Playing with Chronos

e i g h t

“What a beautiful day,” Zoe smiled. She was sitting beneath a sun umbrella, her husband on the other side of the wooden table where a selection of cheese and crackers rested.

“It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning,” Jayden agreed before taking a sip of his iced water.

“Would you like a white wine instead?” Zoe suggested and Jayden shrugged.

“Yeah, why not,” he muttered, shifting to get out of his chair.

“I’ll get it, you stay there,” Zoe insisted, bustling to her feet before Jayden could protest. Instead he beamed up at her and Zoe placed a kiss on his lips before heading inside. She selected one of their cheaper white wines from the rack and plucked two wine glasses out of the cabinet before heading back out to Jayden. She saw his eyebrows furrow as she set the two glasses down and begin to pour the wine, but he remained silent. Puzzled by his reaction, Zoe decided to ignore it and she rose the glass to her lips to take a sip.

“Are you insane?” Jayden stated with such shock it took Zoe aback.

“Pardon?” she stammered.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he shouted, standing up and sending his chair flying behind him.

“Having a glass of wine with you?” Zoe said in a guessing tone, uncertain of why Jayden was behaving so strangely. “What’s the problem?”

“The problem?” Jayden exclaimed before scoffing. “The problem is that you and Michaela have both been acting weird, forgetting things that you should be able to remember!”

“Oh no…” Zoe muttered under her breath.

“And now you’ve apparently ‘forgotten’ the one thing no woman would ever forget: that you’re pregnant!” Jayden yelled and Zoe’s mouth fell open. He had every right to be scolding her after all. “Tell me what’s going on, please!” Zoe inhaled to answer but the doorbell began ringing repeatedly, conveying the other person’s urgency.

“I’ll get it,” she decided before rushing inside again. Her heart was racing, her palms sweaty, and she had no idea how she was going to fix the mess she had made without using the Chronos, even though it was what had ruined things in the first place. Zoe breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Blake and Michaela standing on the other side of the door, hopeful that they could help remedy the situation.

“Where’s Jayden?” Blake demanded the second Zoe opened the door to invite them in. She glanced across to Michaela and it sunk in why they were here.

“You told him?” Zoe hissed as the pair entered the house.

“I had no choice!” Michaela justified with a wince, quickly catching up to Blake for protection from Zoe’s wrath. Jayden came inside at the sound of Blake calling for him, and all four met halfway for Blake to give a quick version of Zoe and Michaela’s journeys through time. At the end Jayden was speechless for a few moments, but then he turned to his wife.

“What project was I working on, in other timeline you came from?” he asked her, his voice rather calm considering how betrayed he felt.

“I don’t know, you said it was a secret for now and I respected that so didn’t pry,” Zoe answered. Jayden ran a hand over his tired face, though he wasn’t as exhausted as Michaela and Blake who had barely slept.

“Then I bet it’s the same thing I’m doing now,” he muttered before looking up and addressing all of his friends. “At the firm we’re working on a case against time travelling laws. We want it stopped, and I’m not just on the case because of the money, but because I truly believe in it. I’ve read many accounts of terrible consequences happening from people meddling with the past, and it ranges from a loss of memory to people dying. Your actions could have had a butterfly effect and killed someone, Zoe!” He turned to Zoe and watched as her face continued to fall with despair.

“I had no idea…” she breathed, knowing that hearing his opinion and facts on time travelling would have certainly swayed her actions.

“I honestly think it’s absolutely despicable! That someone would be so weak that they would travel back in time to fix something instead of facing the challenge in the present? There shouldn’t be an easy way out, a shortcut in life!” Jayden yelled and Zoe began to tremble. “To think that my wife has done that, it’s just- I can’t even describe it, Zoe!”

“I am so sorry-”

“That’s really not going to cut it,” Jayden spat as his eyebrows slanted, his rage turning into sorrow. “Do you know what’s the worst part about all this?”

“No…” Zoe whispered as she began to cry at the thought of having hurt Jayden even further.

“Is that you couldn’t trust me to give you the perfect wedding. Do you know how hard I tried? How much effort I put into all these details that I didn’t care about but you did? I wanted so badly to give you your dream wedding, a perfect day, and you just threw that all away!” Jayden explained, his voice now quieter but full of more emotion than before.

“Oh Jayden, I’m so sorry,” Zoe wept and her husband lowered his eyes, not wanting to hear her apology. She turned to Blake and Michaela instead, who were awkwardly hovering to the side as they watched the scene unfold. “Michaela, I’m so sorry for dragging you into this and making you live a lie, and I’m sorry Blake that I ruined your relationship with her.” Blake hesitated and glanced at Michaela whose eyes fluttered to the floor out of grief.

“You didn’t entirely ruin my relationship,” Blake said quietly and everyone perked up to look at him, demanding explanations. “Obviously you’re not the Michaela I chose, but you’re her in so many ways. When you had the courage to tell me the truth, I felt proud of you for being so brave.”

“You did?” Michaela breathed with shock.

“Yeah, and I could do with that in my life. If you’re up to it, we could start fresh, make our own memories,” Blake proposed and Michaela grinned. For the first time that she had witnessed, Blake was being mature and she saw a glimpse of what the other version of herself might have liked in him.

“Sure, we can try,” Michaela agreed with a smile, glad that something good had come out of all of the deceit and pain.

“While I am happy for the two of you, I’m going to have to ask you to leave, if there’s nothing else that needs to be said,” Jayden said, breaking the sweet moment the new couple were enjoying. Blake glanced at Zoe who was hiding her tear stricken face behind her hands and then nodded at his best friend.

“Of course. I’m sorry, man,” he said with a heavy heart before guiding Michaela to the front door.

“Jayden,” Zoe sobbed, uncovering her face to see her husband’s retreating back. “Jayden, please! I was just trying to be happy! I’m meant to be with you! No matter what I changed we always stayed together!” Her plea for attention made Jayden pause and turn to glare at her.

“No… Because I don’t want to be with somebody I can’t trust,” he breathed with a shake of his head. “I hope your perfect wedding was worth it.” Jayden left the room and left his wife a sobbing mess on the cold floor.
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