freakin’ story and she believed it. Kids are much more accepting than grown-ups. Even so, there was a limit to what a kid will believe, but it was like Courtney could see through me, knew I wasn’t lying.
Courtney used her credit card to buy a new coat from a department store before we planned our next adventure.
* * *
“How do you do it, the whole time-jumping thing?” she asked.
We were at the Met, blending in with the visiting tourists. “I don’t know how to explain the actual jumping part. How do you explain breathing?”
“Do you think I can do it?”
I turned my eyes from her face. “Good question. Go ahead and try.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Why can’t you just tell me if the older me has superpowers? I need to mentally prepare myself for something like that.”
I hesitated, feeling the grief sweep over me like it had the last time, but I forced it down and kept my eyes straight ahead before answering. This wouldn’t last much longer. Someone would come for her soon. “Sorry. Can’t break the ethical codes of time travel. I’d get booted out of the club.”
I sighed with relief when she didn’t seem to notice me balking at that question.
“Damn. This has to be because of Mom, right?” She said this like it was common knowledge. “Dad’s not a time traveler. Superpowers come from a superparent.”
“Or a vat of toxic waste,” I added.
Courtney giggled and shook her head. “I doubt it.”
Adam and I had gone in the genetics direction just a couple times with our theories. One being the time when I thought I saw a younger version of my sister wandering around the zoo. We never even came close to any concrete theory, let alone a conclusion. We did have a pretty elaborate plan to steal medical records, one that never happened because I ended up in 2007. But it was my records we were trying to steal, not my mother’s. Courtney and I never knew our mother. She died from childbirth complications just days after we were born. Dad didn’t want to talk about her and, after I turned seven or eight, I stopped asking questions. It’s hard to want something like a mother when you’ve never had one. I didn’t know any different.
I stopped and Courtney turned to face me. “You think it was Mom?” I asked.
Even if I wanted to get hold of her records, where would I look? She’d been dead for so long. Besides, medical records aren’t exactly easy to steal.
Courtney shrugged. “Could be why Dr. Melvin always does those scans of our heads.”
I didn’t know if it was Courtney’s revelation or just a lack of sleep and food, but I got dizzy all of a sudden, feeling even lighter than I had a couple hours ago. “I need to sit down.”
She dragged me by the hand over to a bench. “You look really pale. Are you okay?”
Beads of sweat formed over the back of my neck and trickled down my shirt. “I’m just … tired.”
I lay all the way across the bench and closed my eyes. Courtney swiped her hand across my forehead, removing the cold sweat. I needed to get back to 2007 before I passed out in the past or something worse, which might require medical attention. That would be interesting. Where the hell was the spy? This whole trip would be pointless if I couldn’t see him.
I opened my eyes and put a hand on her cheek. “I don’t think I should stay here much longer, okay?”
Her eyes were teary. “I won’t remember this, will I? Like when you go back to 2007, that me won’t remember this?”
My throat tightened and I had to force out the words and force back the tears. “I don’t think so.”
She nodded. “It’s kinda like daydreaming, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. Something you do when you don’t want to face the real world.” I stood again, very slowly, and she put her arms around my waist. “I love you, Courtney.”
“I love you, too, even if I never tell you,” she whispered.
I could feel myself going back, but not by choice. One second she was in
Courtney used her credit card to buy a new coat from a department store before we planned our next adventure.
* * *
“How do you do it, the whole time-jumping thing?” she asked.
We were at the Met, blending in with the visiting tourists. “I don’t know how to explain the actual jumping part. How do you explain breathing?”
“Do you think I can do it?”
I turned my eyes from her face. “Good question. Go ahead and try.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Why can’t you just tell me if the older me has superpowers? I need to mentally prepare myself for something like that.”
I hesitated, feeling the grief sweep over me like it had the last time, but I forced it down and kept my eyes straight ahead before answering. This wouldn’t last much longer. Someone would come for her soon. “Sorry. Can’t break the ethical codes of time travel. I’d get booted out of the club.”
I sighed with relief when she didn’t seem to notice me balking at that question.
“Damn. This has to be because of Mom, right?” She said this like it was common knowledge. “Dad’s not a time traveler. Superpowers come from a superparent.”
“Or a vat of toxic waste,” I added.
Courtney giggled and shook her head. “I doubt it.”
Adam and I had gone in the genetics direction just a couple times with our theories. One being the time when I thought I saw a younger version of my sister wandering around the zoo. We never even came close to any concrete theory, let alone a conclusion. We did have a pretty elaborate plan to steal medical records, one that never happened because I ended up in 2007. But it was my records we were trying to steal, not my mother’s. Courtney and I never knew our mother. She died from childbirth complications just days after we were born. Dad didn’t want to talk about her and, after I turned seven or eight, I stopped asking questions. It’s hard to want something like a mother when you’ve never had one. I didn’t know any different.
I stopped and Courtney turned to face me. “You think it was Mom?” I asked.
Even if I wanted to get hold of her records, where would I look? She’d been dead for so long. Besides, medical records aren’t exactly easy to steal.
Courtney shrugged. “Could be why Dr. Melvin always does those scans of our heads.”
I didn’t know if it was Courtney’s revelation or just a lack of sleep and food, but I got dizzy all of a sudden, feeling even lighter than I had a couple hours ago. “I need to sit down.”
She dragged me by the hand over to a bench. “You look really pale. Are you okay?”
Beads of sweat formed over the back of my neck and trickled down my shirt. “I’m just … tired.”
I lay all the way across the bench and closed my eyes. Courtney swiped her hand across my forehead, removing the cold sweat. I needed to get back to 2007 before I passed out in the past or something worse, which might require medical attention. That would be interesting. Where the hell was the spy? This whole trip would be pointless if I couldn’t see him.
I opened my eyes and put a hand on her cheek. “I don’t think I should stay here much longer, okay?”
Her eyes were teary. “I won’t remember this, will I? Like when you go back to 2007, that me won’t remember this?”
My throat tightened and I had to force out the words and force back the tears. “I don’t think so.”
She nodded. “It’s kinda like daydreaming, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. Something you do when you don’t want to face the real world.” I stood again, very slowly, and she put her arms around my waist. “I love you, Courtney.”
“I love you, too, even if I never tell you,” she whispered.
I could feel myself going back, but not by choice. One second she was in
Similar Books
