I halt with my hand on the door handle. “Yes?”
“Please don’t mention the wholeanchorthing to Rose. She doesn’t like accepting help, and she doesn’t know I used to do it at Neurovida. She’d kill me if she knew I—”
I hold up my hand and offer him another smile. “Parker, it’s fine. I won’t say anything.”
He releases a breath. “Thanks.”
We stare at each other for a moment, unspoken words hanging between us. What would he say if he hadn’t promised Rose to stay away from me? What would he do if he hadn’t lost his powers? If hecouldhold me? I want to ask him, but every second I stay, I’m forcing him to choose between me and keeping his word to Rose, so I turn and let myself out.
20Rose
My eyelids are weighted, my arms too weak to lift.Get up.I propel myself forward, but I barely move. A cold sweat breaks out over my brow. I’m trapped. Defenseless.Get up.I sense someone hovering over me and my breathing quickens, adrenaline soaking every aching muscle.Get the fuck up!Gritting my teeth, I try again, pushing past my excruciating headache. A choked groan rips from my throat, and a large, familiar hand slips into mine, soothing me like a hit of nicotine. I release a breath and slump back against the mattress.
Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be alone. Safe. In my world of revolving foster homes, the darkness of sleep was my only reliable embrace. Parker’s like a comet, tearing through my bleak night sky, garish yet mesmerizing.
“Rest,” he says, his temple warm against mine. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
But I’m not. Not if Matthews finds us. And here I am, bedbound, useless and barely holding on.
Parker gives my hands a squeeze. “Rest,” he says again.
Oblivion’s steadfast hold slithers through my bones. I fight against it, the shaking of my head nothing more than a pitiful jerk. I need to tell him this is too much.
Darkness engulfs me, one tiny, golden thread winking at me in the far distance, like a star about to burn out.
I need to tell him.
The pounding in my head’s so relentless I must still be in the past. I bite the inside of my cheek, longing for my own time, where I’m untethered. Headache-free, my mind clear.
But not safe.
Nowhere’s safe.
I push myself into a sitting position and bitter saliva pools in my mouth. I swallow it down and wait for the nausea to subside. How long have I been unconscious? Parker’s asleep on the floor beside me, back slumped against my bed. Reaching toward him, my fingertips hover an inch from his short, blond strands.
What I’d give for another life, where we don’t spend every waking second running. I drop my hand into my lap and pick at my nails. We have McGregor’s journal now. It’s almost over. He’ll restore Parker’s powers and I’ll be free from the bars of my own cage.
I contemplate the gentle rise and fall of Parker’s shoulders. Would he sleep as peacefully if he knew the damage we’ve done? The second we appeared in our time at Neurovida, my memories had shifted. Blurred. Tainted. A large debt repaid for the short time we’ve spent here, and our fleeting interactions with Ella. Fragments of memories race through my brain, the old and new blending together like paint on a canvas until I can’t differentiate the two. I bite the inside of my cheek. What will Parker say when his powers are restored, and he returns to the future to findhis precious memories spoiled? He’ll hate me. Us. What we’ve done.
I need my vape.
“Parker,” I say, my voice weak and croaky.
He jerks awake and cranes his neck to stare at me. Eyes momentarily closing, he lets out a slow exhale. “You had me worried there.”
“How long was I out?”
“About twelve hours.” He pushes himself from the floor, hissing as he straightens.
My gaze drops to the blood drenching his shirt, and my stomach plummets. “Fuck,” I whisper. Twelve hours he’s sat beside my bed suffering.
“It’s nothing,” he says, easing down onto the bed opposite and rubbing his eyes. “Just a graze.”
“What—” Memories from last night punch through my mind’s blurred haze. Guards storming McGregor’s office. Parker thrusting me behind him, using his body to shield my own. The mild power whirring through my veins had amplified to a raging inferno, a silent word echoing with every pulsing particle.Protect. Protect. Protect.But it hadn’t been enough. Why would he put himself between me and a bullet? The worldneedspeople like Parker, not pessimistic outcasts like me.
My nails bite into my palms. “Why did you do it?” I ask in a strangled whisper.
“Because you’re my family,” he says without hesitation.
