Page 38 of Time After Time
“Someone who loves you unconditionally.”
I thought about it for a moment. Howdidthat feel? Was it even possible? The thought tugged at something deep inside me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever have that.
“It must feel…” My words trailed off, uncertainty creeping in. How would I know? “I don’t really know.”
He cleared his throat, his gaze still on the Marleys. “I think it must feel like safety you didn’t know existed. Like being chosen—every day—even when you’re a mess, even when you have nothing left to give.”
I let his words settle, my voice softening, barely audible. “Like being seen in the dark and not flinched away from.”
I didn’t look at him when I said it. I didn’t need to.
Instead, I let him wrap his arms around me, letting myself feel the comfort in his embrace. I inhaled deeply, taking in the familiar scent of him, letting the world around us fade away for a moment. He swayed us gently, guiding me back toward the house, giving the Marleys their privacy, and kissing my forehead as we went.
He didn’t let go.
Chapter 13
Geneviève
Ajarring noise tore me from the peaceful grip of sleep. The wind howled outside. My heart jumped as I shot up in bed, just in time to hear the heavy thud of a tree branch smacking against the glass. My hand flew to my chest, my heart threatening to burst as I glanced around the dark room, intermittently illuminated by the flashes of thunder outside.
The night had become wild and chaotic. What started as a grumble in the sky had grown into a full-blown roar.
A sharp gasp escaped me as my feet hit the freezing tiles, a chill instantly racing up my legs. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, inching toward the window. The air had shifted—crisp, biting, and nothing like the heat of summer nights.
For a moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But no matter how many times I blinked or rubbed them, I still saw what I thought was Sebastian running through the rain toward my house, like some kind of mirage.
Concern washed over me, and I threw open my bedroom door, racing down the stairs so fast I almost tripped at the bottom. Before I could reach the front door, however, I heard quick but careful knocks.
“What’s happening?” My mum and sister shuffled down the stairs together, both still in their pyjamas, hair mussed from sleep. Mum’s eyes were half-closed, squinting in the dim light, while my sister rubbed at her face, clearly not fully awake yet and not very happy to be out of her bed by the line that appeared between her eyebrows.
I glanced at the kitchen clock—2:30 a.m. Dad was likely still asleep. Not even a tornado could stir him.
Without saying a word and not wanting to make him wait more, I dashed closer to the door, wrenching it open. There stood Sebastian, soaked through and shivering, his eyes wide.
My fingers instinctively curled around his wrist, and with a swift glance to ensure he wasn’t injured, I pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him. My mum exited the room, leaving Sylvie in one corner of the living room, watching us intently with a confused expression.
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat making it difficult to speak. My voice came out rough even after I coughed, trying to get rid of the knot as my eyes fixed on his drenched form. “Are you okay?” I asked, my voice barely cutting through the roar of the rain.
Sebastian drew in a shaky breath, his shoulders heaving with each uneven inhale. His once neatly styled hair hung in damp clumps, plastered to his forehead and obscuring his usual defined curls.
He stood there, completely drenched, his white t-shirt clinging to his body, showing every dip and muscle. His black shorts stuck to his thighs, making me notice how tense every part of his body was, even as he shook. When my gaze descended a bit further, I spotted his house slippers, soaked and muddy. He’d come running without changing, and it only made the churning feeling in my stomach grow.
Sebastian’s breath misted in the cold air, his whole body trembling. He shook his head, eyes glistening with unshed tears. His intense, silent stare locked onto mine, pleading for something I couldn’t quite grasp. My own heart raced, desperate to know what was going on, but before any word could leave me, my mum returned, wrapping him in a large towel and offering him a steaming cup of chamomile tea.
He attempted to smile, but his hands trembled as he gripped the towel, bringing it to his hair and getting rid of as much water as he could. Noticing his distress and scared he would end up sick, I took the tea from my mum and blew on it to cool it down.
Once the towel went back around his shoulders, he took the cup from me, his fingers looking numb and colourless.
“What’s going on?” My fingers had been fidgeting and I had almost taken my thumb into my mouth before I took a step closer, getting rid of the small distance between us as I finally cupped his hands with mine, seeing them tremble, wanting to give him some of my heat and scared he would drop the tea on himself and end up burnt. “You’re scaring me. Are you okay?”
“Mrs. Marley is dead.”
My heart pounded so loudly in my ears that I could barely hear his words.
I must have heard wrong.
My legs felt like they would give out at any second, trembling as I struggled to stay upright. I felt my vision blur slightly as I tried to hold myself together. Seeing my distress, Sebastian, despite his own wobbly state, reached out a hand to steady me.
