Page 27 of A Thousand Second Chances

thirteen

Chris

My mind is stillracing as I slide into an empty seat across from Percy in the cafe. This is the sort of impossible bullshit I’d write about in one of my stories, not something that’s supposed to happen in real life! But it’s hard to deny the truth staring me in the face.

I’d woken up and gone through my usual morning routine before knocking on Quinn’s door. She’d greeted me the same way she had yesterday. Likeexactly, down to the clothes she wore and the precise words she’d used. At first, I assumed it was a powerful sense of déjà vu. But as we talked, it didn’t take me long to realize something much more insane was going on.

Quinn had remained her usual unflappable self through my mini-freakout as I raved and shouted and threw random accusations her way. When I’d finally calmed down enough to listen, she’d made it clear that, so far as she was concerned, yesterday—or at least,myyesterday—had never happened.

Which…fuck. I’d begun to think maybe I’d had some sort of fever dream or mental break or something. How else could I explain all these memories of a day that apparently didn’t exist?

Then, I’d run into Percy, and…well, seeing him as freaked out as me has been sort of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s nice to know I’m probably not crazy. I mean, I suppose this could all still be in my head, Percy nothing but a figment of my messed-up imagination. But having someone else along for the ride makes a psychotic delusion seem at least marginally less likely. On the other hand, it’sPercywho’s stuck in this nightmare with me. Like, seriously, universe? Why couldn’t it be Quinn, or hell, even Oshkoff? I’d takeliterallyanyone else on this godforsaken island—except maybe Devon—over my ex.

The universe must have a sick sense of humor.

“Do you think this is some grand cosmic joke?” I blurt, fiddling with the napkin holder on the table.

“I don’t know,” Percy says after an awkward pause, refusing to meet my eyes. “Maybe.”

I tap my foot nervously on the linoleum and glance away. Great. Our fight last night appears to still be fresh on both our minds. I barrel ahead, barely even processing what I’m saying. “I mean, why else would the universe pickusout of all the possible people who could be experiencing this temporal bullshit?”

“Maybe it didn’t,” Percy suggests quietly. “Maybe it’s pure random chance the two of us are caught up in…whatever this is.”

I snort. “Yeah, right. What are the odds?”

Percy shakes his head. “We don’t even know what’s going on. It seems to me like that’s where we need to start.”

“I think it’s pretty clear what’s going on.” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms. “We’re caught in a time loop. I’ve seen enough films and read enough books to recognize the signs.”

“Possibly,” Percy concedes. “I’m not sure a single iteration is enough to call it aloopyet. This could be a one-time thing.”

I raise an eyebrow, my lips curving in a humorless grin. “I don’t know about you, butI’mnot that lucky. Better to expect the worst so we’re prepared no matter what happens.”

Percy’s expression darkens at that, but before I can ask why, he holds up a hand. “All right, fine. Let’s assume for now that you’re right and this phenomenon continues. That still leaves a ton of unanswered questions.”

“Such as?”

“Well, thecause, for starters. There had to be an event to initiate the temporal anomaly. Cause and effect. Understanding the cause could go a long way to figuring out our role in this.”

“Our role?” I ask, resisting the urge to call him out for using such a blatantlyStar Trek-y term astemporal anomaly. A sudden thought occurs to me, and my mouth gives it voice before I can think it through. “Uh-uh, no way! This isn’tGroundhog Day. I don’t care how much the universe tries to shove us together. I amnotgoing out with you again!”

Percy winces, fiddling with his cup as he stares at the table, and I suppress a flicker of guilt. I know I should apologize for how heated things got last night—that was mostly on me—but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. I might regrethowI’d said what I had and the effect my comments had on him, but I’d meant every word. Besides,he’sthe one who ghosted and broke up withme. What right does he have to get upset about it now?

Another long silence passes before Percy sighs. I risk a glance at him and find his face hardened with determination. “Look,” he says. “I know things are strained between us, and I get it. But since we seem to be stuck together, I think our best shot at figuring this out is to combine forces. Two heads are still better than one, no matter how much they dislike each other.”

“You’ve got a point,” I admit, apprehension squeezing my chest. A single weekend with Percy had been tortuous enough, and that was with us mostly avoiding each other. Spending theforeseeable future in close collaboration sounds close to my own personal hell. Still, I force a grin. “Where do we start?”

Percy chews on his bottom lip the same way he always has when pondering a difficult question. “Well…I guess we should investigate. You know, search for other strange occurrences on the island. See if there’s anyone else out there like us.”

Once again, my mouth gets ahead of my brain. “Oh, there’s plenty of other people like us out there, Perce. I can show you some websites if you’re not convinced.”

Percy turns a deep shade of crimson, his eyes darting from side to side to make sure no one else is close enough to hear. Just like that, my good humor evaporates. He must catch the annoyance on my face because he rushes to his feet. “I’m going to, uh, go use the bathroom.”

I muffle a sigh as he leaves, my gaze lingering against my will on the way his jeans hug his long legs. His continued discomfort around his sexuality is really none of my concern. Everyone should have the right to decide when or if they’re ready to come out on their own terms. Still, I can’t help finding it a tad ridiculous that he’s more willing to discuss a freakingtime loopthan he is being queer. Not to mention the way the constant reminder of how things ended between us grates on me.

Scowling, I rip my eyes away in time to see Quinn bouncing down the stairs. She spots me and waves, heading over. I start to wave her off, then pause. I’d already spilled the beans to her this morning. Even if she isn’t stuck in this thing with Percy and me, that doesn’t mean she can’t help us out. Besides, Percy and I have been together less than five minutes, and we’re already getting on each other’s nerves. Quinn might make a perfect buffer to stop things from becoming too personal.

She detours to snag a pastry from the cafe, and by the time she’s settled at our table, happily munching away as if I hadn’t recently confessed to possible insanity, Percy’s walking over. Hissteps slow when he spots Quinn, and he raises an eyebrow at me. My only response is a shrug.