Between Worlds (The Wall Series #1)

Chapter 10

My uncle smiled. "Well, that's great! We'd be glad to have you here."

I returned the smile, unsure of what to say. My mind was swirling with so many thoughts. I needed to talk to Anna. About everything.

"But," I continued, "I'm not moving out of my home, exactly. I'll wait for my father, for a month. If he doesn't...come back by then, I'll make a new decision."

He thought over it for a while, then nodded. "Alright. So when will you be coming?"

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. It was six. How had the time passed by so quickly?

Your day started off at twelve, remember?

"Maybe...tomorrow?" I asked. I needed time to pack.

"Fine by me," he answered. "I might not be at home, so Heather can help you."

"Alright, thank you so much. And I should get going," I told him, and pushed myself off the cushions. Anna got up as well.

He nodded. He stood up, brushed his coat swiftly with his hands, walked over to the door and opened it for us. We stepped outside, shutting it behind us. The sun was about to set.

Anna turned to me. "I should get going, too."

"So soon?" I grumbled.

"Sorry," she replied, scratching her head. "My family's going to have dinner outside today. See you soon, Amy. I'll come tomorrow, too. This time at twelve."

"Alright."

She called her mom, telling her to come pick her up.

"You should get going, too," she told me after she was done. "Packing takes time."

I sighed. "I'll see you, then."

As I walked back home, I tried not to think about what she had said in the end. My family's going to have dinner outside today. I couldn't help remembering how my family was going to do that, too. But that might never happen again.

And even if it did, it'd only be a family of two people.

Stop, I told myself. I should be grateful my father is even alive, wherever he is. I would bring those times back. Even if it's just the two of us. I would.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked on the pavement, my shoes thudding on the bricks. I was observing my moving feet, thinking over everything that had happened.

Wouldn't it be natural for a father to be concerned about his daughter, if she comes back home bruised? Why did Heather simply push her father away?

But why should I be fretting about that? This might have nothing to do with me. There were other, more complicated things to worry about.

I needed to get to the other world. And for that, I needed the password.

Fragments. Numbers. Password.

I stopped in my tracks. What if the password was a number?

I slowly nodded to myself. It might not have been a word at all. But how would I know what number it is from the word 'Fragments'? Was I missing something?

I continued walking again. I thought of the ways in which fragments could be written as a number. It's a nine-letter word. So the password was...nine? But wasn't that too short?

I reached home. I took out my house keys and unlocked the door. Walking inside, I switched on the lights.

It felt weird to be alone. Of course, I'd been home alone before. But I'd always known at the back of my mind that my parents would come, sooner or later. Now, there was no one to wait for.