”

“No we didn’t,” I say with a chuckle. I rub one of my ears, which are tingling for some reason. “It was my birthday, and the day wasn’t exactly perfect, although it did start that way. We both rode horses with the instructor, who offered to show us around the entire ranch. I remember him telling me what a pretty mom I have. He was really into you.” I pause and see that she’s hanging on my every word, but I don’t want there to be any room for doubt, so I press on. “Everything was fine until I had to pee. I didn’t want to get off the horse, so I tried to hold it for as long as I could, but just before we made it to the stables, I wet myself. I was so embarrassed. I didn’t want anyone to notice. You did anyway. And you understood, without me having to say a thing. You took off your sweater and wrapped it around my waist. It was pink, but that was less embarrassing than if people saw. You told the instructor we were running late and took me home, and once you asked me what happened, you couldn’t stop laughing.”

“It tickled me for some reason,” my mother says, guffawing before covering her mouth. She looks at me with wide eyes and shakes her head. “You made me promise not to tell anyone. And I never did.”

“Good! I don’t care how long ago it was. Istilldon’t want people to know.”

She continues to stare at me. “Am I being foolish? What Raymond tried to do was horrible, but you never would have… Even before then, I knew something was off. I just couldn’t figure out what. I thought you might be gay.”

“I was. For a while.” I laugh and shake my head. “I have so much to tell you.”

She’s looking at me funny again, and I know it’s going to be a tough sell, but that’s fine. There’s no shortage of embarrassing anecdotes from my past, or other little details both trivial and intimate that no one but us will know. I try my best to explain what happened, how I discovered a strange ability and used it to get away, and I don’t take it personally when she says the inevitable.

“Travis could have told you the horse-riding story. Or you and your friend might have forced it out of him.”