Page 41 of Not You Again
“Haven’t been here in ages,” Adam said as he scanned an aisle of books. “This library was basically the school library, too.”
He leaned against a desk and crossed his arms. Annoyingly, Carly couldn’t help noticing the toned muscles straining against the thin fabric of his button-down. It didn’t seem fair that he was smart enough to know all the constellations on top of how to attractively lean. “The only time I’ve seen you sit still is when you eat. Maybe I should’ve brought a snack with us.”
“Well, Iamneurodivergent. ADHD, remember?” She didn’t mind the excuse to make him feel a little bad. “Sitting still isn’t always easy for me.”
She was giving him a hard time, but Adam’s observation that she was in constant motion wasn’t incorrect. She’d always prioritized work above all else. And now that she was stuck in this loop, she felt that if she stopped moving, even for a moment, she had too much time to focus on what she’d lost. Moving meant that she was going forward, not back into her old memories of how things had been.
“I’m just wondering if the library is going to inspire or stifle you,” he continued. “Because I need your creative brain to help me figure out how to block out the eclipse.”
Carly stopped tapping her foot and eyed him. “Youneedme?” she said. Obviously, she knew they were working together, but she’d always felt that Adam more or less tolerated her presence versus required it.
“I have facts.” He sighed. “And while I’d like to think that’s enough to get us out of this loop, so far it hasn’t. You,on the other hand, have the kind of creativity that will lead us to a breakthrough. That’s what all great scientific discoveries have in common—someone smart enough to think beyond the science.”
Carly got the kind of wicked grin reserved for Disney villains. “So, you admit it. I’m smarter than you.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Do you want out of this loop or not?”
She did want out. She’d wanted out from the beginning. Only now, the days hadn’t felt nearly as long or lonely as they used to. If she admitted that, though, she’d never hear the end of it. So instead, she said, “Okay, let’s give the library a shot, and if it’s not working, we can move on.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He pushed off from the desk and started toward the book stacks.
Carly followed. “What plan? There’s a plan? Do we just pick up a book and quietly read in a cozy nook?”
Actually, now that she’d said that out loud, it didn’t sound so terrible. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done something like that. She was used to reading scripts for work, but a book?
“We measured the shadow bands yesterday. There’s a working theory that they’re caused by a sliver of light that escapes the eclipse, which I happen to agree with. I’m just wondering if we can research a way to effectively block that light.”
Adam traced a finger down the spine of a book, and Carly had to look away, because it made her wonder what his finger would feel like trailing down the length of her. “You want to block out even more of the sun?” she tried to clarify.
“We’d need to block out all of it to eliminate the shadow bands, yes.” Adam took a sharp left down a row of books whose spines were all worn cloth and gold lettering.
“This looks like the fancy section!” she said, then spottedone with an almost plum jacket cover, slightly worn, but a little painted rose danced up the spine. What wasthatone? She got on her tiptoes to reach for it.
She wasn’t tall enough, though, so turned to Adam. She was surprised to see his eyes not on the books, but on the hem of her dress, which had ridden up slightly from her reach. “Rhodes?” she asked.
His eyes snapped up to hers, and he cleared his throat. It was only then that Carly considered the possibility that Adam had been checking her out. She furrowed her brows as she processed this information.
Adam wasted no time in grabbing the book she couldn’t reach and handing it to her. The cover readRomping Through Mathematics.Scientists were funny.
“The eclipse has changed four times,” he said as she thumbed through the pages. “It’s shorter by forty-five seconds. But nothing else that we’ve noticed so far has changed. There’s still fourteen hours in a loop day. Sunset still occurs at 7:29 p.m. The question, then, iswhythe eclipse and why four times?”
“But why not the eclipse?” she hedged. “It’s this super-special and rare thing that only happens once, maybe twice for a person in their lifetime. It’s what everyone in this town has to stop and take notice of each day. If the universe is trying to tell us something, wouldn’t it use the most obvious thing? It’s like that rule of eating berries in the wild. If they’re orange or red—bright colors—you should avoid them. Nature almost makes them stand out as a warning.”
Adam leaned a shoulder into the bookshelf and studied her. Andthiswas why Carly really liked him: She could almost never tell exactly what he was thinking. He looked just as likely to try to devour her as he looked ready to turn and walk away. A mix of disbelief and desire that put her on edge.
“You’re right. Whynotthe eclipse? I like where you’re headed. The eclipse is a warning—something wehaveto pay attention to—and the change that’s occurring is telling us information.”
“I feel abutcoming,” Carly said.
“But what I’ve told you is the extent of my knowledge. I own a telescope and have dabbled in scientific hobbies, but I’m not anactualscientist.” Adam pursed his lips. “Which is why we need to read up.”
Adam walked down an aisle, and Carly followed closely behind. “Here’s the math and science section. That should help narrow it down.”
“What should I look for?” Carly asked.
“Kip Thorne is one of these scientists who’s kind of cornered the market on gravitational physics. There might be something in those pages around light sources. He teaches at Caltech. That’s where I wanted to go to college.”
Carly watched Adam almost stutter over the last words.
