Page 112 of Once a Villain
“But Eleanor said she was wiping away all memory of the previous timelines. If she succeeded, then how did you just show us a vision of thetruetimeline?” Joan asked.
“And I didn’t die,” Nick said. “Eleanor said it herself—she told everyone—she couldn’t lock the timeline while I was alive. And I’m not dead.”
There was still doubt in Mum’s expression, but she looked at Nick curiously. “Howdidyou survive? We all saw you fall.”
“I...” Nick shook his head. “I don’t even remember landing.”
Joan swallowed hard, remembering how dead he’d seemed in the stasis. She’d thought hewasdead.
“The thing is, though,” Nick said, “if shedidn’tlock the timeline, then she didn’t repair it either.”
“I felt the damage being sealed,” Mum said again, but her eyes were troubled.
“Sealed.” The hairs rose on the back of Joan’s neck. That was how it had felt to her too. “What if... ,” she said, feeling out the thought. “What if Nick’s right? What if shedidn’trepair the tears in the sky, and the one we saw above the stadium? What if she’s still hiding the damage behind Ali seals?”
“But that would mean the world is still on the cusp of collapse,” Aaron said, frowning.
Mum looked even more troubled now. “I can make somediscreet inquiries. I have a close friend high up among the Alis. If the tears are still being concealed by the Ali power, my friend will know.”
“We have a friend with Ali contacts too,” Joan said. She told Mum about Tom and the others—still at the Chimera Inn. About the place on the Thames where the Ali seals had failed, showing the true state of the world.
“I’ll find out what’s going on,” Mum promised. She gestured for them all to go back inside.
As the guys walked back into the house, though, Mum lingered on the balcony, and Joan found herself lingering too. Wanting just a moment alone with her mother.
Mum sighed. “I’m sorry, Joan, but I think you’re wrong. I think the timeline truly is locked. I believe this isthe last timeline, and that you won’t be able to change it.”
Joan’s chest tightened. Maybe Mum was right. Maybe Joan justwantedto believe there was another chance to fix everything that had gone wrong.
Mum’s eyes roved over Joan’s face, taking her in. “If this timeline truly is locked, you’ll have to live in this world permanently. I’ll need to organize a safe house for you. It won’t be safe for you to stay here.”
“We’d have to leave?” Joan blurted. “When?” She’d only just found Mum.
Mum’s eyes shone with tears. “I wish you could stay. You have no idea how much I wish it. But... if I learn from the Alis that the timeline is truly locked, then I’ll need to send you away today.”
“Today?”
“I’m sorry,” Mum whispered.
Joan found herself looking over at Nick and Aaron. They’d retreated into the hall, far from the balcony, to give Joan and her mother some privacy. What if Mumwasright? What if this was life from now on? This tangled mess Joan had made of it.
“Mum...” The word felt strange in her mouth. It was only the second time in her life that she’d addressed Mum directly, rather than talking about her to someone else. “I don’t know what to do.” She barely knew what she meant.
Mum followed Joan’s line of sight.
“I trust them,” Joan said.
Mum gave her a look that Joan associated with Gran—no-nonsense but affectionate. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
Joan felt herself flush. She didn’t really talk to Dad about stuff like this—or Gran, for that matter. She’d never had a mother to talk to, though. “I don’t know what to do,” she said again. Andthistime she knew what she’d been trying to say. How could she make a choice like this? They both loved her, and she loved them.
Mum’s eyes softened. “Your heart will tell you,” she promised.
“It’s giving me a lot of mixed messages at the moment,” Joan said. She tried to smile, but she couldn’t.
Mum tugged Joan into her arms again, and Joan hugged her back, tight. This wasn’t goodbye, she told herself, but it felt like it.
“You’ll know which choice is right,” Mum said softly. “When the time comes, you’ll know.”
