Gifted Connections 3

“Speak for yourself. I want the candy inside, too!” Jaxson proclaimed.

“You would,” I laughed as I took a seat at the table.

It had been too long since I had sushi, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

“We have miso soup, seaweed salad, and salad with that ginger dressing you like,” Troy stated as he placed a bowl of seaweed salad in front of me.

“Thank you,” I smiled at him, and everyone else gathered around the table. “Everyone. Truly. I really didn’t need all this fuss.”

“It’s not every day that you get to celebrate your eighteenth birthday,” Remy stated gruffly as he placed a bowl of miso soup in front of me.

“Well, technically this is our second time,” Jaxson joked as he stuffed a piece of sushi into his mouth.

Everyone laughed except for Kade. I barely noticed the withdrawn look on my brother’s face until he stood up and blurted out. “It’s my fault. I’m the one who separated you guys! I’m the one who turned back time!”

Chapter 17

“You were forced to do it,” Mr. Moore insisted vehemently. “You never wanted to do it. You can’t blame yourself.”

I looked over at my brother, stunned. A myriad of emotions ran through me. I was angry at Horatio for using my fifteen-year-old brother for his dirty work. I saw the fear and the anxiety on his face. Since I found him, he had acted on edge and withdrawn. I thought he was still struggling with the loss of his sister and parents. His kidnapping, and his time with Horatio. I never imagined he was carrying this burden of guilt—even if it was misconceived.

“I can leave if you want me to,” he stood up and lifted his chin, but I saw the wobble in it. He was afraid that his admission would turn us against him. He thought we would punish him for Horatio’s sins.

“It doesn’t matter,” I told him firmly. “We are back together, and it was a reset that we may have needed. You’re not going anywhere. You’re my brother. You’re my blood. I would love to get to know you.”

Tears of relief entered his eyes before he hastily wiped them away. “Okay,” he mumbled. “I hate sushi,” he admitted quietly.

We all laughed. “Amen brother. Raw fish ain’t for everyone,” Terrance proclaimed loudly. “I got some chicken teriyaki over here and plenty of it.”

“It’s not all raw, and I watched you eat California and shrimp tempura rolls.” I mock rolled my eyes at him, then looked over at Kade. I knew we couldn’t dwell on the bombshell that he had just dropped. There would be time for questions later. “Have you ever had it?”

“My…parents were from Texas. I grew up on steaks and potatoes.” Kade made a face as he watched Micah eat a spicy tuna roll.

“Can’t knock it until you try it,” Micah said, giving him a pointed look before he stuffed another roll into his mouth.

“So, we’re not talking about the fact that your brother can turn back time?” Jaxson asked in disbelief.

“Or the rarity of such a gift?” Noah added.

> “Not now boys,” Will stated. From the look on his face, I had a feeling he had already knew about my brother’s ability.

I didn’t even want to dissect the reasoning why he kept it from me. I looked over at my connections and they seemed just as surprised as I was.

“I mean if you can turn back time, why didn’t you prevent your family’s death?” Jaxson asked as he leaned forward. “Why don’t you do it all the time?”

“It takes a lot out of him,” Mr. Moore stated. He was giving my brother a fond look, and I had a feeling that their forced imprisonment together had garnered a kinship between them. “Aren’t we here to celebrate Blake’s birthday? Can’t this wait?”

Kade shook his head. “It’s okay Mr. Moore. I tried,” he looked at Jaxson with determination. “Sometimes, some things can’t be…fixed or changed. Some things are meant to be, and no matter how hard I tried to alter it, I can’t. I couldn’t.”

“How does it work?” Noah asked in fascination.

“Well…,” Kade seemed to relax slightly, like he wanted to talk about it. Like holding it in for so long had worn on his psyche. “I first realized I could do it when I failed a test. I wished with all my might I could retake it after I got it back so my parents didn’t ground me or get kicked off the team. Next thing I knew, it was like Ground Hog’s Day. I got to repeat the day over again. I went to sleep like normal that night, but I woke in the hospital two days later. My mom thought something was wrong with me when I wouldn’t wake up.

“When they died, I tried everything to fix it. I tried to skip the game that we were returning to when they died. But they still died another day. Then I tried to beg them to take another route home and the results were the same. Some things aren’t meant to be changed.

“After I turned back time with you guys, I was down for over a week. I’m really sorry I had to do it. Horatio told me my sister, my other sister,” he clarified. “…was still alive, and I could see her if I did him one favor. I didn’t know it was you I had to do it to. I didn’t know I was adopted. I found out afterwards who my target was. I also discovered Horatio lied to me. He caused our crash. He extracted me and left my family to die. All of them.

“One of the scenarios I ran had me saving my sister. In that scenario she was confined to a bed, and life support was the only thing helping her live.”