Free Stepping into the Sky: Jump When Ready, Book 3 by David Pandolfe Page B

way to guarantee that is by doing it together. Right, honey?”
    Nikki achieved her desired result. Henry’s face burned
red. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the boxes, apparently
speechless.
    “That’s really neat,” Rose said. “I think it’s…cool.”
    Rose’s hesitation wasn’t lost on Nikki. It seemed like Rose
wanted to be someone other than who she was. Or, at least, she’d once wanted
that when she’d still been living her last life. Nikki knew so little about her
but she knew enough to guess that Rose’s life had been mostly a lonely one. Had
she ever been allowed to be truly young?
    “We think it’s totally cool,” Nikki said.
    Rose giggled uncertainly. “Totally cool,” she repeated.
“I like that. Do you two enjoy pop music?”
    Nikki refused to meet Henry’s eyes this time, afraid she
might snort. “Do you mean, like, rock?” Even as she said it, Nikki wondered
about her phrasing.
    Rose cocked her head and studied Nikki, then smiled
again. “Yes, rock and roll. Do you like it? It’s really popular right now but—”
Rose rolled her eyes and gestured with her head to indicate the world outside
these walls “—people around here can be a little slow to catch on, if you know
what I mean.”
    “We love music,” Henry said. “Is there a good…record
store around here?”
    Rose shrugged. “Not so much around here but there’s one
not too far away. I’d love to show you sometime.” She glanced at the floor. “I
mean, if you’d like.”
    In that moment, Nikki wanted to hug her. Whoever Rose
was—whoever she’d been—Nikki would never entirely know. But it seemed clear
that in her dream, which must be a reflection of Rose’s last life, Nikki stood
facing a girl who felt unsure of herself. Despite her advantages, Rose appeared
to lack the thing that Nikki and those around her experienced every day. True
friendship.
    “That sounds nice,” Nikki said. “We’d like that.”
    Rose smiled again, more naturally this time as she
started to relax. “So, I was wondering if you’d like to join me and Joseph
later today. I thought we might have lunch together and get to know each other
a little. I mean, if you’re not too busy getting settled.”
    Nikki and Henry made eye contact, pretending to check if
either had any objections.
    “That sounds like a great idea,” Nikki said, although she
wondered if Joseph knew. Something told her Rose hadn’t included him in the
plan yet.
    “Perfect!” Rose checked her watch. “Does twelve sound
about right?”
    “Twelve works for us,” Henry said.
    They saw Rose out and part of Nikki wondered if the house
around them might evaporate, leaving them in the wasteland they’d wandered
through the night before. But apparently this place really had been provided as
a sanctuary of some sort. Still, a shiver ran up her spine as she recalled the
continued pounding on the door last night, along with the threatening messages
blending with the wind. Something told her whoever that had been hadn’t just
given up and gone away. Just the opposite. Nikki felt sure they were keeping
watch.
    She and Henry walked back down the hall, both stopping
before the mirror. Nikki breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the glass now
reflecting their images as they usually appeared. In that moment, though, she
couldn’t help wonder if that wasn’t just another type of dream. In a way,
wasn’t that also the case? When would they choose to surrender the dream they
both lived in?
    Henry remained quiet for a moment and Nikki wondered if
he might be thinking the same thing. Finally, he said, “I guess we’re starting
to see how some of this works.”
    “Some of it, ” Nikki said.
    So far, only one thing seemed clear. What Rose believed
dictated their “reality,” but only when she thought of them. This was her dream
and she controlled at least enough of it to suggest that the dream could take
on a new form. That it might even shatter. But only if they