That was new.
That hadn’t happened before.
Granted, Ethan had only had a few days to truly play with his newfound power, but still… This had not happened before.
Last time he had rewound, Gene had gone backwards too. This time Gene had stayed where he was. Technically he’d come with him. Traveling back what ended up being an insignificant amount of time. He’d seen time moving around them, a history being undone before his eyes.
Having experienced everything moving backward made everything moving forward seem extraordinary. Tiny details—the hiss of the steam bubbling up through the milk as the bored-looking barista prepared a latte, the clipped half conversations of two staffers on Bluetooth headsets blending together into one nonsensical exchange, the gradual stop and start of traffic outside—everything felt raw and significant somehow. The march of time was never something Ethan sat back and just appreciated because it was never something he could opt out of before.
He had a splitting headache. As much as he might have wanted to go back and undo Gene’s offense, undo the hurt feelings and most of all undo the wide green eyes staring at him with this precious new knowledge, it didn’t seem like he could. He reached for time and felt a stabbing pain right between his eyes. Nothing budged.
For now at least, it seemed things were stuck as they were.
So they went for coffee.
Gene looked decidedly paranoid. He held his cup too close to his face with his shoulders hunched over as if he was worried someone might snatch it before he’d finished with it. He wouldn’t look at Ethan. He’d stare at one shoulder for a minute, then switch to the other, skillfully avoiding any direct eye contact.
“What the hell was that?” he asked. “Everything was moving backward. You saw it too right? I haven’t gone crazy?”
His common sense told him that it was better for everyone if Gene believed that—yes—it had in fact been in his head. It would be better if he acted like nothing had happened. Better if he told Gene that nothing had happened.
But like the moment Gene had confronted him about the blackmail, his first reaction had been too honest. He hadn’t expected Gene to confront him—not then and certainly not now. He wore the truth on his face and he had lost the power to edit that at the most critical time possible.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Gene picked up his head and hissed at Ethan. “You were standing right there. You had to have seen it.”
“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit.”
“Gene, I don’t know what to tell you. Do you hear yourself? You sound crazy—”
Gene was not listening. He was too upset to listen. “Everything moved backward.”
“So you say.”
Ethan was beginning to feel bad about gaslighting the kid, but he had to stick to his guns. This would be painful and brutal but once it was done it would be done. Now that he knew that people could come back in time with him, he’d be more careful doing it around others.
“I saw a bird flying backward.”
“Gene…”
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