In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Ten

Continuation—December 14, 2020

As the phone rang, Taylor's heart started beating faster. She tried to calm herself down, wiping away her tears and running a hand through her hair.

"Hey, sweetie," she heard her mom's familiar voice. "How are you?"

"Honestly..." Taylor let out a long breath and sniffled. "I don't know."

"Is it Joe?" Andrea asked. "I know you said that you were having problems," she added, her voice calm.

So they'd been having problems? Taylor didn't quite understand how this worked. If she'd been with Travis four years into the future for the last three days, who'd been with Joe? Was she somehow existing in both places at once?

"I think I'm losing my mind," Taylor confessed into the phone, her laugh sounding empty as fresh tears welled up in her eyes.

"Talk to me," Andrea urged, her voice laced with concern for her daughter.

So, Taylor did. She explained everything—how, just three days ago, she'd woken up in a completely different home, a different time, in a relationship that felt so real yet so impossible.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Andrea spoke, her tone gentle but measured. "Are you getting enough sleep?"

Taylor exhaled sharply. "I know it sounds crazy," she whispered, her voice breaking, "but I swear it's real. He was real."

"It's not that I don't believe you," Andrea tried staying calm. "It's just..." she trailed off, searching for the right words. "This is... a lot, Taylor. You're asking yourself if what you've experienced is real, but what you're feeling is real."

Taylor let out a shaky breath, her heart aching in a way she couldn't explain. "I don't even know what's real anymore." She squeezed her eyes shut as fresh tears spilled, the uncertainty gnawing at her insides.

"Take care of yourself. That's what matters most," Andrea told her daughter, her voice still laced with concern, trying to make sense of everything Taylor had just explained.

"I'll try," Taylor mumbled, lifting her head as she heard footsteps getting closer. "I'll talk to you later. I love you," she said quickly, her voice faltering slightly.

"I love you too, sweetie," Andrea replied softly, her sigh echoing through the phone line before Taylor hung up.

"I'm going to London for the week," Joe said, his voice steady but cold as he stepped into the bedroom. Taylor blinked slowly, the weight of his words sinking in, but she didn't answer him.

Her mind was still spinning, tangled in the chaos of the past few days, and now this. Her silence felt heavy in the room, like a response that wasn't quite a response. Everything was an utter mess, and she couldn't find the words to explain it, even if she wanted to.

Joe let out a frustrated scoff, clearly having expected more, before turning on his heel and walking away, his footsteps echoing down the hall. The door clicked shut behind him, and she was left alone again, the silence wrapping around her like a suffocating blanket.

She didn't know what was worse—the confusion of her own mind or the distance between her and the man she thought she knew.