Page 30 of A Thousand Second Chances

It must’ve been because, not even five minutes later, Oshkoff barrels back outside, a sniffling Quinn meekly trailing after her. Oshkoff pauses beside Chris and me, and I brace myself for a fierce scolding. Instead, she fixes us with a kind smile.

“I know this isn’t fair to ask of you boys, but would you be willing to skip the bicycle tour this morning to accompany Ms. Pearson? I don’t want to leave her alone, and it’s clear you’ve already been so much help to her.”

Chris and I share another surprised look. He recovers first, clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah, sure. No problem.”

I bob my head in agreement. “Of course, Professor Oshkoff. Whatever you think is best.”

“I’m glad I can count on you.” She turns to me, then hesitates. “While I appreciate your willingness to support Ms. Pearson, I’m aware of your father’s role in financing this excursion on behalf of your mother. If you’d like, I can arrange for separate bicycle rentals this afternoon so you can make up for lost time.”

The look she gives me is filled with so much sympathy I have to avert my gaze. All at once, the possibility of a temporal distortion doesn’t seem as daunting. Chris and Quinn both study me curiously, but I ignore them, pasting on a fake smile. “Thanks, professor. I’ll let you know later how I’m feeling.”

“Of course, Mr. Wentworth. Now, behave, you three. I know you are all adults, but since you’re here as part of a university trip, I expect you to act responsibly.” Her eyes linger on Chris,and I catch his repressed scowl. I wonder what he’d done to earn her ire.

With one last nod to us, she rejoins the other students, barking out instructions as she herds them down the street. As soon as they’re gone, Chris whirls on Quinn. “Okay, spill. What the hell did yousayto her?”

Quinn smirks. “An artist never reveals her secrets.”

“Come on, not even a hint? She went from treating us like delinquents to thinking we were heroes or something.”

“Well, youaresupposed to be my knights in shining armor, helping me through a flare-up of my crippling childhood illness and escorting me to the hospital for an emergency exam.”

My throat tightens, the sharp scent of antiseptic leaking out of my memory. “You’re sick?”

She laughs as Chris rolls his eyes, and I fight down a blush. Maybe if my brain wasn’t so preoccupied with Chris and time loops, I’d be able to think more clearly.

“If I am, it’s news to me,” she says. “But it seemed the easiest way to convince her to cut us loose.”

“I still don’t see why we even bothered,” Chris says. “It’s so stupid we have to follow some university-mandated list of activities when we’re supposed to be on vacation.”

“It helps to have a plan,” I reply. “Plans keep everything nice and organized. There’s nothing wrong with structure.”

The glare Chris levels at me makes me gulp. “You’re right,” he says, his voice biting. “Itisnice when people actually follow through and do what they say they will.”

I hunch my shoulders, fighting back a wave of guilt at the reminder of how completely I’d failed him. “Maybe this is a mistake,” I mumble. “I should go lie down and rest instead of indulging whatever sort of temporary madness this is.”

“Sounds good to me,” Chris snaps. “You’ll only slow us down.”

So much for any budding sense of camaraderie between us.

I turn to walk back inside, already looking forward to retreating under my covers and closing my eyes. Maybe if I convince myself none of this is real, it will become true.

“Oh, for God’s sake, will you two cool it,” Quinn sighs. “You’re both beautiful.”

“Wh-what?” I stumble to a halt.

She ignores me and shakes her head. “Honestly, I don’t get what’s going on between you, and right now, I don’tcarebecause whatever it is, there’s no way it’s more exciting than the possibility of africkin’ time loop.” Her eyes brighten with excitement. “I mean, it’s not even affecting me, andI’msuper jazzed about it!”

“For all you know, Percy and I could be making the whole thing up,” Chris notes.

“Right. Because you two certainly seem buddy-buddy enough to invent an elaborate hoax just to pull one over on me.”

Her voice is teasing, but that doesn’t stop Chris’ scowl. I find myself studying him as he bickers with Quinn, my own discomfort giving way to curiosity. In many ways, he’s still the same boy I fell in love with back in high school. Same lean build and alluring amber eyes. Same quick wit and sarcastic sense of humor. But there’s a new hardness to him, too. I mean, he’d never exactly been warm and cuddly, especially around others. But around me? Once he’d let his walls down, he’d been sweet and thoughtful and clever. Far from the stereotype of the mindless jock.

A deep sense of loss cuts through me, and I turn to gaze out over the Royal Lilac’s gardens. Whatever had happened to turn him into this moodier version of himself, I know our breakup is at least partially to blame. It sounds like these past couple years were as hard on him as they had been on me.

My gaze latches onto the few perennials still in bloom, adding a last desperate burst of color before fall inevitably turns intowinter, and a sudden certainty grips me. I might not be able to fix things between us—indeed, I’m more confident than ever that it’s best to leave our history and the truth about my mom in the past. But I’ll be damned if I don’t do everything in my power to help Chris in the present. And if that means going along with his crazy assertion of a time loop, then so be it. I’ll set aside my reservations and embrace the hypothesis as true until proven otherwise.

“All right,” I declare, my voice firm. “Where should we go first?”