Lost in Time(24)

A strange thing happened to Adeline then. In her younger brother, she saw a mirror of the despair she felt. There was no one to pull her out of the abyss. But she could help Ryan. And that filled her with purpose.

“Look at me.”

Ryan cut his eyes to her.

“One day—I don’t know when—it could be a month from now. Or a year. Or more. But one day, I’m going to come to you and say, ‘It’s over and we’re going home and Dad is waiting there for us.’”

Ryan blinked and inhaled a deep breath.

Adeline stared at him. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work out. But I know it will. I also know that it’s going to be tough for a while. We’ll face it together. Me and you. Because we’re the only ones we can trust. We’re all we have left, Ryan.”

*

Adeline spent the afternoon answering emails and messages from friends. There was an outpouring from people who had seen the media coverage of her father’s sentence—and still believed he was innocent.

She found some comfort in that. People who truly knew you didn’t believe what they read online—or saw in the news.

*

Dinner was a somber affair. As soon as Ryan’s plate was clean, he asked to be excused, and Daniele said, “Yes, but homework first, then a max of two hours of video games.”

The eleven-year-old boy nodded and trudged upstairs.

Adeline set her fork down. “I think he should be allowed to play video games as long as he wants. He just lost his father. He needs distraction.”

“He needs a firm hand in his life.”

“You’re a parenting expert now?”

Daniele ignored the taunt. “His two-hour deadline isn’t the one that should concern you.”

“Which deadline should concern me?”

“Two years.”

“He told you.”

“He did. Your father was adamant that you spend no more than two years of your life on getting him back. He didn’t want this tragedy to consume you too.”

“I’m finished. Can I be excused?”

“We’re not finished.”

“What do you want from me?”

Daniele leaned forward. “I want the same thing you do.”

“Which is?”

“I told you before. We’re going to get him back. To do that, you’re going to have to start cooperating with me. You’re going to have to trust me.”

Adeline clenched her jaw. “That night Nora was murdered, at the lab, you wanted to continue building Absolom Two, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“So did Elliott.”

“That’s right.”

“And Dad and Nora opposed it. Now they’re both gone. One dead. One… may have already died two hundred million years ago, and there’s nothing we can do.”

“First off, there is something we can do. Second, I backed Absolom Two because I had to.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s futile to fight the future.”

Those words gave Adeline pause. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see. In time. For now, we need to talk about how we get your father back.”

“I’m all ears.”

“When are you going back to college?”

“I’m not. I already emailed my advisor and told her I couldn’t make up the classes I’ve missed. Or take final exams. They expect me in the fall, but I’m not going.”

Daniele nodded.

“Are you going to talk me out of it?”

“No. You being here will make our work easier.”

That surprised Adeline.

“What work?”

“There are places you can go that I can’t. Questions you can ask that I can’t. And now is the time.”

“Time to do what?”

“First, I’m going to get you an internship at Absolom Sciences. But it’s the other part of the plan that’s more important now.”

When Daniele had detailed what she wanted Adeline to do, the younger woman sat there, stunned. It was brilliant. And it might work.

“One last thing,” Daniele said.

Adeline raised an eyebrow.

“Your father trusted me. I’m asking you to trust me. If you don’t, our chances of getting him back are zero. I know how lonely you feel right now. How betrayed you feel, like the world isn’t fair. You feel helpless and angry and determined all at the same time. If you give me time, I’ll show you a way to set all this right.”

*

Upstairs, in her bedroom, Adeline considered what Daniele had said. She wanted to trust the woman. She needed someone to trust, to talk with, to be there in case she was caught doing what she was about to do.

But deep down, Adeline sensed that there was something off about Daniele. Try as she might, Adeline couldn’t put her finger on it.

She had to admit, however, that Daniele’s plan was good. It might actually work.

She took out her laptop and composed an email.

Dear Constance, I’m doing therapy to help me deal with my father’s departure.

I don’t know if you’d be open to it, but my therapist suggested I spend time with the people who knew him best, to talk about him and get to know the side of him I never saw. She thinks it will help.