Without Me

Chapter 17

Lizzie was so focused on the crystal in her pocket that she almost didn't notice when she ran into a certain curly-haired muppet. His hands grabbed her shoulders instinctively, stopping her from tripping over the impact.

"H-Hey!" Landon said, still reeling from the surprise of the witch running into him.

Lizzie blinked at him. "Hi?"

"Come to tell me you've seen the light?" Landon teased. "That you've realized two rectangles are better than two triangles?"

"Funny." Lizzie smiled up at him. "But you know making jokes about it doesn't make you right."

Landon laughed and shook his head. "So what are you up to?"

"Uh, witchy homework project," Lizzie lied, glancing down at the pocket the crystal was metaphorically burning a hole in. "Why?"

"Wade and I get together a couple nights a week and play D&D. I thought …" Landon smiled sheepishly at the floor, glad his hands were so deep in his pockets that Lizzie couldn't see them shake. "I thought maybe you'd be interested?" He smirked and leaned back. "Unless, of course, you're still pretending like you're too cool to enjoy anything fun."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows. "When did I ever pretend I was too cool for fun?"

"That's, like, your whole thing."

Lizzie stuck her chin in the air. "It is not. And just to prove how wrong you are, I will join your campaign tonight," Lizzie said smartly, stabbing a finger into Landon's chest. 

"Good," Landon said, raising his own eyebrows back like he didn't believe a word she said. "Then I will see you then."

"You will."

"It's at eight, in the detention room."

"And I will be there."

Landon held up his hands, fighting a laugh. "I believe you."

"You don't! I can tell by your face!" Lizzie protested.

"Fine. Maybe I'll believe it when I see it," Landon admitted. 

"You will see it." Lizzie watched him walk past. 

"At eight."

Lizzie shook her head, trying to get rid of the stupid smile left on her face even though he was gone. She gripped the crystal again and hurried up to her room. 

Hope was gone. She'd be in class for a while. Lizzie had the room to herself.

She set the crystal on the nightstand and closed her eyes, clearing her head.

"Hi!"

Lizzie jumped at the sound of her sister's voice coming from the projection sitting across from her on Hope's bed.

"Hi …" Lizzie hadn't expected it to be Josie. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What did you need?" SimuJosie smiled pleasantly.

"Uh … I was really looking for Hope." Lizzie shook the crystal a little, as if she could make it change who she was talking to.

SimuJosie folded her hands in her lap. "Maybe I can help."

"I doubt it," Lizzie said dryly. "You've been the opposite of help lately." She sighed. "Although that's my fault. You weren't like this before I went and messed with your memory."

"Wasn't I?" SimuJosie tilted her head. 

"No."

"Are you sure about that?"

Lizzie frowned. "I guess not, since you're really just a projection of my subconscious and all. So get on with it already. What is my subconcious trying to make me realize?"

"Well what did I do to you that was new?"

"You said some really awful things," Lizzie said. Her eyes flickered to the side, unable to look at Josie's likeness. "About me being crazy. And about Hope being a villain."

"You mean the same things I did when we were growing up? Like telling everyone about your episodes and laughing at Hope in your story?" SimuJosie raised an eyebrow. 

"I …"

"Admit it, Lizzie. The worst part is that it's not new. I'm still Josie."

Lizzie cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "I actually wanted to ask about the ascendant."

"The ascendant?"

"I needed help figuring out where it could be hiding - and how to get to it. Penelope seems to think it could be in Dad's room."

"So you'll need a distraction to sneak in." SimuJosie nodded along. "Or maybe the ascendant is the distraction. From your real problem."

Lizzie scrunched up her nose. "The real problem is that nobody remembers that Rafael is tucked away in a prison world, probably wondering why no one's been to visit in forever."

"No, the real problem is you."

"Okay." Lizzie stood up and grabbed the crystal. SimuJosie's hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from turning it off.

"It's always been you who's the problem, Lizzie," she said. "Whether people remember you or not, you still find a way to ruin their lives."

"This is just me being mean to myself," Lizzie muttered. She yanked her hand back and interrupted the crystal's projection. 

She blinked a few times, clearing her head. A distraction. For her plan to work, she needed a distraction. She just had to find one that would work.