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ONE
Everything is frozen. I’m cemented in this moment, in my grandmother Estelle’s living room, where my best friend of three weeks is standing just seconds from beating the crap out of me. Suddenly I wish there was a rewind button. I’d slam it hard, stop this all from happening. I’d never leave my life in Nevada. I’d put up with the abuse from my adoptive father. I’d keep living that old life and pretend I had no living relatives.
But there are no rewind buttons in life. Just play. Sometimes fast-forward.
“Mario! Stop!” I scream, grabbing at his fingers. They’re clenched around my neck, choking me. “Let me explain!”
“Tell me! Right now! Where’s Edwin?” he snarls, his teeth pressed up against my ear. “What’ve you got to do with this?”
The veins in his arms are bulging like ropes. He’s way stronger than he looks. I’m punching at the air trying to reach him, or anything that will help me free myself. Then I hear the sound of a pistol being cocked and we both freeze.
“Mario.” It’s Estelle’s voice. Peaceful, not aggressive. “Let him go. Please. Give us a chance to explain.”
I manage to turn my head and see that she’s standing in the archway between the living room and dining room with Bud’s gun trained on us. I feel Mario tense up even more, then his chest deflates and swells again as he catches his breath. Reluctantly, he loosens his chokehold around my neck and shoves me to the floor. I gasp to catch my breath and the rush of oxygen blurs my vision.
Estelle gestures toward the dining table with the gun. “Both of you. Sit down.”
Mario glares at me, then stomps over to one of the chairs, spins it around, and plants himself on it defiantly with his chest wedged against its back.
I peel myself off the floor and wobble over to Estelle. Mario is so enraged that his lips are throbbing. “Those people...” I’m still having trouble catching my breath. “The ones who took Edwin…they’re dangerous. You need to tell us what they said. Now!”
He shakes his head. “Who are they?” he shouts. “What the hell’s going on? What aren’t you telling me? They’ve got Edwin! He’s all we’ve got left of Alanna!”
Estelle keeps the gun steady, but I see that although she’s trying to keep her stance strong, her arms are shaking.
I kneel down next to her and hold out my hands palms up, to signify peace. “He means a lot to me too, Mario.”
“Stop bullshitting me! He’s my cousin’s son. Why the hell would he mean a lot to you?”
Estelle and I look at each other. She nods, and I tell him, “Because he’s my son.”
Mario goes still for a second. He shakes his head, then sneers, “Your kid? Are you serious? That’s fu—impossible! You gotta try harder than that.”
“He’s not lying,” Estelle tells him. “I know it sounds crazy, but Gavin met Alanna by time- traveling to the past using some photos he took from her room—”
Mario’s mouth drops open. “You’re both bat-shit crazy!” He springs up and kicks the chair aside, then grabs it again and flings it at her. She jumps out of the way but loses her balance and only keeps from falling by grabbing the edge of the table. Mario wheels around and rushes for the front door.
