Playing with Chronos

Zoe woke with a throbbing head and a pit of nausea in her guts. She flung an arm out to the other side of the bed, hoping to find Jayden to order to fetch her some painkillers and a greasy breakfast to cure her hangover, but his side of the bed was empty and cold. While peeling her eyes open, Zoe noticed it was already in the afternoon and she forced herself to get out of bed despite feeling like crap. After a trip to the bathroom, she headed to the kitchen and found Jayden in the lounge quietly watching a football game. He noticed her presence and muted the match, turning to give her a disheartened glare.

“What?” she asked as she leaned against the doorframe to help her head stop spinning.

“It was your idea to not get drunk at our bachelor parties last night. You demanded that we didn’t drink too much so we could spend today together, which is our last day together since I can’t see you tomorrow because of a stupid wedding tradition,” Jayden rambled with a furrowed brow, trying to not let his anger come out a few days before their wedding. Zoe rubbed her eyes as she thought back to last night. Her patchy memory showed her glimpses of a rather expensive dinner, dancing at a club with her girlfriends, and doing shots at a male strip club. Kim had been forcing booze into her all night, claiming they had drunk far more while at college and that Zoe needed to enjoy one of her last days as a single woman.

“I am so sorry, babe,” Zoe groaned, her stomach now not only feeling nauseous but also guilty.

“Do you know how much I had to drink last night? Two shots and three light beers. I kept on thinking about you and how much it meant to you, and now you’ve ruined our day instead?” Jayden’s voice had turned from furious to disappointed and it was breaking Zoe’s heart.

“I feel so stupid…” she mumbled, unable to look her fiancé in the eyes any longer. “I’m so sorry, Jayden.”

“I’ll go make you something to eat,” he said quietly after a pause, accepting her apology. Zoe couldn’t bear to watch as he shuffled past her towards the kitchen, and instead of following she headed back to their bedroom. Hidden away in her handbag she found the Chronos 300 and she thought back to the beginning of her bachelorette party. Once she had a clear scene in her head, she pressed the hourglass button and was sent back twenty hours.

At the restaurant Kim was opening up another bottle of red wine, preparing to top up Zoe’s glass. Zoe hurried to type in a command and then zapped her past self just as Kim tipped the bottle.

“Oh, no! That’s enough for me!” Zoe blurted, making Kim retract the bottle.

“Are you sure? It’s your bachelorette party! Have a bit of fun,” Kim insisted with a playful wriggle of her eyebrows.

“I am having fun,” Zoe replied and Kim seemingly gave up on pushing her friend. Instead she topped up her own wine glass and then raised it for a toast. Glad that she had altered the past again, Zoe looked down at the Chronos to transport herself back to the present and noticed that her clothes had changed. Instead of her oversized pyjama t-shirt that was once Jayden’s, she now wore a casual floral dress and sandals. Eager to see where she was now, Zoe hit the return button and her world spun with a rush of tan and sky blue. When the scene finished materialising, she was standing on a beach staring at the waves slowly breaking onto the warm sand. Zoe grinned, glad that the minor change had obviously led to her going out with Jayden instead of sleeping off her hangover for most of the day.

“Zoe! It’s ready!” Jayden called from behind her and Zoe spun around. Further up the beach, Jayden was sitting on a towel and she could make out the picnic basket next to him. Her heart swooned and she hurried up the beach to join him, keeping the Chronos hidden behind her back.

“This is perfect,” she beamed as she sat next to her fiancé.

“You have said that a million times today,” Jayden chuckled as he held out a sandwich. Zoe quickly placed the Chronos behind the basket before grabbing onto the lunch that she guessed Jayden had prepared. “So the long drive was actually worth it? I was so hesitant because I know how much you hate sitting in a car for so long, but the beach looked so beautiful…” Zoe had to fight off a grimace.

“It was a good idea, thank you,” she said before taking a bite. At least on the bright side, she only had to sit through one long car ride instead of two. Jayden gave a massive smile and Zoe knew that it was worth it: both the journey to the beach, and her trip to the past.