Page 52 of Echoes

“Maybe not. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that we’re here now. There’s just… Sometimes, I wish I could go back and change things.”

“Yeah? What would you do?”

Rosie smiled and said, “I would’ve asked you out that day in my kitchen when Ami showed up. I would’ve told her to go. I would’ve cupped your cheek like this.” She cupped Felicity’s cheek. “And I would’ve told you how much I wanted to kiss you, but we would’ve waited until after our date.”

“We would have, huh?”

“Yes. And it would’ve been amazing, just like our real first kiss.”

“How are you so sure all of that would’ve happened?”

Rosie looked around the hallway. There were a few people milling about, but no one was paying attention to them. She swallowed hard and decided that Felicity deserved to know.

“I’ll tell you tonight. But I have to warn you: you might not want me to move in anymore after I do. You might think I’m crazy, or you might just be really mad at me.”

“What are you talking about?” Felicity asked, pulling back a little.

“Let’s get out of here. I’ll tell you the whole story. You deserve to know and either yell at me or admit me to the nearest institution.”

“Rosie, you’re scaring me.”

“Nothing to be scared about.” She pressed her forehead to Felicity’s. “I promised I wouldn’t break your heart, and I plan to keep that promise.”

“Then, what are you talking about?”

“Let’s go. I’ll tell you.”

Rosie wasn’t sure why she’d decided that today, of all days, she would confess to Felicity – their relationship was still so new, and even though Felicity wanted Rosie to move in with her, that didn’t mean that something like this wouldn’t have Felicity taking back that ask – but she had to have faith that they were strong enough to handle anything together. Felicity deserved to know what had caused Rosie to pull away from her all those years ago, what had caused her fear, and what had driven her back into the familiar and comfortable. Rosiewanted to be completely honest with the love of her life. She wanted to start this new phase with Felicity with all the cards on the table, and the best way to do that was to tell Felicity about that day in the kitchen.

So, when they got to the hotel they booked at the last minute, she sat down next to Felicity on the king bed and shared the whole story. She told her of the case they’d found at the wreck site. She confessed to keeping it, even though it should’ve been part of the wreck’s inventory. She revealed how she’d opened it and had accidentally pressed a button, how a possible path had been placed before her, and she told Felicity how she’d chosen Ami over her.

“You…” Felicity began and paused. “You saw us talking about a date?”

“Yes.”

“And you were looking at yourself?”

“Yes.”

Felicity turned to look out the window and asked, “I asked you out?”

“I think, technically,Idid that, but you told me how you felt first.”

“You said no?”

“No, I said yes. Well,yousaid yes becauseIasked you.”

Felicity nodded and said, “But then you were back, and you went out with Ami.”

“Yes,” she admitted softly.

“Why again?”

Rosie shifted a little and said, “I think because I wasn’t ready to admit or even understand how I felt for you, but mainly because this device made something happen that should’ve been impossible, so I thought I’d imagined it or that it wasn’t real. I thought that if I brought it up to you in the car on the way to the office, you might have told me you didn’t want me like that, and things would’ve been awkward between us, or maybe worse.”

“But you went out with Ami.”

“Ami wasn’t scary to me.”