A Day In The Life As An Everyday Time Traveler.| Book One

Chapter 50

Edited:
Word Count: 1199

"Ew, no! You're not putting that in here." I gagged, pushing away the lamp that Steve was holding.

"Oh, come on. This is great." He said, stroking the leg lamp. I rolled my eyes and looked at Joyce as she came in.

"Joyce, can you please tell Steve that we can't have a sexy leg lamp in our house?" I begged. She came over and looked at the lamp, ruffling the tights it was wearing before smiling.

"I mean, it's not that bad. This place will need something to cheer it up anyways." She shrugged. Steve turned to me smugly. I groaned and rubbed my face.

"I still don't know why you guys wanted to buy this old house. With all the money from the government to shut us up, you could have bought a mansion." She said, looking at her now empty house.

I sighed and looked around.

"This place means a lot to us, Joyce. We couldn't have some weird couple buying it from you." I smiled.

"But us weird is okay?" Steve asked. I sent him a look.

"Go help them load up the truck, when you come back in for more, bring our boxes in." I ordered. Steve sighed and left Joyce and I in the living room alone.

She sighed deeply and grabbed my face.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us? After everything that happened.."

"I owe it to him to stay. To protect people." I said. She frowned slightly.

"Your dad would want you to come with me. Get out of this town once and for all." She argued.

"And that's exactly why I have to stay, Joyce. If I did everything he wanted me to then I wouldn't be his favorite, now would I?" I teased. She let out a laugh and kissed my forehead.

"Marley." Someone called. Joyce and I both turned to see Max standing in the doorway.

"Someone's here to see you." I nodded and walked outside. Smiling when I saw the boy leaning against his now busted car.

"Hey, Princess." He greeted, taking off his sunglasses. I chuckled and walked up to him.

"Nice ride." I teased. He chuckled and turned to look at his once beloved car.

"You know..you can still come with me.." He said, finally looking up at me. I frowned and looked down at my hands.

"You know I can't, Billy..California..you..it just-"

"Isn't in the cards for you. Yeah, yeah." He said, rolling his eyes playfully. Billy stepped forward and placed his hands on my hips.

"Promise you'll call and write." He said. I placed a hand on the side of his face and smiled.

"I promise." Billy leaned forward and placed his lips on mine softly. My hands went to his hair to bring him closer.

When someone cleared their throat, we pulled away and looked over. Steve stood on the porch with his hands on his hips.

I chuckled before turning back to Billy.

"See you later, Princess." He cooed. I stepped back and walked over to Steve who wrapped his arm around my waist.

"She's all yours, Harrington." Billy said, placing his glasses back over his eyes and getting inside his car.

"What a charmer." Steve mumbled. I laughed and tuned to him, placing my hands on his chest.

"How did you ever let him go?" He said sarcastically.

"Someone has to save your ass whenever you're in trouble." I teased, pulling away and walking into the house.

"Save me? Aren't you the one who got possessed twice?" He called behind me, closing the door to our new home.

***

Marley.

I just wrote one of these stupid letters for your sister about her and Mike, and figured I should make one for you too. I know what you're thinking. "Dad, I'm almost 18, I don't need the talk." But you're going to shut up and listen because I missed out on a lot of stuff with you.

I know I'm not your real dad. I wasn't there when you took your first steps or said your first words.

But, at the same time, I was.

Your first steps after you came into this world. When you showed up at my doorstep, wearing a shirt with a..god awful group of boys of them, and your sleep pants.

Your first words when you told me about what you were, where you came from.

But I was also there when two very important things happened to you. The first, being when you became a hero.

You risked your life to save a kid you never spoke to, never saw. You fought a monster for Christ's sake. You came into this world knowing you had a job to do and set your mind on savings lives, even if it meant endangering yours.

And the second being when you fell in love.

We were getting movies at the store, remember? When you had a nightmare and I told you we'd spend the day trying to distract you.

That's the day you talked to Steve for the first time. I stood behind a movie rack and watched as he gave his teenage boy charm, and you completely fell for it. I almost went up there and stopped the conversation because I knew what kind of kid he was.

But I didn't. You looked at him with a utter fascination that stopped me. After that, it felt like you spent more and more time with him and I knew that I was going to have to deal with him being in your life.

Now, I know I'm just an old crazy man, but I know that you love Billy too. I'm not stupid. I can see it. I let him come around because I can feel the electricity when you are in a room together, the bond you share with him is something I'll never understand. I just hope that one day, you make the right decision.

I know there will come a time when you leave us. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I know that at some point you have to go back to your own time.

It kills me to think that one day I'll wake up, make breakfast for El, and you won't be there to tell me to cut back on the sugar, or get annoyed when I "forget" your friends names.

I won't be able to see you move into your first house, or get married, or have kids. I won't listen to you laugh when Steve says one of his terrible jokes that only you find funny.

You won't worry me when you wake up from a nightmare, you won't make me stay up at night when you're hanging out with your friends. And you won't be here to tell me you love me while we watch old reruns on the TV.

There will come a time when that happens. But, I hope that when it does, I'll be long gone.

But, for now. Keep annoying me, scaring me, and loving me.

And I'll be the happiest and luckiest dad in the world.

-Hopper.