Page 56 of A Thousand Second Chances

He rolls his eyes and raises the remote. “Whatever. I can change it.”

“No,” I say quickly. He quirks an eyebrow at me. “I mean, this is fine.”Whatever makes you happy.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we lie there watching a bunch of professional chefs make asses of themselves on reality television. I can’t help but sneak glances at Percy, and I swear I catch him doing the same. His presence tugs at me, and he somehow seems both closer than he’s been all trip yet also still exceedingly far out of reach. It leaves me feeling increasingly restless as the night wears on.

Christ, why hadn’t we shelled out for separate rooms?

“We should stay up if we can,” Percy suggests during a commercial break. “I’m curious what effect that might have on the time loop. Maybe it won’t reset if we’re still conscious.”

“Isn’t mixing different variables taboo to the scientific method or something?”

Percy shrugs, the sheets shifting about him. “Usually, yes. But I’m willing to accept a little ambiguity so long assomethingwe do frees us from this mess.”

“Free. Right.”

The word tastes bitter on my tongue, and I realize there’s a part of me hoping the time loopdoesn’tend tonight. Which is absurd. Why the hell would Iwantto stay trapped here any longer than necessary? Nothing that happens while we’re trapped in the loop is real. None of it matters.

Because you were worth it.

My gaze flicks to Percy, lingering on his drooping eyelids and the contours of his jaw. It almost physically pains me when I force myself to turn over onto my other side.

I try to stay awake like Percy wants—I really do. But somewhere in between the mind-numbing cooking shows and stolen glimpses of Percy, my eyes finally slip closed, and darkness claims me.

twenty-four

Percy

I’m eating a lemonpoppyseed muffin at my usual table by the door when Chris slumps into the chair across from me. He grabs the cappuccino I’d purchased from a sullen Owen and takes a sip, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. I nibble on my muffin, watching him in silence.

“It didn’t work,” he grunts eventually, sitting up to take a deeper gulp of his drink.

“No,” I agree. “It didn’t.”

I hadn’t been that surprised when I’d woken up this morning back in the Royal Lilac to the obnoxious beeping of my usual alarm. There’d been no real reason to think leaving Mackinac Island would change anything, and sure enough, the time loop doesn’t seem to care whether we’re here or on the mainland.

Chris frowns and casually flips his bangs out of his eyes, giving me a sheepish look. “Sorry for falling asleep last night. I should’ve grabbed some extra caffeine.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Or maybe sat up instead of burrowing under the covers?”

“Or that,” he replies with a grin.

“It’s fine. I stayed awake, and it didn’t make a difference.”

Chris perks up at that, peering at me over the rim of his coffee. “Did you figure out when the loop resets?”

It’s my turn to look sheepish. “I wasn’t watching my phone closely enough to get an exact measurement, but I think it was a little after one. One minute, Gordon Ramsey was eviscerating a chef for messing up an order. The next, I was blinking awake back here.”

His brow furrows. “Why one AM and not something more significant like midnight?”

“Dunno. But I mean, it’s not like much about this whole thing has made much sense. It could be random.”

“I suppose…” He doesn’t sound convinced. To be honest, neither am I.

“Or maybe there’s a hidden meaning to the time we haven’t figured out yet,” I suggest with a shrug. “After all, we still don’t knowwhythe day keeps resetting in the first place.”

“You think something significant happens at one AM?”

“Possibly.” I fight down my growing frustration at our lack of answers. “Three loops in, and we’ve still determined practically nothing that can help us.”