Chapter 2

The memory from his coma echoed in Ethan' s mind, as clear and insistent as a ringing alarm: "Thirty-six hours. Address her three deepest regrets. Or she remains dead in your present, and you might not wake from this coma."

The first regret: eloping with him, marrying him under pressure.

He glanced at the bulge in his jacket pocket where the altered marriage application lay. He hoped that changing the name to Ryan' s, if discovered at the right moment, would be enough to derail the elopement, to give Chloe the out she so desperately wanted, even if she didn' t realize it yet.

He thought he' d handled that one, or at least set the stage.

Chloe was already heading out the door of the motel room, car keys jingling impatiently in her hand.

"Are you coming or what?" she called back, not looking at him.

"Coming," Ethan said, grabbing his duffel bag.

He tried to act normal, the way the past Ethan would have acted – a little hesitant, eager to please, but mostly quiet.

As they walked to her beat-up sedan, he said, "You know, Chloe, after this is all done, I have a surprise for you."

She stopped, hand on the car door, and gave him a suspicious look. "A surprise? What kind of surprise? If it' s another lecture from my parents disguised as a gift, you can keep it."

"No, nothing like that," Ethan said quickly. "Something... something I think you' ll actually like."

He was thinking about her music, her second regret. He had a vague plan forming, something involving her parents, but he needed to be careful.

She clearly didn' t believe him. "Right. Look, let' s just get through today, okay? No surprises. No drama."

She got into the driver' s seat and slammed the door. Ethan got in on the passenger side. The car smelled faintly of old coffee and her lavender perfume, a scent he hadn' t realized he' d missed until this moment.

He looked at her profile as she started the engine. The set of her jaw, the slight frown. She was so unhappy. He' d been blind to the depth of it back then.

"Chloe," he said softly, the words coming out before he could stop them. "I just want you to be happy."

She snorted, pulling out of the motel parking lot. "Sure you do, Ethan. Everyone wants me to be happy, as long as it' s their version of happy."

Her words stung, even though he knew they were true, or had been true for the original Ethan. This Ethan, the one burdened with foreknowledge and grief, only wanted her to live, to be genuinely happy, even if it wasn' t with him. Especially if it wasn' t with him.

They drove in silence for a while. The sun climbed higher, baking the asphalt.

He overheard snippets of a radio show – something about a meteor shower expected that night, a once-in-a-decade event.

He remembered that meteor shower from the original timeline. He' d been excited, had tried to get Chloe to go watch it with him at a local observatory. She' d scoffed.

"Seriously, Ethan? Staring at space dust? Ryan' s band has a gig tonight. That' s where real life is happening."

She' d gone to Ryan' s gig. He' d stayed home, feeling foolish and lonely.

Another regret, a small one, but hers nonetheless, tied to her feeling that he never understood her passions, always trying to impose his quieter tastes on her.

Suddenly, Chloe spoke, her voice startling him out of his reverie.

"Hey, Ethan."

"Yeah?"

"That meteor shower thing they' re talking about on the radio," she said, not looking at him. "You still into that kind of stuff?"

He was surprised. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?"

She shrugged, a small, almost imperceptible movement. "I don' t know. Ryan' s gig got cancelled. Something about the venue having plumbing issues."

Ethan felt a tiny flicker of something. Hope? It was too soon for hope.

"So," Chloe continued, still focused on the road. "If we get this... elopement thing... done quickly, and if we' re back in town tonight, and if I have absolutely nothing better to do, maybe we could check it out."

She rushed the last part, as if embarrassed by the suggestion.

Ethan stared at her. Chloe, willingly suggesting they do something he liked? Something she' d previously dismissed so thoroughly?

"You' d want to?" he asked, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Don' t make a big deal out of it," she said quickly. "It' s just... if I' m bored. And it' s not like I' d enjoy it. But it beats sitting at home listening to my parents talk about their latest real estate deal."

He knew it was a flimsy excuse. Maybe she was feeling a tiny bit guilty about how cold she' d been. Or maybe, just maybe, a part of her was curious.

"Okay," Ethan said, a small smile playing on his lips. "If we' re back, and you' re bored, we can go."

It was a small thing, watching a meteor shower. But in the grand scheme of his monumental task, it felt like a tiny personal wish, a moment of normalcy he might be able to steal before the clock ran out.

A moment with Chloe, before he had to ensure she' d never be his.