Page 27 of Switch!

I can’t do anything while witnesses are present, and parents are the worst kind. I watch as Caleb’s mother hugs him. He doesn’t even lift his arms in response. Then the two adults climb into the SUV. Caleb pulls out his phone and leans against his truck, seeming in no rush to follow. The SUV begins to pull out. One of the windows rolls down. I can’t quite hear what his parents say, but Caleb’s response is loud and clear.

“I’m not following you all the way there!” he snaps.

His father responds in a tone just as cutting. Caleb finally shoves his phone in his pocket and gets in his truck. The SUV pulls out of the driveway and down the street. The truck stays parked in the driveway. I watch as the SUV remains at a stop sign much longer than is necessary before it finally turns and continues on its way. I’m still watching it when I hear a door slam.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Caleb must have seen me in the rearview mirror. I wasn’t exactly hiding. He’s already moving toward me. I walk across the street to meet him, feeling shaky. I should possess him. The sooner the better, but this will likely be the final opportunity to speak to him, and I want answers.

“Do you remember what happened last time?” I ask, stopping just outside his reach. “When I was here.”

“Yeah,” Caleb says, his eyes narrowing. “I do.”

“How much of it?” I take a step toward him, and to my surprise, he backs away. “How much do you remember?”

“I don’t know.” Caleb shakes his head as if to clear it. “You were in my yard and you… you passed out and didn’t want to get in trouble so… Ireallywanted to go on that date with Ashley.” His brow is knotting up, like he’s in pain. “I keep having these weird dreams about you, where you’re taking off my clothes or I’m washing your hair.” He looks up sharply, as if daring me to laugh.

I don’t. I’m too fascinated. “Are you missing pieces out of the day? Similar to blacking out?”

“It’s you, isn’t it?” Caleb says, grinding his teeth together. “You’ve been drugging me or, or…”

I wait, but he fails to come up with another theory. “You’d never guess in a million years,” I say, letting the backpack slip loose from my shoulders and fall to the ground. I need to be ready, but first… “One more question before we go. Why’d you always pick on me? What did I ever do to you?”

Caleb makes a face. “You think you’re a goddamn shrink? Fuck off! Get the hell out of here. Actually…” He smiles slowly and laughs. “Never mind. Stick around. For old times’ sake.”

I recognize the look in his eye, but I’m still not quick enough when he lunges forward and catches me by the hair. It hurts, so I swing at him, hoping he’ll let go, which is a mistake. I should have possessed him instead. Caleb knees me in the stomach. I fall to my knees, the pain incredible. He grabs me by the throat and begins to squeeze. God I hate him! I pull on one of his legs, making him lose his balance, but it backfires.

He falls on top of me instead, the driveway scraping against my back as I squirm, but I barely feel anything. All the years of anger and humiliation are bubbling up inside me and boiling over. I want to hurt him as much as he’s hurt me. I’m shoving and slapping while growling like a rabid animal. Caleb punches me a few times, but I don’t make it easy. I keep moving, always kicking, elbowing, biting, or whatever I can manage. We’re rolling on the ground when the back of my head hits the cement. My vision dims momentarily, reminding me of why I’m there. Reaching the void is impossible when I’m constantly shielding myself from attacks or attempting to knee him in the crotch.

I need to possess him while I’m still conscious. I change tactics and wrap my arms around his torso, squeezing his body close to mine. This makes me harder to hit and means my soul won’t have to travel as far.

Darkness envelops my vision, but I’m not sure if I left my body or if I’m succumbing to a concussion. I can still feel his arms around me, squeezing back like he’s decided to crush me to death. If this has become a contest of strength, I’ll lose. I use whatever power I can muster to leverage a foot against the driveway, wanting to get out from under him so I can escape long enough to make the leap. I manage to flip him over—just barely—and when I open my eyes, I’m staring back at me. Except I’m still on the ground. I have my natural body pinned to the driveway. Somewhere in the struggle, I must have possessed Caleb!

No time to waste. I concentrate on reaching Phase Two.

Tiny pebbles pressing into palms, knuckles sore from striking bone, T-shirt tight around tense shoulders…

STAND.

Pop! I manage to push myself up so I can get to my feet. Travis is wide-eyed as I lift my weight off him, his arms spastically flailing in self-defense, a hand striking me across the face by luck alone. Then we both freeze, and I hear my natural voice speak the very words I’m thinking.

“What the hell?”

I’m in Caleb’s body and Phase Two has been reached. So why is my original body still moving?

“What’s going on?” Travis says, touching his face before looking at his hands in confusion. “What is this?”

“Caleb?” I ask.

Travis—that is, my natural body—squints in response. The glasses are missing from my face, and I never could see well without them. They must have been lost in the fight. “What’s going on?” he asks. “Where’s…” His eyes lose focus, his breath coming in gasps, like he’s hyperventilating. Or having a panic attack.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He presses his hands to either side of his head, like it’s going to explode.

“Do you remember anything?” I ask.

The only answer is a groan.