The sun was already dipping below the edge of Greyhaven's worn-out skyline when Avery finally reached the neighborhood James supposedly disappeared to. Her breath caught in uneven gasps from sprinting, and the sound of her sneakers echoed on the cracked pavement, uneven against the fading hum of life in this part of town. Her mind spun wildly with everything she'd pieced together—the years, the names, the time-travel madness—and one unbearable question:
Is he really from the future too?
She didn't expect to find him so quickly. But there he was, standing across a dusty lot with his back to her, half-lit by the bleeding twilight.
And he wasn't alone.
James Kane stood with his hands clenched, facing off against Ethan's group—the infamous White Thorn boys. Ethan, as usual, lounged just off-center, arms crossed and amusement playing in the corners of his cold black eyes. Next to him, the blonde boy with a silver stud glinting in his ear leaned against a tree with a smirk on his lips.
It looked like trouble. The kind of setup that ended in bruises or broken noses. Avery didn't care what it looked like.
"James!" she shouted, cutting through the quiet tension like a knife.
Every eye turned to her. James's brows shot up in alarm, but he didn't move. One of the White Thorn boys raised an eyebrow, muttering something under his breath, but Ethan only chuckled.
"And who might this be?" Ethan asked, his tone infuriatingly amused. "Your little girlfriend, Kane?"
Avery ignored him and marched straight toward James, planting herself between him and the rest of the group.
"If any of you so much as—"
"We're not bullying him," Ethan interrupted with a laugh, cocking his head to the side. "Trust me, princess. If we were, you'd know."
Avery narrowed her eyes at him, heart still hammering. She turned halfway, ignoring the growing smirks and snickers from Ethan's boys. "James. I need to talk to you. Alone."
James hesitated, visibly torn.
"Come on," she insisted, softening her voice. "Please."
Maybe it was the way she said it, or maybe it was the confusion still flickering behind his eyes—but after a long moment, James nodded. "Okay."
They walked away in silence, turning down a narrow side path that led to a crumbling bus stop covered in peeling posters and graffiti. James leaned back against the bench as if trying to physically hold himself together.
Avery didn't waste time.
"You're not from this time," she said quietly. "Are you?"
His entire body tensed. The silence stretched long between them.
"I… I heard you yesterday," she added, "by accident. You said, 'how will I change the future?'"
James's eyes widened, fear and disbelief mixing on his face.
"I'm not crazy," Avery said, softer this time. "You're from the future. Just say it."
He stared at her for a long, agonizing moment. And then, like something inside him finally cracked, his eyes glistened.
"You believe me?" he whispered.
Avery blinked, caught off guard by the sudden vulnerability in his voice. "Of course."
He stepped forward abruptly, burying his face in his hands as his shoulders trembled. "God. I thought I was losing my mind. I thought—no one would ever believe me—"
Avery hesitated, then stepped closer. "It's okay."
And then, without warning, James threw his arms around her. She stiffened at first—but when she felt the quiet sobs wrack his body, she pressed her palm against his back, eyes stinging with her own unshed tears.
"I've been alone with this secret for months," James muttered against her shoulder. "Trying to figure out why. How. Wondering if I was cursed or insane."
"You're not," she said, barely above a whisper.
He pulled back slightly, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm from 2004. I was twenty-six when I came back. Eight years forward from now."
Avery's lips parted. 2004…
"I came back to save her," James said quietly.
Avery's heart stopped.
"Save who?"
"May," he said, the name like a breath of longing. "My girlfriend. She… she dies in 2004. She's murdered. And I couldn't stop it. But maybe… maybe I can here."
May.
The girl from the building. The one who held his hand.
Avery's chest felt hollow.
"You came back… just to save her?"
"I'd do it again a thousand times," he said without hesitation. "I don't care what it takes. I won't let her die."
Her tongue was sandpaper. Her voice barely made it out. "That's… brave."
He smiled softly, grateful. "Thank you."
She wanted to say it. I'm your daughter.I'm from the future too.I came back to save you.
But the words caught in her throat. What could she say now, after May?
Avery bit her lip and looked away, forcing herself to nod.
James didn't notice the flicker of pain in her eyes.
Instead, he asked, "But how do you know about time travel?"
"I… read about it. Once," she lied. "In books. I figured if you were from the future… maybe you could help me understand more."
"Maybe," he said thoughtfully. "But I don't even know why I was pulled back."
She smiled faintly. "Maybe destiny."
Or a shooting star. Or grief.
Or a daughter who lost too much.
They sat there a while longer, the silence stretching into something heavier—something sadder.
And Avery never told him the truth.
She couldn't.
Not yet.
Not when his heart belonged to someone else.