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Caitlin

I never thought it would be this hard to watch Michael leave me for his dreams.  However, I swallow my tears, allow him to kiss me goodbye, and stand waving at him as he pulls away from the driveway, his mom and my dad with him.

Of the triplets, Beth cried the most when she realized that Michael was leaving.  Regret had swam in his eyes as he saw her wailing, but I hadn't allowed him to talk himself out of it.

My mom has already taken the girls back inside, and I can hear them playing in the living room, our attempt at making sure they're distracted from Michael's leaving.

I trudge upstairs, feeling strangely disconnected.  After nearly two and a half years of Michael consuming the air in this house, it is still hard to believe that he won't be there to hold me tonight.

Even in my room, he's left traces of himself: one stray sock that reminds me of my own loss, a stick of deodorant that I kept telling him to put in the bathroom, the pillows that smell too much like him.

I sit down before the open computer on the desk and stare numbly at the pixels making up the picture of the two of us.  Reaching out to touch the curve of his cheek, I am startled to see Leslie's face staring at me.

"Caitlin," she says, a relieved smile tugging at her lips, "I finally managed to hack through to you."

It takes a moment to realize that it is future Leslie, not the one I know.  She looks different from the last time we all saw her, less vibrant with dark bags barely hidden under concealer, and a bruise darkening her left cheek.

"I know you want to disconnect this chat, but we need to talk," she continues, and my hand drops from the mouse.  "Everyone has multiple futures laid out in front of them, but right now your Will is hanging between two possibilities."

I manage to ask,"How do you know?"  My eyes are still locked on that bruise that seems to grow larger the longer I look at it.  For a fleeting second, I wonder if the rest of her body looks as mottled as her face.

"After Will tried to Rewind the four of you again, his past self became less unstable and less controlling.  Because of that change and the difference in the way he treated the three of you, my Will became sweeter than I have ever seen him.

"It was good, better than it had been since our first year of marriage, but a month ago, Will started to change again.  He's fluctuating between the person you saw that night and the person your Will is trying to become."

I swallow slightly.  "What do you expect me to do?  I have no influence over anything Will does."

Her laugh is bitter, and Leslie leans closer to the screen.  "You have more influence over Will than you understand, Caitlin.  I know he's trying to blackmail you and turn the four of you against each other.  I want you to tell my younger self to ask Will what he's hiding.  What the Will you know decides to do about her question will determine the future.  I will keep in contact with you because I don't want your Leslie married to the monster I am."

She spits out the last words before brushing light fingers across her cheek.  "Be careful, Caitlin.  The secrets that Will wishes to bring to light may very well destroy you all.  Each of your future selves are seeing themselves changing between who they were and who they could become."

"I haven't received anything from the future yet, and as far as I know, only Michael has," I say, finally managing to pull my eyes from the bruise to look her in the eyes.

"I intercepted the message he was sending you," Leslie whispers.  "He has no right, and the only thing I am grateful for in this twisted future is that Will and I have not had children."

I open my mouth to speak, but she casts a quick glance behind her.

"I have to go, Caitlin.  Remember what I told you.  Please don't fail me; each day the future becomes more and more unstable."

She disappears from the screen, and I am left alone to stare at my shocked reflection.