Parallel

What if you had one chance to rewrite your past?

Gabriel Black was on the brink of everything he’d ever wanted—stardom, a full ride to his dream school, a future in the NBA. But when his high school sweetheart walks away and a freak injury ends his career before it begins, Gabe’s perfect future vanishes overnight.

Lost and desperate, he stumbles on a strange online ad that promises him a single shot to fix it all. One chance to go back. One chance to win her back.

Parallel by Brian Cotton is a compelling time travel novella that explores whether we shape our destiny—or if it shapes us. A poignant, thought-provoking story about love, regret, and the cost of second chances.

Grab your copy of Parallel today and see what happens when the past isn't quite done with you.

Excerpt from the book

Gabriel Black waded through the sea of old pizza boxes and Chinese food containers to the mantle on his dresser. Bone ground bone in his destroyed left knee with each step. On the mantle, in a rusted frame with cracked glass, rested his signed letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Kentucky. The letter used to bring him joy. Many years ago. It felt like just yesterday and a lifetime ago all at once. This letter was supposed to make all his dreams come true.

With all his might, he punched it with his right fist. A spiderweb of cracked glass formed in the center. He opened his hand and waved the pain away. His face reddened and a single warm tear leaked out. He reached for the pain meds and swallowed the two prescribed narcotics. Plus, one extra.

The ad continued to flash on his smartphone, serving as the only reason to get out of bed this afternoon. It popped up as he scrolled through Angela’s social media profile. A daily ritual. After it took him years to look for her. No matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t help himself. There were no pictures of a husband. No children. Just several cats and pictures of her artwork.

Despite the ache in his chest, he smiled. If she only remembered one thing about their time together, he was happy that she took his advice. She never lost her love of art. His favorite piece of hers featured an old man sitting alone on a park bench by a duck pond.

Waiting, she called it. It won her a prize and a feature in the local newspaper.

DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS IN YOUR LIFE?

SO MUCH SO THAT YOU’D DO ANYTHING TO ERASE THEM?

You’re damn right I do.

STOP BY OUR OFFICE TODAY FOR SPECIAL CONSULTATION.

Sixteen years earlier, Gabe lived the good life. As star of the varsity basketball team, he held the hand of the prettiest girl in school to every class. The envy of all the boys at George Mason High School. He made Angela the most hated girl.

But they didn’t care.

From his freshman to sophomore years, he grew a foot. Then, he kept growing. Into the six-foot, eight-inch, two-hundred-pound beast that stepped into the college arena for the State Championship this afternoon. George Mason was a smaller high school in rural Pennsylvania. His father was a blue-collar laborer. He made just enough to make ends meet and allow his wife to stay at home with Gabe and his three brothers. They didn’t want their boys to grow up in daycare.

After his junior year, when Gabe started to get some attention from college scouts, the thought crossed their minds to move to a bigger town. Have Gabe play at one of the big high schools to maximize his potential at a scholarship. At the end of the day, they didn’t have the money for that. His coach, who went by the nickname Duke, told Gabe not to worry about it. If he worked his ass off all summer and raised his game, the scouts would notice his senior season.