‘No. He didn’t,’ I said quickly.
‘That’s one blessing, I suppose,’ said Ben. ‘But you still know about things that haven’t been invented yet and events that haven’t happened yet. That’s dangerous for the timeline.’
‘But I won’t say anything.’
‘I believe you. But our cleaner won’t.’
‘What will happen to me if your cleaner does find out?’
‘He’ll kill you,’ said Ben.
My hand trembled as I poured myself another glass of water. ‘Why is it OK to kill me but not Connor?’
‘As I said, Connor’s family in 2122 is powerful and influential. You, however, are just a regular person. There’s no one here to look out for you. Our cleaner would consider you collateral damage. He would take a risk that your death wouldn’t significantly affect the timeline. Not as much as your revealing the truth about the planet Eden.’
‘What do I do?’ I asked.
‘We have two options,’ said Ben. ‘The first is that we do nothing.’
‘How is that an option?’ asked Cassie, her voice rising again.
‘Our options are few,’ said Ben. ‘Doing nothing may be the best thing. Eden keeps her mouth shut for the next hundred years.’
‘I can do that,’ I said.
‘And the second option?’ asked Ryan.
‘She comes with us when we leave. Any knowledge of the future comes with us. The cleaner won’t have anything to clean up.’ Ben looked at me. ‘Travel to the future is perfectly legal. It doesn’t affect the timeline too much.’
‘What about her descendants?’ asked Ryan.
‘Again, collateral damage,’ said Ben. ‘A risk worth taking, given the circumstances.’
‘Shouldn’t I be the one to decide if I go to the future?’ I asked.
‘No,’ snapped Cassie.
‘It will affect our fuel supplies,’ said Ben. ‘We’re only equipped to transport three people. We might not be able to stabilise the portal for long enough. It’s not without risk.’
‘So we put all our lives in danger,’ said Cassie.
Ben nodded. ‘I’m leaning towards option one. Less lives in danger.’
‘Just mine,’ I whispered.
Ryan squeezed my hand. ‘You know how important it is never to reveal what you know. So long as you do that, everything will be OK.’
‘So what happens now?’ I asked.
Ben smiled at me. ‘We’ll finish our mission, save the planet and go home. Everything will work out.’
‘What happens if you fail?’ I asked.
‘We fail,’ said Ben. ‘That’s it. End of story. This is our only chance to get it right.’
‘Couldn’t you just come back and try again?’
Ben shook his head. ‘No. We distort four-dimensional space when we travel through time. It becomes dangerous and unstable. The more times you travel the same route, the more likely the portal will collapse in on itself.’
‘Like a black hole,’ Cassie explained.
‘You don’t go back to the same place twice,’ said Ben. ‘It would be like playing Russian roulette. You might get there safely. But probably not.’
‘It’s down to us to get it right this time,’ said Ryan.
Ryan drove me up the lane in silence. There was no parking space left at our usual hidden away spot around the corner from my house, so he parked up at the end of my street. He switched off the ignition, unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face me.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said.
‘It’s not your fault.’
‘It’s entirely my fault. I should never have dragged you into my life.’
‘I wasn’t exactly kicking and screaming.’
He laughed. ‘There was a bit of kicking and screaming when you thought I was using you to complete my mission. Actually, it was more like sulking and the silent treatment.’
I gave him a playful shove. ‘Well, I think this afternoon put any lingering doubts to rest,’ I said, smiling at him. ‘It’s clear to me that Cassie and Ben wish you’d never met me.’
Ryan reached across for my hand and squeezed it tight. ‘I’m glad I’ve met you.’
I felt the now familiar blush sweep across my cheeks. Except that now our time was running out, every moment of pleasure was accompanied by an aching anticipation of loss.
‘Are we still going to spend the day together tomorrow?’ I asked.
‘Definitely. Come down to the farmhouse at noon and I’ll make lunch.’
He was still holding my hand, still looking deep into my eyes. Feeling self-conscious suddenly, I lowered my eyes and turned towards the door.
‘Oh, crap,’ I said, recognising the couple ambling along the pavement hand in hand in the dusky twilight. Miranda and Travis. They hadn’t seen us yet.
And then she locked eyes with me.
‘Incoming,’ I said.
Ryan squeezed my hand and then released me. ‘It can’t be worse than the Cassie and Ben interrogation.’
‘Miranda does guilt really well,’ I replied, watching her slow march towards me.
‘Shall I speak to her?’ he whispered.
I shook my head. The last thing I needed was an audience when Miranda tore me to shreds. ‘It’s OK. I’d prefer to face this one alone.’
‘How gallant of him,’ Miranda said stonily as Ryan pulled away from the kerb.
‘He offered to stay,’ I said, rising to his defence. ‘I told him to leave.’
‘Wise advice,’ she said. ‘If I get my hands on that boy . . .’
‘Miranda,’ I began.
‘Home!’ she said. ‘I’m not having this conversation out on the street.’
We walked in silence down the street to the house. Travis stood by the front door holding a carrier bag of beer from the corner shop. He gave me a sympathetic shrug behind her back.
Miranda slammed the front door and marched into the kitchen. ‘I don’t even know how to begin,’ she said.
‘I’m sorry I let you down,’ I said. Usually the best way of handling Miranda was to fess up and apologise. Repeatedly.
‘Let’s hear it,’ she said.
‘What?’
‘Your account.’
‘Ryan’s dad invited me to stay to dinner,’ I said. ‘And then, since it was getting dark, Ryan offered to drive me home.’
‘Let’s hear the rest of it.’
I took a deep breath. ‘That’s all there is to tell.’
Miranda shook her head. ‘So you didn’t spend the afternoon in Perran Park drinking vodka with your friends?’
‘Oh,’ I said flatly.
‘Oh,’ she repeated sarcastically. ‘Connor’s mother called me a couple of hours ago. Apparently Connor was really sick when he got home this afternoon. He confessed to his mother that he’d spent the afternoon in the park with you and your friends drinking vodka.’
‘I didn’t drink vodka,’ I said.
Miranda put a hand on one hip and looked me up and down. ‘I never thought you’d lie to me, Eden. I thought we were closer than that.’
‘I had a raspberry-flavoured drink. It might have had vodka in it. I only drank one.’
‘According to Mrs Penrose, Connor was concerned because he saw you staggering out of the park, barely able to walk, and he believed you were going to accept a lift home from Ryan.’
I was going to kill Connor.
‘Why would you, of all people, get in a car with an under-age driver who’s been drinking?’