The Time Traveler's Wife

The Bully

February 1999

Carmilla squints against sunlight beaming in through a window, shining right on her face. The last thing she remembered, she'd dozed off on Laura's couch while they were binge watching Doctor Who, which Carmilla had grumbled was a little too on-the-nose but her protests had gone ignored, accompanied by the sound of Laura's light snoring.

And now she's apparently traveled back to young Laura's attic in who-knows-what-year.

"Are you gonna keep flashing all my neighbors?" a little bossy voice demands from behind Carmilla.

She whirls with a smirk to find Laura from roughly the same age as the last time she traveled back. Clearly, it's the winter because there's some snow on the ground and Laura is wearing a thick, oversized long-sleeved sweater. So far, regardless of the time or season, if Laura didn't have a coat on, she was in a t-shirt or a tank top.

Laura hands her some clothes and turns as Carmilla puts them on.

"Uhm, how old are you?" Carmilla asks when she's done.

"Eight."

Carmilla hums in response. "Have we had a picnic together yet?"

Laura shakes her head no and starts walking out of the room and down some stairs. She leads Carmilla down a hallway and into what Carmilla assumes is her bedroom. There's a poster from the second season of Buffy on the wall. "The last time I saw you, you left me this." She holds up a note.

"What is it?" Carmilla asks with a frown.

"It told me the next couple times I'd see you, and that the first would be today, " Laura replies. "You said you got dates from—"

Carmilla clamps her hand over Laura's mouth. "Ah! Spoilers."

Laura huffs. "Ahhat wen yoo sey that," she says, muffled. Carmilla chuckles and removes her hand. "Then we watched some TV and you disappeared. This was like, over a year ago. Super nice of you."

Carmilla frowns at the tone. "You do know I can't control when I come back to you, right?"

Laura crosses her arms. "Yeah. Whatever."

Carmilla's frown deepens. "What's with you?" she asks, trying to keep the edge from her voice and going for a concerned tone instead.

Laura shrugs and walks away. "A lot can happen in a year." She pauses in the hallway as Carmilla lets out a sigh and follows her. "I'm sorry," Laura finally says. "I shouldn't be snapping at my best friend. Especially not over something tha—especially at you."

Carmilla furrows her eyebrows together, her worry growing. "Laura."

Laura dejectedly heads to the stairs down to the living room and something occurs to Carmilla. But she has to approach the subject carefully.

"Where's your dad?" she tries.

"I don't want to talk about that," Laura mumbles, descending.

Carmilla joins her in the living room.

"I've been gone a year," Carmilla says slowly, scanning the room. "And I have it on good authority that something pretty major happened... in November."

The image of a young Laura, but older than the girl in front of her, kneeling at her mother's grave during the anniversary of her death, with sandwiches and cupcakes, flashes through her mind.

Laura crosses her arms and starts to walk off. Carmilla reaches out to gently grab Laura by the arm, just to stop her, but Laura lets out a loud yelp.