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"These arent bruises, these are party tattoos!"
"You're ridiculous."
Brooklyn chuckled fondly at her words, sitting back against the wall of Eva's apartment and mindlessly soothing that horrible bruise on his right arm though it didnt hurt much now — he was more focused on the beautiful scene before him. The German skyline was beautiful during the winter, Brooklyn thought vaguely; once again, briefly criticizing his mother's decision to follow his father to states and right into San Francisco of all places. The silence between them was gentle...kind. "Brooklyn?" Eva began slowly, he hummed in reply. "If you're from the future...can you tell me where I'll be?"
Brooklyn paused then sighed. "You will escape this place," Brooklyn began sagely which made Eva perk up hopefully. "You will grow and you will major in History." Brooklyn frowned then. "But as you grow, you'll be pushed to higher and higher positions...government level stuff and you'll be elected to direct a very important project to save all of humanity and you will make terrible choices to do so." Brooklyn looked to Eva then smiled softly, deciding then to spare his poor mother further heartbreak of her future decisions. "But the project will succeed, humanity will be saved....and you will meet a man named Dr. Ryland Grace — he will be a microbiologist working as a middle school teacher after a bad situation at a UNESCO conference and you will think he is the kindest man alive, even with his sass and passion."
— "It's not you, is it?" Eva joked quietly.
— "No, no. You will be spared." Brooklyn reassured with a smile before continuing. "You two will marry when the project is in full effect: you will insist that you two did it to protect each other from the prying eyes of the United Nations but, privately, he'll tell you that he loved you from the moment you entered his classroom and you will find that you believe you've loved him longer than that."
Eva listened, raptured by the wise words of her friend. This magical time traveler who knew everything about her future. Brooklyn paused for a long moment then. "During a terrible waiting period to see if the project succeeded or not, you two will have a son who is far too curious for his own good...he will discover what decisions you have made and he will be angry." Brooklyn looked up at the sky, a sudden guilt on his chest. Eva noticed too and frowned. "What will happen to him?" She asked.
"He will run...he will run far...far away into the unforgiving apocalypse you will live in and you will not know when you'll ever see him again." Brooklyn murmured. "But it is important that you do not blame yourself." Brooklyn looked to his mom again — the girl she used to be, his eyes soft with a silent grief. "It is important that you do not blame yourself ever. Now or in the future, understand that you have made decisions that you know are best...even if they hurt and whatever came from those decisions will never be your fault."
Eva sat perfectly still then suddenly hugged him tightly. They didnt say another word as Brooklyn slowly faded away. "I'll see you in a while, Eva. Please...don't blame yourself. For anything." Brooklyn whispered brokenly as he was tenderly taken from his mom's arms and back into the present.
***
Brooklyn tried to close the backdoor's screen door as quietly as possible. That didnt happen, of course. That damn thing had an awful habit of slamming shut even with a gentle poke and Brooklyn foolishly wondered why Ryland hadnt fixed it like he said he would days before he'd run away — the sound alerted Eva and Ryland, snapping them out of their restless sleeping and causing them to rush down the stairs; they froze when they saw their boy standing in the kitchen. Bruised and bloody and dirty and he looked terribly cold.
"Brooklyn James, where the hell have you been?!" Stratt was the first to speak — her voice firm and strict...but Brooklyn knew now that she'd been terrified, trying to keep herself from the grips of hysteria at seeing her baby boy safe and sound. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you so I wont. Just be glad I'm in one piece, at least." Brooklyn grumbled in her exact cadence, wiping his nose to see if blood still dribbled from it; for once, he didnt argue when Ryland and Eva practically shoved him to the living room to warm up — Ryland wrapping a quilt around Brooklyn's shoulders and Eva doing her all to warm his hands in hers. God, she wanted to cry from the emotions she felt.
"You were gone for days! Do you know how worried we were?! You are SO grounded after this stunt." It was Ryland's turn now. Brooklyn didnt respond, he knew it was futile. "Are these bruises?!" Eva gasped weakly, moving Brooklyn's sleeve to see his arm — the bruise. It was still there and Brooklyn saw that hint of familiarity in her gaze. "They're not bruises, they're party tattoos." He shrugged, fighting the urge to smile as his Mom's face shifted. As if remembering something important; she sighed a wet laugh as the relief settled into her heart. "You're ridiculous," Eva mumbled pulling her boy into her arms, holding him as tight as she could.