Chapter 28
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
That evening, when they lay side by side on the couch watching the news, Carla reached for his hand. Ran her fingers over the back of it, squeezed. Jack squeezed back.
The newscaster droned on in the background. Carla lay pressed against his chest, warm and solid, smelling of hairspray and some kind of perfume that made him think of rushing rivers and crisp fall air. His eyelids had just begun to droop when she said, “Promise me something.”
Jack forced himself awake. “Anything.”
“If I tell you to run, run. If this time loop thing ever ends and we don’t know it… I just need you to stay alert, alright?”
Jack blinked. “I, um, yeah. Alright. Don’t worry, I’m more than willing to do that.”
He hoped he wouldn’t have to. That Ronnie would never barge in on them in a compromising position. That he’d never learn Jack’s identity.
But cold dread unfurled in his stomach, spreading like ice. If the time loop ended, if word got back to Ronnie that Jack had been to the house, there’d be no hope. Jack was virtually stranded here. No money, no car, no way out.
He thought of the body in the woods, and his throat clenched.
“OK.” Carla exhaled. “OK, good. Listen, I think it’ll be fine. Just in case.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll run.”
On the television screen, a newscaster gestured to a grainy photo of a woman. Early twenties, blond, pretty. MISSING, said the caption.
Jack blinked. Had she always been missing? He thought he’d seen this segment before—a car crash, a heat wave, a new farmer’s market opening.
He would’ve remembered a missing girl.
But before he could point this out, Carla was squeezing him again. “Hey, Jack? I have one more request.”
“Sure,” he said automatically, before he could stop himself.
“Don’t come around tomorrow. I want to try something.”
Her voice was too calm, too easy; panic knotted in his stomach. She was going to do something reckless, he realized, and twisted to sit up.
“Jack,” she warned, but he was already crawling out from behind her and onto his feet, glaring her down.
“What does that mean?” He crossed his arms, tried to look serious. Anxiety thrummed beneath his skin.
Carla scrambled from the couch, rose to meet him, her brow furrowed. “It means I decided maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I gotta do something different.”
“Like what?” His pulse rabbited in his throat, so hard that he thought it must be visible from where she stood.
“I mean… Maybe I should break it off with him. For real, this time. Like, have a conversation about it instead of just screaming at him or running away.” He must’ve made face, because she added, “Don’t you dare judge me, Jack. Don’t you dare.”
He forced himself to take a deep breath. Pushed down panic. Not a good idea, said the little voice in the back of his head. If this works, you’re both in trouble.
But if it worked, and the time loop ended…
That would be a miracle in itself.
He nodded slowly, mechanically. “I-I hate this idea.”
“Just trust me, alright? I know how to handle Ronnie.” She wound her arms around his waist, pressed her face into his chest. “It’s gonna be fine.”
“Yeah,” said Jack, struggling to comprehend her words. “But isn’t there a reason you ran?”
“Sure,” said Carla, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Cowardice.”
“Was it really cowardice, though? You said he shoved you into a wall.”
“No,” she sighed. “Fine. I thought it was the safest and easiest way to get away from him. I figured he might chase me, but he’d give up eventually. Ronnie can take a hint. It’s direct conflict that he can’t stand.”
“Breaking up with him isn’t direct conflict?”
“I’m gonna be fine,” Carla said. “I promise I’ll call you if I need anything, OK? Just let me handle this. Don’t come around, and don’t call.”
Jack gave a curt nod. “Fine. I just—be careful. Please.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Carla caught his hand in hers, led him back to the couch. “Come on, just lay with me for a little while. I wanna relax.”
“Are you sure?”
“That I wanna relax? Yeah, I am.”
“No, I mean, are you sure you want to dump Ronnie?”
“Oh.” Her laugh rang out, bouncing off the walls and echoing down the hall. “That. Yeah. Yeah, I am. I told you, I’ve been done with him for a while now.”
“OK,” said Jack, still unsure. “OK.” It wasn’t his job to keep her safe. He certainly wasn’t going to tell her what to do. But worry and fear ate at him until he finally fell asleep with his face pressed into her shoulders, her hair tickling his cheeks.
When he woke, he was alone in the hotel, enveloped in anxiety and frozen with fear.