‘No.’ I wiped my eyes and tried to smile. ‘This is how it has to be. It’s just that…’ My voice trailed off.
He touched my arm. ‘What?’
I sniffed wetly. ‘My parents kept everything from this time because they knew I’d want to have as much information as possible.’ I pointed to the note. ‘They still have this letter – I’ve read it a million times. This is the letter that was left with me – it wasalwaysthe letter that was left with me. You always wrote it, Hugo.’
He stared at me. ‘Then your theory is right and the past can’t be changed. That much is clear.’
I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse. I sighed heavily and held Baby Daisy a little tighter for a few more moments. Perhaps babies weren’t that terrifying after all.
Hester sniffed and nuzzled the top of her fuzzy red head. ‘Take care, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon when you’re much bigger and much less cute.’
I scowled.
‘I don’t have to tell you to be good, Daisy,’ Otis told her. ‘I already know you will be.’ He patted Baby Daisy’s cheek with his tiny hand, then he and Hester stood back.
I handed Daisy to Hugo and swallowed the lump in my throat. He waited until I nodded, then turned and walked into the hospital. I already knew that he’d leave her in the emergency waiting room, in the blind spot in the corner where the fuzzy old CCTV wouldn’t pick him up. And anyway, nobody would ever find Hugo; he didn’t belong in this time period and he wouldn’t be here for much longer, not as a thirty-two-year-old man.
I turned my back on the hospital and wrapped my arms around my body. This was how it was supposed to be; this was the best thing for me. I gazed across the busy car park at the horizon and stared, unseeing, at the familiar Edinburgh skyline.
Hester landed on my left shoulder and Otis flapped his way to my right. ‘Are you alright, Daisy?’ he asked anxiously.
‘I will be.’
‘Of course you will,’ Hester said briskly. ‘And now all that yucky business stuff is out of the way, we can finally start having some fun. There must still be a few days left before we get magically yanked back to 2024. Let’s enjoy ourselves! I want to party!’
‘We could do that,’ I said. ‘Or?—’
Hester was already shaking her head. ‘Oh no. Don’t say it. Don’t you dare!’
I smiled, but there was no humour in it. ‘Or we could take advantage of the time we have left and make sure that Rose and Hugo’s parents have the best head start possible.’
‘We don’t know where they’ve gone,’ Otis said. ‘So how on earth can we do that?’
Hugo came up behind me and put his arm around my waist. I searched his face, and his expression told me that everything had gone as planned. Baby Daisy was safe, at least for now. She would be looked after.
‘Simple,’ he said. ‘We go after Athair ourselves. It’s always better to be the hunter rather than the hunted.’
‘No. Oh no.’ Otis shook his head vigorously. ‘We’ve agreed that it’s impossible to change the past, and we know that Athair is alive in the future. You don’t kill him. You probablycan’tkill him, now or later. He’s too strong. There’s no point in going after him! This is a terrible idea! You can’t change anything.’
‘We’re heroes,’ I told him. ‘This is what we do.’
‘Besides,’ Hugo added, ‘my parents survive this. We don’t know for certain what happens to Rose, but there’s a chance she survives unscathed, too.’
‘Youmight still die!Youmight not survive this!’ Hester screeched.
His response was matter of fact. ‘I’ve got Daisy to protect me. I’ll be fine.’ I kissed his cheek.
‘Who will protect Daisy?’ Otis asked,arms flailing.
Hugo’s dimple appeared. ‘I will.’
‘You’re as bad as each other.’ Hester clicked her tongue in mock derision. ‘Ridiculous. Honestly, you idiots deserve each other.’
Our eyes met. Yep. I grinned – and this time my smile reached my eyes.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
