“That’s not true?” I asked. “Seth isn’t going to die?”
Ty laughed. “There’s no way Seti is ever going to die in battle. He’s been blessed by the gods, long before he ever met you. Seti is special.” Kye nodded in agreement. What did Kye know that I didn’t? What was he hiding?
I looked between Ty and Kye. They both were waiting for me to understand that Logan was lying, and that Seth and my mother would be fine. How could the two of them sit there and believe it was just a lie? It could be, but the possibility that Logan was telling the truth was enough to keep me on the path he wanted. I couldn’t take a chance with Seth’s life. I wouldn’t. I needed him to live. I needed to know he was alive, even if I didn’t get to be with him.
“What if I promised you that Seth will be fine in the past?” Kye asked. “What if I told you he’s destined to become known in all the history books, and even in other great books? What if I told you his fate is way larger than what Logan can change? What if I told you he would live to see his children, and even his grandchildren, grow up?”
“What are you saying?” I demanded.
Kye was certain Seth wouldn’t be dying in any war. Kye didn’t respond, instead, he waited for me to understand what he was essentially telling me without directly telling me. I opened my eyes. Kye wasn’t allowed to tell me the truth, but his questions were enough for me to know. Kye knew what future Seth had, and it wasn’t cut short by death. My heart beat faster at that prospect. Seth was going to be fine, whether in the past, or the present. It was nice to know, but it didn’t change that things were over with me and Seth.
“It wouldn’t matter at this point,” I added. “I already broke up with him, and he’s with Melissa again. I doubt he’d take me back after what I did. I let him think I didn’t love him.”
Ty laughed. “Take you back? There’s nothing to take back. He hasn’t really let go of you.”
“But I told him we were over, and that I didn’t love him,” I replied. I had made it as clear as I could. I thought it had worked. Since we broke up for good, I hadn’t seen him go a single place without Melissa draped on him or him on her. He’d moved on, and moved on quickly.
Ty shook his head. “Mari. He can tell how you feel. You might have told him you didn’t love him, but your heart didn’t say that. He knows the truth.”
My heart beat faster. If that was true, I could make it up to him. Did he really know the truth? Did he really know that I still loved him?
“But what about Melissa? They’ve been glued together since Saturday night,” I replied. I still didn’t want to believe what Ty was saying.
“Kye?” Ty bounced my question to Kye instead.
“Melissa is one of Logan’s,” Kye replied with a shrug.
“You mean she’s a time traveler?” I didn’t see that one coming.
“Oh, yes, and Logan promised her Seth if she agreed to do anything he asked,” Kye answered. Guess Melissa wasn’t off the table for Kye to talk about. Logan must have figured I’d never guess who she really was.
“Then she remembers everything,” I added as it dawned on me. Being a time traveler meant that she would have memories from both pasts—the new one and the real one where she hated me.
“Everything,” Kye replied. Boy was she good. I didn’t even notice.
“So what do we do now?” I asked, moving over to sit back down by Ty. If I didn’t have to worry about Seth or my mother now, all I had left to protect was Ty, which I was going to do, whether he wanted me to or not.
He put his arm back around me and squeezed me again. I missed him. He was my first guy friend at college. I spent many hours tutoring him, but just as many sitting around talking. He was a really great guy. We figured out the time travel thing together, and he was sitting in the tower with me now, trying to figure out my latest dilemma.
“I won’t quit the game with Logan until I get my answers on keeping you here, though,” I quickly added to Ty.
“We agree on that one,” Kye replied. “Ty needs to be able to make his own future here, or in the past.”
I was glad Kye easily agreed with me. I was ready to fight him on that one.
“Then what do we do?”
Ty looked to Kye, and Kye nodded back. Ty wasn’t a big fan of Logan from the first time our past was changed, but this went even deeper. Ty was going to enjoy defeating Logan at this game. Maybe it was just a guy competitive thing, or maybe it was more. I was sure I didn’t have time to find out, but I’d have to ask him later about it.
“We make a plan to ruin Logan’s plans.” Ty grinned.
That sounded like a good idea; yet, I didn’t have any inkling what they meant by that. I needed to find out how to keep them safe. I needed the stupid bracelet off. Beyond that I had no clue what we could do. Logan seemed sure he was winning this time, but he was still being careful. Could we trick him? Could we change the future?
“It doesn’t matter what Logan does,” Ty added, as if he could read my mind. “We’ll be sure to beat him.” I hoped Ty was right. I wanted to be able to save everyone, but it looked like they wanted to save me.
“Is time traveling a team sport?” I teased Ty.
“It is, the way we play it, and that’s why we’ll win.” Kye grinned.
I sure hoped he was right. A future where I could help my friends and stay with Seth sounded perfect. I wanted that perfect world. I wanted it so badly.
Chapter 11
Old Friends
After our discussion with Ty, I returned from class with Kye beside me. As we walked back he whispered in my ear several times the words nothing has changed. It was his way to beg me to play my role. I had to pretend nothing was different when I saw Logan. In reality I was amazed to find that I hadn’t even noticed Kye had been running around making friends with my old friends. He was way better at pretending than I was. I was going to try my best, but it was really hard to do. How was I to look at Logan and not wonder about everything he said? He was still lying to me. Our relationship stood no chance of working the first time because he lied to me almost daily, and now he was doing the same. He said he had learned his lesson, but it wasn’t true. Nothing had changed.
I followed behind Kye as he let us into the house. Logan was still on the couch where we left him.
“Good day of classes?” Logan asked from his spot.
I shrugged. “I don’t think there’ll be a good day until I get to choose different classes.”
Logan smiled. “I swear you said that you wished you’d have had some econ classes.”
I smiled and shook my head. How was I supposed to believe him?
“Do you want to go get dinner?” he suggested.
“Sure,” I replied after Kye stopped and accidentally stepped on my toe when I didn’t immediately respond. “Just let me get changed.” Kye made his way to the stairs and didn’t stick around to hear our conversation.
“Wear something for warm weather. I know the perfect spot that will help you relax and forget about your classes.”
I nodded and hurried upstairs behind Kye. As I caught up to him, I poked him in the back.
“I was going to answer,” I whispered.
Kye turned and smiled at me. I think he might have enjoyed stepping on my toe. “Of course you were. That was just an accident.” Kye winked. “Just know that you’ll be alone with him, and I won’t be there to cause any more of them. You’re pretty accident prone sometimes. Hopefully you will be tonight for your sake.”
I grabbed his arm and pulled him into my room. I hadn’t thought about being alone with Logan again. It was just dinner, right?
“What am I supposed to do if he tries to kiss me?” I whispered frantically. I really hadn’t thought about being alone with Logan again. I was pissed he had lied to me, hurt that he hadn’t really changed, and doubting everything he had said to me to woo me again.
“Kiss him back,” Kye replied with a shrug.
“But I don’t like him,” I quickly
said. Kye smiled.
“You don’t have to like someone to kiss them. Duh!”
I smacked him in the chest. His joking attitude wasn’t going to help me. I really didn’t know how I was to kiss him now, and make it seem like nothing had changed.
“Mari,” Kye said, pulling me out of my worry as he grabbed both my arms and made me face him.
The warm hum of our skin touching was enough to stop the anxiety. I still didn’t know what it meant. I really needed more time to solve all my mysteries. Something was different with Kye, and I was thankful for it. Kye either didn’t feel it, or ignored it, as he looked at me closely.
“You need to play this role perfectly. If Logan suspects anything has changed, he will not stop to find the truth. Please, for your own sake, forget about today, and we can deal with it later.” Kye leaned in closer, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “I’ve worked too hard to make this change. I don’t want the future to happen. I want you to get your happily ever after, and that’s not what will happen if Logan wins. He will never make you happy. He’s only doing what he needs to do for himself. Please. Be the best actress you have ever been in your life. We need you to. Seth needs you to.”
Seth’s name was enough to get my heart to beat faster and my determination to grow stronger. I could do this. I could pretend nothing was wrong. I needed to.
“I still don’t know if I can kiss him,” I answered just as quietly. “It won’t be the same without having any feelings for him.”
“I know you can. You spent a lifetime in my memories kissing him without loving him,” Kye replied. “And he never noticed the difference.”
Kye let go of my arms quickly, and took two steps back as someone walked up the stairs outside my room.
“I like the blue dress better than the red one,” he said loudly. “Blue is more Logan’s color than red anyway.”
I was startled, but quickly realized who was walking up the stairs.
“Are you sure blue? I have a green one, too,” I added, going over to my closet and pulling out both a blue and green summer dress.
Kye looked between them as the footsteps stopped outside my mostly closed door. I didn’t need to turn around to know that Logan was looking into the room.
“Hmmm,” Kye said, moving closer and touching each dress in my hand. “I’d still go with the blue.”
Logan backed up and walked further down the hallway to his room.
Kye closed his eyes and then opened them to look straight at me.
“You can do this. I promise you that you can. I know you can,” Kye added, stepping back.
I nodded as he left the room and closed the door behind him. He was sure I could pretend nothing was wrong, that I could even kiss Logan without giving it away. While I wasn’t even sure what it was yet, I didn’t want to ruin Kye’s plans. He was adamant that my future would be horrible, and that I had to believe him. And there was just something about when him. I trusted Kye. I knew somehow, deep down, that he would never lie to me. Kye meant something to me even if I didn’t know what. It was different. Once I got everything else straightened out with Logan, I’d have to ask Kye.
I quickly slipped on my blue flowered sundress and a pair of strappy sandals. I sure hoped that Logan was taking me somewhere warm because otherwise I would freeze outside. I ran a comb through my messy hair, and settled for just a headband to keep the stray red curls off my face. With only a little dab of makeup, I was ready to go to a dinner that was located who knew where. It was hard to just trust Logan after finding out he was lying to me again, but at least I knew I was what he wanted. He wasn’t likely to leave me stranded on some island somewhere, as long as I played my part. I hoped.
Logan was leaning against his bedroom door as I left my room. He was in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. His eyes twinkled as they took me in. I didn’t feel the butterflies I had only a day before. His appraisal of me was more uncomfortable than anything now. I thought I could trust him again, and that was a lie. I smiled as best I could, and tried to hide my hurt behind it.
Logan took my hand and placed it in the crook of his arm.
“Are you ready for some warmer weather?” he asked. I nodded, preparing to travel.
The world faded and we reappeared on a beach somewhere. I felt the warm sand under my sandals.
“Just after sunset,” Logan commented. “I’m sure everything is ready.”
“Ready?” I asked. He had just asked me to go to dinner. When did he have time to have a something prepped for us?
Logan kneeled down and took my sandals off. I stepped into the warm sand and thought of the frozen sand back at home. I had a feeling it would always seem surreal to be able to time travel. At least when you traveled on a plane, you had hours to get used to the change. This was instantaneous, and it was strange.
“Something wrong?” Logan asked. Just you, I thought.
“It’s weird,” I replied. “The sand back home is frozen, and this is warmer than the floors in our house. I don’t know if this is ever something I could get used to.” My explanation was long, and I had to catch myself to cut it short. I really needed him to continue to be oblivious like Kye said he would be.
Logan grinned. “You’ll get used to it.” He didn’t seem to notice that I meant more behind my feelings that the situation was wrong than just the sand. Hopefully I wouldn’t mess anything up.
Logan stood and took my hand in his as he carried our shoes.
He led me down the beach, and as the pathway turned, the scene was laid out perfectly for me. There were several long tables filled with people seated. Around them, women with waist-length dark hair wearing bikini tops and grass skirts walked around with drinks for the guests. As we neared, several of the guests called hello to Logan. He nodded to each and led me to one of the tables near the stage in front of the other tables. As soon as we sat, the few stragglers that were not seated stopped milling around and joined us. Food and drinks were placed before us by the waitresses.
Before anyone started eating, Logan stood and turned to me, and the crowd around us. My heart beat faster. What was this all about?
“I’d like to welcome all of you tonight. While I know many of you live here, I appreciate all those that traveled just for our dinner tonight. I’ve told all of you how much it means to me to have you with us, but I wanted you all to be here to meet Mari. This is the woman I love, and the woman I will spend the rest of my life with. I planned to tell her tonight about each and every one of you, and wanted her to meet you firsthand. So, welcome, and enjoy the night.” Logan raised his glass and everyone cheered around us, clinking their glasses with the person next to them.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Logan as he sat back down. He asked me to go to dinner with him. This was a bit more than dinner.
“You asked me yesterday why I was hiding from the goddess. This is why.” Logan swept his arms to the people around us. “They’re what I am hiding.”
I still didn’t understand. There had to be close to fifty people sitting around, maybe more. Everyone was eating and talking to their neighbors. It was obvious that most of the people knew each other, but that didn’t mean I knew who they were, or what Logan was talking about.
“After the show, I’ll explain it all to you,” Logan said as a drumbeat started on the stage.
Women in leaf skirts walked up onto the stage in a line. When the man next to the drummer started to sing, they all began their dance together. As their movements changed and they moved aside, several men joined them on stage in little more than what Seth wore back in the past. The men moved beside the women and began their own dance. I had never been to one before, but I was at a luau.
“I know you like men in little skirts. Thought this would be appropriate entertainment,” Logan joked beside me.
I turned and watched Logan as he smiled at me. He was the picture of elation and was clearly enjoying his time, but his eyes held more. There was something still going on be
hind them. I had no clue what he was up to, but it seemed I’d have to wait. He wasn’t about to tell me anything for the moment.
Dinner continued with more food being put before us, and the dancers kept up their performance. Around me, people joined us at our table, two or three at a time. Logan introduced them to me, and they all shook my hand. I had no clue what it all meant, but simply continued to look around me.
When the dinner and show were finally done, Logan stood and said his goodbye to the crowd, wishing them a great vacation on the islands before he took my hand in his again. He directed me back to the sandy part of the beach we had arrived on.
I walked in silence beside Logan. He wasn’t about to tell me something until he felt like it. Again, I just had to wait. Logan had always been like that. It was something I was used to. Logan always talked in his own time. Instead of worrying about what would be said, I looked around me. I had the feeling we were in Hawaii, even if no one told me exactly where we were. The sand had cooled, but was still warm to walk on. The evening breeze blowing off the ocean felt nice. I liked my snowy campus, but the quick break in the warm sand was a nice distraction, especially while I waited for Logan to explain to me what was going on. He took my hand in his and he kept thinking as he walked, leading me down the dark beach. Fortunately there was a full moon, and we could see our way enough to keep walking.
“You asked me yesterday what I was hiding from the goddess,” Logan finally said. He stopped and motioned for me to join him while he sat in the sand. We were close enough to see the water lapping just feet away from us, but we would stay dry. I kind of wanted to touch the water and see if it was as warm as the air around us.
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what to say to him, and surely didn’t want to blurt out anything I’d regret later.
“What is her one rule?” Logan asked me while he watched the water.
“That every person must go home and die in the time they were born,” I replied. We had already covered that, and Logan was going to help me get around it.