Prologue:

"There is no one reality. Each of us lives in a separate universe. Reality in a dynamic universe is non-objective. Consciousness is the only reality."

-M.R. Franks, The Universe and Multiple Reality

Some people say that for every decision we make, every choice, a whole other universe is created. Whether it is to put butter or jam on our toast, or to wear the green or white shirt today. For every choice, there exists another universe where you made the other choice.

A universe where only one photon differs might set in motion a chain of events which ends up destroying Earth.

This story is one of parallel universes, where the choice of one woman impacts the lives of several, changing an entire course of events. Come along, for the journey of a lifetime.

Chapter 1

19 year old Courtney Matthews was getting ready for the plane to Port Charles, New York. She could feel a little flutter of excitement in the pit of her stomach. She had never been anywhere out of Atlantic City before. She could barely afford the flight, but her mom had just disappeared. Janine had said that she was going to some place called Port Charles, but she had also said that she would be back in a week. It had now been two months with no sign of Janine. No phone calls, no emails, no anything. Courtney was starting to get really worried. Sure Janine had done this before, but she had never been gone longer than a month. Courtney had used the spare money that Janine had left her to pay for the plane ticket. She looked at clock on the cracked, yellowing wall. Uh oh, she thought. It's almost time for the flight.

She threw the last thing into her suitcase, sitting on it to force it to close. She dragged it off the bed, to the elevator and down to the lobby of the hotel that she and her mom lived in. She waved down the taxi and, taking one last look at her surroundings, got into the cab.

Courtney was lost in her own thoughts, pondering how Port Charles was going to be, when all of a sudden, a sputtering sound brought her out of her reverie. "What's that sound?" she asked the driver.

"Oh, it's no big deal, ma'am, it does this all the time. Don't worry, I'll get you to the airport on time." He smiled and winked at her in the rearview mirror. Courtney leaned back, into the ripped blue leather of the seat, held together with a strip of duct tape, reassured.

Five minutes later, she was standing outside, in the middle of the road, pacing. The taxi had broken down. She looked at the hot smoke emanating from the engine of the cab in despair. She was starting to get desperate. There wasn't a cab in sight, and she needed to get to the airport on time. Ugh! Why do things like this always happen to me? The cars were lined up bumper to bumper, the blaring horns too loud for this time of day. But then again, Courtney reminded herself, this was Atlantic City. It was like this 24 hours a day. She looked at her watch again. Ten minutes. Ten minutes till the plane to Port Charles takes off. Great. Unless I find a cab in two seconds, there is no way I will be able to make this flight. Just then, a car pulled up to her.

"Hey, looking for a ride?" Huh? Was she imagining this? She looked up to find a beat up old Volkswagen Beetle. She couldn't see the person sitting inside of it clearly, but she could tell that this car was old. Really old. Courtney hesitated for a moment. She didn't know this person at all, and his car looked like it fall apart if a person so much as breathed on it. But then again, this was her chance to make her flight. She was always complaining that she was unlucky, and here was her chance and she was thinking about turning it down?

"Hang on a sec, let me get my stuff." She ran to the cab, and lugged her suitcase out of the backseat. The guy chuckled as she lifted it on to her lap and she sat down in the dusty front seat. As he stepped on the accelerator, the car made a noise that sounded like a cat wailing. Courtney started, which made the man laugh again.

"Sorry, she does this all the time. I've had her for ten years, and she's yet to fail me," he said. "Yeah, that's what the taxi driver said too," Courtney mumbled under her breath.

"So, where to?"

"Atlantic City National Airport," Courtney replied, turning in her seat and looking at the stranger's face for the first time, as the car started rolling. He had thick black hair that was a bit long, and a slightly crooked nose. She liked that, the imperfection. It made him look more human. But the thing that got her were the eyes. The eyes were the a mixture of grey and green, and it was just something in them, something that screamed, I've been hurt, I've seen the real world, I've experienced pain. Never had she met someone whose eyes were so expressive. He looked just a few years older than her. She wanted to reach out and touch his face, wanted to ask him what he had seen, that made him so hurt.

"I'm Courtney by the way," she said.

"Zander, Zander Smith."

Chapter 1(no this is not a typo, keep on reading.)

19 year old Courtney Matthews was getting ready for the plane to Port Charles, New York. She could feel a little flutter of excitement in the pit of her stomach. She had never been anywhere out of Atlantic City before. She could barely afford the flight, but her mom had just disappeared. She knew that Janine said that she was going to some place called Port Charles, but she had also said that she would be back in a week. It had now been two months with no sign of Janine, no phone calls, no emails, no anything. And Courtney was starting to get really worried. Sure Janine had done this before, but she had never been gone longer than a month. Courtney had used the spare money that Janine had left her to pay for the plane ticket. She looked at clock on the cracked, yellowing wall. Uh oh, she thought. It's almost time for the flight.

She threw the last thing into her suitcase, sitting on it to force it to close. She dragged it off the bed, to the elevator and down to the lobby of the hotel that she and her mom lived in.

Courtney looked at the weather outside and sighed. She was going to miss this place. Hopefully, she would only be gone a short while. She looked at the money in her purse. Most of the money Janine had left her, she had used to buy the plane ticket. Now, all she had left was a few dollars. She could either get a cab, or use the bus. Well, the bus is cheaper, and I might want to save up some money in case I want to buy a snack at the airport or something. Nowadays, all they give you on those stinking flights is a teeny bag of peanuts. She went to the nearest bus stop, and a bus arrived in a couple of minutes. As it started rolling, she gazed out the huge windows, imagining what Port Charles was going to be like. The bus stopped with a jolt in front of the airport.

Courtney looked at her watch. 30 minutes. Perfect. She checked all her luggage in, and was sitting in the waiting area until the flight started boarding passengers. She had only sat down for 5 minutes when a small growl coming from her stomach reminded her that she hadn't had any breakfast. She counted her remaining money, and decided that she had just enough to buy something from the vending machine. She walked over, and contemplated if she should get the peanut M&Ms or the Snickers, and finally decided on the Snickers. She popped her change into the machine, already tasting the sweet, sticky taste of caramel, peanuts and chocolate melting in her mouth. She pushed the buttons, and waited, anticipating…nothing happened. What? The stupid machine got stuck on me! Why do things like this always happen to me? Ugh!

She heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. "Umm, excuse me, but you look like you could use some help." She turned around.

Whoa. It felt like the world had stopped around her. Before her was the best looking man she had ever seen. He had dark, sandy blonde hair, and the most startling blue eyes she had ever seen. It was like she could see right through them into his soul, but at the same time, she felt like there was some barrier keeping her from entering.

"Ummm….yeah, uh yeah sure. Ummm…thanks." Her voice squeaked on that last word, and she silently berated herself for sounding like such an idiot. The man took out a pen and started poking at the little slit where you put the change in.

"It looks like the money is stuck. Give me a few minutes, and I'll have it fixed for you."

"Um, okay, thanks." Courtney's voice came out a little stronger this time, and she was grateful for it. While the man was working, she had a chance to observe him more. He was wearing a black business suit and light blue shirt underneath it. He didn't look too much older than her, maybe in the mid twenties. His hair was cut close to his head and he had the most finely chiseled features she had ever seen on a man. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was afraid to open her mouth, thinking something stupid would come out.

She heard a clunk as her Snickers bar fell to the bottom of the vending machine.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," the mysterious man replied back. He started walking away when it suddenly hit Courtney.

"Wait," she called out to the man. "We never got the chance to introduce ourselves. My name's Courtney Matthews."

"Jason Morgan," the man said, as he took her outstretched hand and shook it.