BRIDGETTE

I knew the moment I opened the door that I was going to be killed. It was not hard to put the pieces together when I saw Cara’s deranged look and Mrs. Fowler smiling at me behind her before she went inside her own door.

Cara pushed me back inside the apartment and then slammed the door behind her.

“What the hell did you do?”

“I uh…Cara, look, I changed my mind about killing myself. It would mean you will kill yourself as well. And we don’t know what will happen if you do that.”

“Shut up, Bridgette! No one’s killing anyone here but you better explain yourself! Who were you with last night?” She was really furious and I had never seen that look since that night ten years ago.

“I was with Scott.”

“Who?”

“Scott Newman. You know him, right?”

Her eyes widened in horror. “You had sex with Dr. Newman?!”

“Well, it is not really nice if you call it that. We made love--”

“I don’t care if I call it coitus, sex or making love, Bridgette! I care that you did it anyway using my body!”

“Cara, it’s not like you are a virgin or are you? I didn’t feel it last night--”

“Shut up!” She covered her ears with her hands. “I don’t want to hear anything about it! You used my body for what? For a one-night-stand?”

“Look, I’m really sorry.”

“No, you are not. You have always been impulsive even before. I know you are and I accept that. But this has gone too far! You should have asked me first!”

“It just happened and--”

“Nothing ‘just happens’ with you, Bridgette.” She stormed to the couch and sat down, covering her face with her hands. “Where did you do it?” she asked.

“Uh…you’re sitting on it,” I said with a cringe.

She immediately shot to her feet and cursed. “What the hell! Get that couch changed right now!”

“Okay, okay, calm down. Look, I’m really sorry. I really like him, Cara. If you don’t want it to happen again, I won’t let it. I promise. You know I only broke one promise, right? I always fulfill my promises.”

She looked at me for a long time.

“I had been kind of lonely lately. I was a mess. I didn’t know where to go last night when my only sister was with you, hiding from her own troubles--I know she’s going through something and she’s not telling me or you about it. She was supposed to be my support but I couldn’t reach out to her because we haven’t even shared a meal in ages. So I went to the pub and I bumped into Scott. And then things just happened.”

“You got drunk.”

I nodded.

“Where’s my car?”

“I am planning to get it after this talk.”

“Let’s go get it. And I’m still really furious, Bridgette.”

“You can use my body however you want if you want to--”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear anything about last night or anything about using each other’s body. It is just gross.”

“I also thought of that once, but last night I found out--”

“Just shut up! I just hope you guys used protection because if you didn’t…” she trailed off, not knowing how to close her sentence.

It only dawned on me that I was lucky we used protection last night because I didn’t want to get pregnant while inside Cara’s body. How would my baby look like? How the hell would we explain to the child that she had two mother--one biological and one…well, one who did the act.

CARA

I couldn’t believe she would do that to me. If she cared at all about my body, she wouldn’t do that. I was never really good about expressing my anger but it was Bridgette I was dealing with. She was smart but she could really do crazy things and I should have expected this thing to happen from the start.

But it happened. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I couldn’t fathom the thought of my body having sex with Dr. Newman. The only way I could get over the whole thing was to think of Bridgette and my body as a completely different person. Until we didn’t get back in our original bodies, we had no claim the ones we were in. That was just how it would be, I thought. That way, I could avoid getting sick thinking of myself doing crazy things.

I dropped Bridgette outside the pub and left without a word. She had to learn her lesson and I was going to do it with silence. I knew she hated it whenever I did that.

A text popped in my phone. It was Quinn. Now what? Didn’t he get enough with our encounter earlier?

“Meet me at the bridge,” the text read.

What bridge was he talking about? I thought for a long time before it finally dawned on me.

How could I forget? It was the bridge.

My heart started to thump against my chest. Why would he invite me to the bridge?

BRIDGETTE

I just got inside the vehicle when I saw Scott climb out of the taxi. I slid lower behind the wheel and craned my neck to look. He was walking to a black, lowered car. He turned around and looked at the one I was in before climbing inside his own. I gave off a sigh when he finally drove away.

I couldn’t hide from him forever. There was a big chance that he would be on duty tonight.

What should I do? It had been the same question running around my mind since that morning.

Do whatever you used to do, my mind whispered in my ear.

I squared my shoulder and slid back up against the car seat. Yeah, I should do what I usually do--what Bridgette usually did. If Scott didn’t want anything to do with me after last night, then the hell with him because I had a lot more to think about like going back to my own body; like going back to work and save my damned business.

You should probably start calling him Dr. Newman again, my brain uttered and I agreed. He left me that morning because he thought we made a mistake. Why else would he do that? It was just night of uncontrollable passion and I would never do it again. Not with anyone else. Until I was back in my own body.

I texted Cara that I was back in her apartment and that I would change the couch tomorrow but she did not reply. I hated it when she would treat me with utter silence. But I figured she would talk to me soon because I would be having my duty in the hospital.

CARA

Quinn did not exactly say what time we should meet. He only said to meet at the bridge so I assumed it was ‘now’. I composed a lot of sentences to tell him if he ever asked anything. In line with that, I also racked my brain of any questions he would ask. My mind was reeling with a lot of questions as to why he would want to meet at that particular place.

I drove with my mind barely focused on the road. I wanted to get there as fast as I could and it was only when I parked Bridgette’s car did I realize I was not Cara. I was supposed to be Bridgette.

I couldn’t meet him as Bridgette. Bridgette didn’t know about the Bridge. I did not have time to turn on the ignition and drive away because Quinn was already walking towards the direction of the car, his gaze holding mine. Why didn’t Bridgette choose a tinted car? Why did she have to flaunt everything by getting clear windows?

Quinn was now standing outside and I did not make any move to get out. I couldn’t. How would I explain I knew about the bridge?

He knocked his knuckles against the window and I almost jumped.

“Get out,” he mouthed.

I did as he asked and before he could say anything, I cried, “What do you want?” I did not dare stand up. I held the door open and I just sat there staring ahead.

“How do you know about the bridge, Bridgette?” he asked, not with that same hatred in his tone, but one laced with curiosity.

“I…Cara told me,” I lied.

He tilted his head to his right, looking at me--into my eyes. “You’re lying, Cara.”

“She told me, I promise!”

“I know you well enough to know you’re not telling the truth.”

It only dawned on me that he addressed me by my real name. “You…Cara already told you it was just a joke. You don’t have to fall for it,” I uttered and faked a laugh, but what came out was a nervous one. “Really, Quinn, you should have learned your lesson. Cara and I always do crazy things.”

“Stop lying, Cara. You were never good at it, remember? So tell me how the hell did this happen?”

“What are you talking about?”

He scoffed. “You know, I did not really believe you at first.” He looked around and then down at me. “But ever since that meeting we had, the one in the restaurant, I started to notice how different you were when we first met you in your office. You lacked…the Bridgette attitude. I thought at first maybe you just changed over the years. And then that incident in the café. I saw it in your eyes,” he looked at my squarely in the eyes, “You were telling the truth. And then I started to doubt despite Bridgette’s claim that it was just a joke. That suspicion grew stronger when I met you in the park. You knew about my allergy and I knew you were lying when you said ‘Cara’ told you. I confirmed my suspicion when you came to this place. I am sure that you would never tell Bridgette about this bridge, Cara. This is the only place I am sure you will never share with your best friend.”

“She’s not my best friend--” the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them and I saw Quinn smile in triumph.

“So you really are Cara.”

I looked away from him, my eyes starting to water. “No, I am Bridgette.”

“You’re lying again.”

“I’m not. How do you think it is possible for two people to swap souls? That’s just crazy.”

“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one who’s experiencing this phenomenon.”

I did not say another word for almost a minute. And when I did, I looked at him and said, “Just forget this ever happened. I’m willing to work with you and Natalie in a professional way. I don’t want to jeopardize this work just because--”

“You are still working Bridgette’s job after everything? Why?”

“Because she’s doing the same thing for me!” I cried out, the tears now rolling down my face. “And I don’t expect you to understand, okay? Just let me do my job and then hope that we don’t see each other again.” I reached out for the door and slammed it shut. He stepped aside just in time. I turned on the ignition and drove away with shaking hands.

BRIDGETTE

“Where were you?” I asked when Cara barged in the apartment looking paler than ever. “What the hell happened to you? My face looks like a vampire. If this is still about last night, I am sorry, okay? I won’t do it again and I promise not to have sex again until I am strapped back in my own body.”

“This is not about last night,” she snapped, walking to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and I waited until she was calm enough.

“Well? What happened then?”

“I met with Quinn.”

I looked at her suspiciously. “You did not decide to get revenge and slept with him, did you?”

She looked at me strongly and said, “Of course not. He knows.”

“Knows what?” The moment I asked the question, I realized what she was talking about. “He knows about us. Didn’t we make it clear to him--”

“We did, but he has been suspicious ever since.”

I whirled around in frustration. “This is your fault. If you did not blurt out about--”

“Let’s stop pointing fingers. If you want to go that route, you know I have more to say.”

She was right. I did a lot of damage that she did. “Can’t we do something? You denied it, right?”

“Of course I did! But he wouldn’t believe me.”

“Great, just great. Now what do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let me think about it first,” I said, pacing around the kitchen with my hand under my chin.

“You better get ready. You have duty tonight.”

“Right,” I said, still frowning in concentration.

“Bridgette, you have to go to the hospital now.”

“Okay, okay. But we have to think what to do with Quinn.”

“Just get ready for your shift.”

 I parked Cara’s car in its usual spot and when I climbed out, I saw him. Great. Did he have to be in that place at that time when I was not in my best state to think straight? My mind was still full of Quinn and Cara and he chose to show up now.

Our eyes met so I couldn’t just pretend I did not see him.

He was walking towards me and I didn’t know what to do. I was out of words to say, out of ideas. So I did the only thing that popped in my mind.