Through Time, For You.

Episode Nine

The clock ticks as my pen scribbles nonsense across my page but I can't stop as my mind picks apart the incident from this morning. I glance at Mr. Harrington once again, but he pointedly looks past me to the numbers glowing on the screen. His jaw is locked and his hair is combed away from his eyes. He leans back on his chair and I track his movement – desperate for something ordinary to cling to. But the words from this morning claw to the front of my mind. Maybe it was real. Maybe I'm the one losing my mind. When the clatter of chairs snap me out of my daze, the meeting is finally over. People shuffle out, chatting easily among themselves.

“You looked a little distracted during the meeting,” Will says, taking the seat beside me as I organize the papers in my folder. I glance at Mr. Harrington as he discusses with someone before bringing my eyes back to the folder once again.

“I'm guessing it has something to do with my cousin then?” Will asks, his voice taking a playful note.

“It's nothing. I just had a rough morning,” It wasn't technically a lie but I don't look at him either.

“What about what happened at the Zephyrlink event, was that nothing too?” I turn to him then. He looks handsome in his grey suit, the golden flecks in his brown eyes brighter under the light. But the furrow between his brows betray his usual playfulness.

“That was a drunk accident,” The lie tastes bitter. I smile, adding him to the growing list of people I've lied to.

“I'm sorry about the mess it caused,”

“It's fine,” he says, tapping me once on my shoulder before turning to leave. I quickly glance at Mr. Harrington one more time before I leave too, feeling worse with each step. Right outside the meeting room, Gina and Troy head straight for me, Gina looping her arm through mine. I'm happy for the contact.

“Hey stranger,” She greets, her brown curls in its usual messy bun. She's wearing mascara today which she rarely does. I smile at her in greeting.

“You do remember we have plans tonight, right?” Troy asks from my left. His hands are in his pockets, his blue tie is also arranged neatly today.

“Of course,” I beam, realizing then, that I'm actually looking forward to tonight, “I wouldn't miss it.”

“Good. For a second there it looked like you were about to ditch us. Again,” There's a note of accusation in Gina's voice at the last word and my chest tightens. It would've been easier if I could tell my friends but this morning's events stop me. They'd think I was crazy.

“We'll see you then,” Troy says before leaving us, his eyes glued to his screen.

“I brought extra outfits for us and invited Mira,” Gina whispers at my side and I laugh because I know they're probably inappropriate for work – perfect for tonight. I don't mention Mira. She probably didn't know yet in this timeline.

“Perfect,” I say and mean it. She squeezes my fingers before leaving.

I know I shouldn't but my legs are already moving before I can stop them. I stop halfway to the meeting room nearly crashing into Miles but his hands reach out to steady me. Then almost immediately, he retracts them – looking away.

“Umm…I…” I mumble, my eyes latching on the spot across his shoulder.

“We're going out tonight,” I start, sparing a glance at him before continuing, “ You don't have to, but it'd be nice if you joined us,” I end weakly, mentally kicking myself.

There's a pause. I glance up at him but before I can catch his reaction, he masks his features.

“That won't be necessary,” he says, leaving me there with my words. His receding footsteps are the only thing I hear as I'm left standing in the hallway, embarrassed by my own hope.

The rest of the day drags in a haze and I find myself glancing at the time on my phone frequently. The hours blur in a mix of emails and meetings and more times than I'm willing to admit, my mind wanders to the puzzle of a man across the hall from me. By the time the office empties out, my nerves are all over the place. If I stayed here another minute, I'd probably lose my mind so I shut my laptop and head straight to Gina's office, only pausing briefly in front of Miles’ office.

We hurriedly change in the bathroom and I find myself laughing more than I've done in a while.

“So,” Gina starts as she helps me zip up the strapless black dress she brought me, “Are we going to talk about this morning?” I know immediately she means the incident in his office but I ask again just to be cruel,

“What?” An easy smile on my face.

“I kinda heard Harrington yell, and you looked like you wanted to punch a wall,” she clarifies.

“I'm sure you heard about my little fiasco at the Zephyrlink event. It was about that,” I offer a half-truth.

“Oh?” We both look at our reflection – the topic forgotten. The black dress I wear hugs my curves in all the right places and the deep v-neckline leaves little to the imagination. I smile at the girl staring back at me. She might be losing her mind, but at least tonight she has this. Gina beams beside me, her red dress a fiery contrast to mine. We smear red lipstick and I comb my hand through my hair and then, we're ready to go. Outside, Troy whistles the moment he sees us.

“Now that's what I'm talking about.”

The bar is loud, messy and alive when we step in. Music throbs through the walls and people litter everywhere. Not long after, we snag a booth and order drinks, and by the second swig, my cheeks are warm.

“Mira's here,” Gina announces, sliding out to fetch her. I take another swig of my beer.

“Hey!” Mira greets as she settles beside me. She's still in her work clothes but her blonde curls are loose and her top buttons are undone – she looks gorgeous. I smile at her and take another swig.

“Damn Mira, you look gorgeous. Making the rest of us look underdressed,” Troy says with a grin, stealing the words right out of my mind.

“Thanks,” She says, smiling.

“We ordered for you. Hope you don't mind,” Gina says over the music, sipping from her bottle.

“Not at all,” She turns to me and whispers under her breath, “I heard about the incident at Zephyrlink. Are you good?”

I feel a pang in my chest because if I wasn't in this timeline – if I didn't go three months back – I would never know just how much I missed my best friend.

I nod, squeezing her hand under the table.

The rest of the night is a blur of drinking and Troy leading us to the dance floor. The more I drink, the more I twirl and spin and laugh – the events of last week floating away.

“I'm going to the bathroom,” I tell Mira when Troy leads us yet again to the dance floor.

“Me too,” she says, looping her hand through mine, and together we giggle all the way there.

The bass is still rattling my bones when Mira slips into the stall next to mine. I fumble with the lock before finally sliding on the toilet lid, my head tipping back against the wall. Everything spins but somehow I reach into my bag and hold out my phone. Miles’ name glows on my screen and before I know it, I press call. He answers on the last ring.

“Hello? June?” His voice is groggy, confused, “It's… do you know what time it is?”

I giggle and then laugh loudly. Of course he's asleep and not planning on killing himself.

“Are you drunk?” He asks again.

“Maybe. Yes. Why do you care,” I say, my voice wobbling between laughter and anger.

“June, where are you?” There's movement on his end and I imagine him sitting up in bed, rubbing his face, trying to piece together my words.

“June–”

“No! Don't ‘June’ me” I hiss, “You're always so… so stiff. Do you ever just let yourself live?”

Silence

“You think you're fine, Miles but you're not,” I choke on my words but keep going anyways, “You're suffocating yourself with all these… rules but–” my voice cracks but I push through, “You deserve more Miles. So much more than you allow yourself to have.”

The line disconnects and once again I'm left with my words and heavy breathing.

The ride home is also a blur. Mira peels off to her apartment first, leaving me swaying to mine. The street is too quiet, too still.

“Lost sweetheart?” A man steps out of the shadows, a sly smirk on his lips. He reeks of alcohol as he steps onto my path, his eyes latching onto my chest.

“I'm fine,” I say, my voice wavering anyways.

He laughs, the sound too loud. He grabs my arm, “Why don't we go for some drinks”

I jerk back, but the ground tilts beneath me, stealing my breath. “C'mon, don't be a party–”

He's yanked away from me and slammed against the wall with a force that makes me stumble back.

“Touch her again and you'll regret it,”

Miles. Towering, unflinching. His hand is fisted in the stranger's collar before pushing him away. The man stumbles back before scurrying away.

My knees give way, and before I can hit the pavement, Miles catches me. Strong arms latching around my waist.

“June…” he breathes, my name heavy on his lips but before I can hear what he says, everything goes dark. Hazel eyes the last thing I see.