Jess Like Me: Jess In Time, #2

By Blake Lamar

How do you go on living when you're not supposed to exist?

Life hasn't been easy since Jess got back from the so-called "True" timeline. She spends her days going through the motions, dreading the moment when her reality will vanish from existence.

What's worse, she's in love with her boyfriend Jason. That doesn't seem so bad, except he's the wrong version of the boy she fell in love with. While he may look and act just like the Jason from the "True" timeline, something isn't right.

Then she comes home one day to discover she has a new foster sister.

Herself.

Going by Jess's middle name and pretending to be her cousin, Marie has been kicked out of several foster homes in the "True" timeline. Who better to take care of her than her own parents from another timeline, right?

Despite having been the exact same person at one point in their lives, Jess and Marie couldn't be more different. After kicking Jess out of her own bedroom and hacking her Instagram account, it's clear Marie isn't going to make Jess's life any easier.

Jess tries to take comfort in the fact that so long as Marie is living in her timeline, she gets to continue living, which means she has things to look forward to. Like the Homecoming Dance!

But when Jess's friends notice their similarities, they suggest giving Marie a makeover and having them switch places at school for a day. What seems like a harmless prank ends up turning Jess's world upside down.

For Marie, that's all just fun and games. 

The daughter of a corrupt time-cop has much more sinister plans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake Lamar
• Release date: May 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781952323089

Book preview

1

Existential Crisis

How do you go on living your life when you know your entire reality isn’t supposed to exist? Mine was created for a singular, temporary purpose. It should have disappeared the moment that purpose was served.

But it didn’t.

I glanced down at the sleek, white watch on my arm. It was the only thing preserving my memories of the time I spent in the one true timeline—the only reality that would remain when all the illicit timelines like my own were snuffed out of existence. Someday soon, the person who gave it to me would come back for it, and then my reality would be no more.

2:58 PM.

Ugh, said Trisha. My mom just texted me. I have to take the bus home. It’s supposed to storm.

Patricia Lewis is my best friend. We’d been best friends our entire lives if you didn’t count fifth and sixth grade. When my family moved across town, we grew apart for reasons I’m not proud of. After I spent a couple of months in the true timeline, we rekindled our friendship. Alt-Trisha was the only person willing to be my friend in that reality, which forced me to reflect on why I’d stopped being her friend in my own timeline.

I glanced at my phone.

I got a text, too, I said. Kelly is picking me up. Mom’s car won’t start and it might rain soon.

What about my math homework? Trisha asked, sounding desperate. These fractions got me frazzled.

We’ll just Skype or something later.

My mom must be crazy, Trisha said, showing me the weather app on her phone. Nothing but sunshine for days!

I shrugged. Maybe conditions are ripe. The humidity or whatever.

This is bogus, Trisha said, adjusting the blue headband holding back her long, dirty blonde hair. I’m calling her as soon as the bell rings.

Don’t argue with her, I said, trying to shake an ominous feeling that had crept into my bones. I think I just want to be alone tonight anyways.

Are you okay?

I don’t know. I’ll call you later.

The bell rang.

You better, Trisa said. Math, remember?

Right.

When Trisha stopped by her locker to grab her math book, I reached out and gave her a hug.

Oh! Trisha said, hugging me back. It’s gonna be alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.

I know, I said, although I didn’t.

For all I knew, this was the last time I would ever see her. This might be the last time I saw anybody. Part of me wanted to grab her hand and run far away, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good.

Judgment day had come.

I looked into her bright blue eyes and studied her pretty tan face. I even adored her blue plaid dress, which she wore at least once a week despite my admonishments. Of all the people in this reality, I was going to miss her the most, assuming it was possible to miss anyone in the nothingness of nonexistence.

Alright, she said, with an awkward smile. I gotta go. The bus.

Bye, I said.

Jason Lansing stood next to my locker. He wore shorts and a t-shirt, his sandy brown hair damp with sweat from basketball practice.

Hey, Jess, he said, flashing me his winning smile.

Hey, I said, trying to hide my somber mood.

The Homecoming Dance is Friday. And I wondered if you might want to be my date.

Thinking about the future had suddenly become very difficult, but I tried to play along.

That’s awful bold, I said. You know I have a boyfriend, right?

Of course, he said. But he gets to be with you all the time. I’m just asking for one evening. Just a few hours with the most beautiful girl in school.

Just the school?

The town. The universe. The entire multiverse. Nay, the omniverse!

What’s the omniverse?

It’s like the multiverse of multiverses. All the verses.

I don’t know. My boyfriend might get awfully jealous if I go to the dance with a cutie like you. Won’t he get lonely?

Not to worry. I’ve got it all figured out.

Oh, yeah? What’s your plan?

Simple. He can go to the dance with my girlfriend. A little swipsy-swapsy.

Now I’m the jealous one. I hear your girlfriend is quite a hottie.

Oh, she is. No question about that.

Ralph Stevenson caught up with us. He was Jason’s best friend and Trisha’s boyfriend since forever. He had medium brown skin and semi-curly hair.

You guys are going to make me barf, he said. So...are you dating each other’s clone in this scenario?

Not clones, Jason said. Evil twins!

Are you sure you can handle another dance, Jess? Ralph asked. Don’t forget what happened last time.

I tried to hide the anger that rose up inside of me, but when you have pale skin, it’s kind of hard.

Dude, Jason said. Why you gotta bring that up?

Sorry, Jess, Ralph apologized.

No, it’s fine, I said. It wasn’t your fault.

Jason and Ralph didn’t know the real reason the Back to School Dance was such a painful memory for me. They’d watched me get sick to my stomach and barf all over the dance floor. But that never actually happened.

Or it didn’t happen to me, rather.

I went to the dance, but not in this timeline. I have no idea what was going on in my reality while I was gone. But the moment I came back, the time-warp effect rearranged things, altered memories, and did whatever else was necessary to explain why I was no longer at the dance.

Apparently, the time-warp has a sense of humor.

You can read my first report if you want to know the sad, confusing story of the time I spent in the true timeline. But all you really need to know is that I had no clue what was going on. I knew something wasn’t right. Everyone I knew seemed to think I was an entirely different person. And some of them were quite different than the people I remembered.

That’s why I accepted Mark Sellar’s proposal to be his date to Back To School Dance. In my reality, he’s a gentle, quiet soul who wouldn’t harm a fly. But in the other timeline, he’s a selfish bully. He completely ignored me the moment we got to the dance and danced with just about every other girl while I sat crying in the corner.

And then there’s Jason.

I’d always liked Jason. And the moment he stood up to Mark at the dance and took a punch in the face for me, I fell in love. I was delighted when I got back to my reality to learn that the time-warp had brought us together.

There was just one problem.

The Jason I’d fallen in love with and the Jason I’d known for most of my life weren’t the same person. Despite no discernable differences, those feelings were having a really hard time transferring to my timeline’s version of him. I’ve spent the last few months holding one guy’s hand and thinking about another. It feels wrong, but what can I do? I’m not sure what the difference is, exactly. Maybe something in his eyes or the way he looks at me.

It’s incredibly frustrating.

Sometimes I just wanted to forget all about Alt-Jason and focus on my Jason. All I had to do was slip off my watch. Once I took it off, I would forget everything about the true timeline and the true Jason who held my heart. Then I could move on with my life.

What little life I had left to live, that is.

Where’s Trisha? Ralph asked as we walked down the hall to the exit.

She caught the bus, I said. For some reason, our parents think it’s going to rain.

That reminds me, Jason said. My mom is picking us up.

Why? Ralph asked. It’s not raining right now, and from the looks of it, it’s not going to rain for a while. It’s only a ten minute walk.

Walk if you want to, Jason said. I’m exhausted from practice. You don’t look so chipper yourself.

I’m taking the ride, Ralph said. No doubt. Just seems odd.

Odd indeed.

Kelly Lansing honked at us from a tiny red car.

Shotgun! Ralph hollered.

I felt nervous as I got in the backseat. I’d dreaded this day ever since I got back. I’d hoped beyond hope that it wouldn’t come for years, if ever, but two months seemed entirely too short a time to say goodbye.

Hi, Mrs. Lansing, I said as sweetly as I could. You’re looking lovely today.

She smiled warmly. And you’re cute as ever.

You okay? Jason asked as the car left the parking lot. You look pale. Paler than usual.

Fine, I said and smiled. Just feeling off today.

Me, too, Kelly said. I feel like my head is in two places. Then your mom asked me to come get you guys like it was urgent. Said her car wouldn’t start. I hope everything’s alright.

A hot ball of dread settled into my stomach when we pulled up in front of my house. An ominous, black car with tinted windows and a Futures Realty logo sat in the driveway.

Are you guys selling your home? Kelly asked.

I don’t think so, I said.

Because you know I’d be happy to handle the listing. I wouldn’t even take any commission. Who’s car is that? Only a handful of agents get company cars.

I knew exactly whose car it was. Alt-Kelly’s. She was the one who gave me this watch. She only pretended to be a real estate agent. Instead, she was an agent for the Department of the Preservation of the Present. DOPOP, for short. DOPOP’s primary goal was reversing the effects of time travel and snipping off illegal branches to preserve the true timeline’s integrity.

Stay, Kelly said when Jason and Ralph unbuckled their seatbelts. Ralph, your mom wants you to stay with us until she gets home from work. In case there really are storms tonight.

"Mom, it’s not