I wandered aimlessly for a moment. I straightened a pillow. I drank a glass of water.
Then, my gaze drifted upward.
To the second floor. To the end of the hallway.
To the room I hadn't entered since the day I met this Wanda.
I hadn't thought about it in... days. Weeks? Time was blurring. Since Wanda (this Wanda) had moved in, the past had felt less like a weight and more like a story I had read a long time ago.
But now, in the quiet of the empty house, I felt a pull. A tug in my chest.
Go up, a voice in my head whispered.
I walked to the stairs. My footsteps were slow.
I climbed. The wood creaked under my weight.
I reached the landing. I walked past our bedroom (the S&M Suite) where the bed was still unmade, a testament to our morning.
I walked to the end of the hall.
The black door. It was closed.
I reached for the handle. It was cold.
I turned it. It was unlocked.
I pushed the door open.
I stepped in.
And froze.
"Oh," I breathed.
The room had been... disturbed.
The photos on the shelves were slightly askew. Someone had picked them up. Someone had looked at them.
I walked to the center table.
The vase was there. But the blue cornflower (the preserved memory of a love from a dead universe) was gone.
In its place, resting on the dusty wood, lay a pile of crushed blue powder.
And next to it...
A lemon.
A bright yellow lemon.
I stared at it.
"IF YOU CAN HANDLE THE SOUR, YOU EARN THE SUGAR." (Chapter: 14)
She was here, I realized.
I turned to the corner.
The mirror.
The dust sheet was on the floor.
And the glass...
It was shattered.
A spiderweb of cracks radiated from the center, as if someone had punched it. Or hit it with a blast of telekinetic force.
I walked over to the broken glass. I saw my own reflection, fragmented into a dozen jagged pieces.
I looked at the 'lens' "You guys... did you see this? When did she do this?"
I ran my hand over the frame.
She had seen everything. The photos of me and the other Wanda.
And she hadn't said a word.
She had just... replaced the flower. And broken the mirror.
"Why?" I whispered to the shattered glass.
I turned back to the shelves.
I picked up a photo. It was me and Other Wanda, sitting on the hood of my car in Sokovia, eating ice cream. We were laughing.
I ran my thumb over her face.
I put the photo back.
I looked down at the floor. I looked through the floorboards, using my vision to see into the room below.
I saw Wanda. She was standing back, admiring a wall of framed newspapers. She was smiling. She looked proud.
She was building our future downstairs, while I was standing in the dust of my past upstairs.
I walked over to the other shelf. I found a photo of her. She was standing in a field of cornflowers, looking at the camera with that beautiful smile.
I picked it up.
"Hey," I said softly to the photo.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I couldn't stop the sky from falling. I had all this power... and I was useless."
My voice cracked.
"But... I have to go now."
I looked at her face one last time.
"I loved you," I said. "God, I loved you. You were my first everything."
I paused. I felt the warmth of the house around me. I felt the connection to the woman downstairs.
"But I'm in love with her now," I confessed. "This Wanda. The one who eats my cooking and steals my hoodies."
"I can't live in this room anymore," I told the photo.
I placed the photo back on the shelf.
"I'm going to protect her," I promised. "I won't let it happen twice. I will burn the universe down before I let anyone hurt her."
I stepped back.
I looked around the room.
I raised my hand.
Snap.
A ripple of energy moved through the room.
The dust vanished. The broken glass on the floor dissolved into nothingness. The crushed flower petals disappeared.
The room was clean.
But I didn't fix the mirror.
"Goodbye," I whispered.
I turned and walked out. I closed the black door. I locked it.
I walked down the hallway.
I went down the stairs.
I walked into the living room.
The air here was alive.
I walked to the kitchen. I poured a glass of water. I drank it in one long gulp, washing the taste of dust from my throat.
I went back to the living room. I turned on the TV. I sat on the couch.
I turned on a sitcom.
Full House.
I watched the Tanner family solve a problem in twenty minutes.
Five minutes later, I heard the library door unlock.
Footsteps in the hallway.
I stared at the TV.
I felt her presence behind the sofa.
Then, hands covered my eyes.
The world went dark. Her palms were cool.
"Guess who?" she whispered near my ear.
I smiled. A real smile.
"Hmm," I mused. "Is it... Mrs. Higgins? Seeking revenge for the avocado?"
She laughed, her breath tickling my ear. "Try again."
"Is it... Agatha Harkness?"
"Colder."
I leaned back into her hands.
"Is it... Mrs. Spencer?" I asked softly.
I felt her pause. I felt her intake of breath.
"Yes," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
She removed her hands.
She climbed over the back of the sofa (graceful as a cat) and slid down next to me.
She was blushing. A lovely red.
"Mrs. Spencer?" she teased, nudging my shoulder. "That is presumptive."
"The neighborhood has spoken," I shrugged, putting my arm around her and pulling her into my lap. "I just follow the polls."
She snuggled into me, resting her head on my chest.
"Did you finish your project?" I asked, kissing her hair.
"Yes," she said. "It is... done."
"Can I see it?"
"Later," she said. "Right now... I just want to watch the show."
"Okay," I said.
We sat there.
Uncle Jesse was making a joke. The laugh track played.
I looked down at the woman in my arms.
Wanda looked up at me.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
I looked at her green eyes.
"I was thinking," I said, "that I really like lemons."
She smiled.
"Good," she said. "Because I bought a bag full."
She settled back down.
I held her tighter.
PS: We need 77 more Power Stones for the next bonus chapter. Come on guys, let's push hard and try to finish this novel this month, haha.
PS: There are 30+ Advance chapters available on the Patreon for those who want to read ahead. www.patreon. com/Drrajnovel