Unrequited (Prequel to IMPOSSIBLE and INFAMOUS)

Part Nine: When She Blamed Him

Four knocks.

Time swiped away the scene he was watching and straightened his jacket. As he turned to greet Alice, he was taken aback to see her burst through the door and charge at him. Instinctively stretching out his arm, he pressed his hand against her forehead and stopped her in her tracks.

But she would not relent. Cursing and snapping her teeth, she swung her fists at him, doing all that she could to reach his eyes with her nails. "I'll rip your throat out, I swear!"

"Alice!" he exclaimed, still holding her back. "What is going on with you? What happened?"

She gave a sharp laugh. "What happened? What happened? As if you don't know what happened."

Her nails nearly reached him, and he leaned back a bit. "I don't, I swear. Please, tell me."

"You're flipping, bloody Time, of course you know!"

Her shouts echoed throughout his office, and he knew that her threats were not just threats. Releasing her head, he gripped her shoulders, though she struggled against him. "Alice, please, tell me what happened."

She ceased her rampage, breathing heavily and shaking her head slowly. Now that she had stopped thrashing about, he could see that her cheeks were wet with—tears? She only ever cried for one reason.

When her heart had been broken.

A pit settled in his stomach.

"Like you don't know," she hissed, wiping away the tears as she turned her head away from him.

"Alice, please. Please tell me."

"He's dead."

She said it so quietly and yet it thundered loudly in his ears.

Swallowing, Time dared to speak. "Do you mean—"

Snapping her head to him, she shot him a venomous scowl. "You know who I mean, Time. He's dead. Reggie is dead. My husband is dead."

His grip on her loosened slightly, but there was still a spitting fire in her eyes, so he dared not let her go. "How—"

"Stop asking questions you already know the answers to!"

"I don't know! This is the first I've heard of it, really."

She shook her head at him. "You liar. You're a liar and you know it."

"Alice—"

"You're Time, you must have seen it!"

"I can't watch everything at once. I swear I did not see him die. Alice, I swear."

She must have finally believed him, as the fight left her body, and she all but fell apart in front of his eyes. Sobs wracked her body, and Time had to hold her to keep her from collapsing to the ground. Her tears soaked through his shirt, and he held her tightly, stroking her hair gently as he searched for the words to comfort her. But he knew nothing he could say would ease the pain in her heart.

"Alice, I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Then bring him back," she said, her words muffled by his chest.

He blinked. "What?"

She pulled away and gazed up at him, her eyes wide with hope. "If you're sorry, bring him back. You're Time, you can reverse it."

"Alice, I—"

"Please, Time. Please. I love him. I love him and I need him. Please, bring him back."

The look of desperation on her face stabbed him straight through the heart. He swallowed down the thick knot in his throat and turned away. "I can't."