Page 104 of A Thousand Second Chances
“Whatever it is, it can wait. Wake me after Oshkoff leaves for the bike tour.” He starts to turn, and I hold out an arm to prop his door open. “Chris…” he says, his tone low in warning.
All right, fine. Telling instead of showing it is.“Our phones are wrong, Perce. I just came from the cafe, and Quinn, Devon, and Owen all remember everything. It’s Sunday.”
His eyes widen, his mouth falling open as he examines my face. “You’re serious? You’re not trying to trick me or something?”
I roll my eyes. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“I don’t know! Shits and giggles.”
“It’s not a trick, Perce. This is real. We’refree.”
He stares at me a moment longer, then shoves past into the hall, gesturing frantically at a guy—I think his name might beCarl?—coming out of his room a few doors down. “Hey! You! Can I see your phone?”
Carl glances between me and Percy, who’s rushing toward him still wearing hisBeast Warspajamas, then shrugs and seems to decide to roll with it. “Sure, dude. Whatever.”
He holds out his phone, and Percy snatches it, staring at the screen. He blinks at it several times before a broad grin splits his face. He turns to me. “We did it, Chris!We fucking did it!”
Carl watches wide-eyed as Percy and I embrace in the middle of the hall, both of us somewhere between laughing and crying. He feels good against me, like he belongs in my arms. I force down another pang when I realize this means our pseudo-vacation is over. Now that we’re no longer trapped here, we’ll return to our regular lives. We won’t be stuck together, forced to interact anymore. We’ll finally be able to move on.
I cling to him a little tighter than I should, and I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but I think he does the same.
“But…how?” Percy demands once we’re alone in his room. “Owen?”
“It has to be. That’s the biggest variable we changed yesterday.”
“You really think the universe orchestrated this entire thing so that we could save one troubled teen? Out of all the people in the world who need saving?”
When he puts it like that, itdoessound a bit ludicrous. But… “What other explanation is there?”
He shrugs, fidgeting with his glasses. “Maybe it’s a random fluke. Pure chance. And we just got lucky with how it ended.”
“Maybe,” I say, though I don’t really believe it.
No matter what Percy might think about the unlikeliness of the universe selecting us, I have a hard time believing there hadn’t been some method to the madness. There are too manycoincidences otherwise. No, someone or something hadwantedus to help Owen.
Although…now that I consider it, he wasn’t the only one helped by this experience, was he? Maybe this hadn’t been about helping usorOwen. Maybe it had been about teaching all of us how to help ourselves.
Percy suddenly pales, clutching his head. “Oh man!”
“What is it?” I demand.
“I didn’t visit a single spot my dad wanted me to yesterday.”
I laugh. “Oh, come on. You’ve visited them plenty in other cycles, along with a bunch of places and things that weren’t on your list. I think you’ve done your familial duty.”
“But what if my dad doesn’t see it that way?”
I give him a flat look. “Does it matter howhesees it?”
Percy meets my eyes, then slowly shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I suppose not.” His tension fades, and he even gives me a slight smile. “Besides, I’m pretty sure my mom would be proud of how I spent yesterday. I can’t think of a better way to honor her memory.”
It’s my turn to groan. “Oh, shit. I went off on my mom yesterday. I hadn’t expected any of it to stick, but now…”Now, I’ve got to live with the consequences.
“Do you regret anything you said? Was any of it untrue?”
I consider the question carefully. “No…I guess not. I mean, I could’ve been more diplomatic, but everything I said was how I feel.”
“Then, it seems to me you don’t have anything to apologize for either.” He sighs. “I wish I’d gotten the chance to return to Friendship’s Altar, though. I wanted to see if my parents’ initials were still there after how I chickened out that original Saturday.”
