In Your Time

Chapter 2

"Who are you, and why are you in my house?" He deadpanned.

"Phoenix! Braden! Dinner!" Elizabeth yelled from downstairs. I picked up my towel quickly and ran to throw it in my room before sprinting down the stairs. Elizabeth motioned me to a seat. A moment later, Braden came to sit at his seat. Elizabeth set the food on the table before sitting in her own seat. It was odd seeing a family eat dinner together. Normally, my dad would be at work and my mom would be out so I would have to fend for myself when it came to ordering something to eat. So this was the almighty Braden's teenage years.

"Braden, this is Phoenix Di. She's a... daughter of a family friend. She'll be staying with us for a while," Elizabeth said. I looked at her curiously. She couldn't told the truth, but she probably wanted to preserve my self-pride. Either that, or she didn't know how to explain my situation herself.

"I assume your parents will be in Australia for a while regardless, so after tomorrow, we'll enroll you in Braden's school. Also, I'll do that checkup after we finish eating here," George said to me. I nodded, unable to really say anything else.

"She's going to my school? Why?" Braden protested.

"Because she's not from here and we want to make sure she stays safe, so you have to help her out at school. Alright?" Elizabeth said in a sort of warning.

"You're going to fish all that money out for someone else's daughter?" Braden asked as he raised an eyebrow at them.

"It's not like we can't afford it. Plus, education is more important than your video games," Elizabeth snapped back at her son. Braden huffed a breath before digging into his food.

"You wanted a daughter so badly, you stole someone else's," he muttered under his breath.

"Just eat your food," his mom sneered at him.

"So Phoenix, What do your parents do?" George asked.

"My dad is an astrophysicist, and my mom is a social... worker," I quickly corrected myself. I almost said social net supervisor but that didn't exist yet. My mom didn't get that job until 2021. 

"I can see how they may be extremely busy," George nodded thoughtfully.

"I thought she was a family friend. How is it that you don't know what her parents do?" Braden asked suspiciously.

"She's my family friend. Your dad is learning about her just like you. All you need to know is that we're trusting you to look after her when she enters your school," Elizabeth lied easily. After we finished dinner, I met with George in the living room. He gave me a full check up. He paused when he lifted the shirt on my back.

"You're all bruised up," he said hesitantly. "Does it have anything to do with what happened in the park?" He asked softly.

"I-I don't remember how I got there so I wouldn't know," I lied. He sighed and had me stand before checking my abdomen as well. I had bruises all over my torso. George sighed before he put his stethoscope around his neck.

"For now, I'll give you some pain meds and we'll have you ice it every night until it gets better. It'll take some time," He said.

"What the hell?" A voice said from the entrance of the living room. I quickly pulled my shirt down and stood.

"I'll head to bed now," I said to George, completely flustered.

"Grab the ice pack out of the freezer," George said. Braden followed me up the stairs.

"Why do you look like you got beat up?" He asked.

"I can't remember even if I wanted to tell you," I sighed.

"You don't remember how you got bruises that bad?" He asked. I sighed again when I stopped at my door.

"I was like this when your parents found me," I snapped. I only realized what I said after the fact.

"They found you?" He asked. I closed my eyes briefly before I turned to face him.

"Yes. I was lost in the park and your parents found me on their walk. My parents are in Australia and they recognized me, so they brought me back here," I covered.

"Do you want to know? Those bruises look pretty serious," he asked. I shook my head.

"I just want to ice this and go to bed," I sighed. Braden nodded before he went to his own room. I sighed and went into my room to ice my bruises and go to bed.

***

The next morning, the Parks let me sleep in. After I got showered and changed, Elizabeth took me to the mall. She seemed really excited. I smiled just watching her. She really must've wanted a girl. She went around excitedly to the different stores picking out clothes for me.

"Braden goes to a private school I think that's why he's worried about you going. Kids there are different. I mean, you've met my son," she talked.

"He's going to be an exceptional person one day," I smiled lightly.

"I think so too," she smiled and she swiped her card yet again. It was so weird when I saw it the first time. The fact that she even had a card was amazing. I'd heard about them, but in 2026, everything could be accessed by phone, including restaurant menus. It was as easy as sending a text to the kitchen.

"I know it's rough to ask you to go to school in this situation, but if you get into a normal routine, things will feel easier," she explained. I nodded.

"I think normal routine would be good for me too. I got ahold of my parents late last night and they're not sure when they'll be able to make it back. They said it'll be a while and asked if they could trouble you a bit longer," I lied. I knew trying to find a way back to my own time would take a while, but as long as I was an orphan, the Parks would worry.

"It's no trouble! We're not hurting for anything, and already enrolling you in school anyway. And plus, I've always wanted a daughter and now I think my wish is coming true! Just think of me as your second mom. You could even call me that if you wanted," she smiled happily. I smiled as I nodded. We went around to the different shops before Elizabeth took me to a special shop to get my school uniforms. By the time we got back to the house, we'd been out the whole day. Braden was sitting on the couch on his phone when we got inside. He looked at the two of us before looking back to his phone.

"Ma, you sure do spend a lot of money on a kid that's not yours," he muttered.

"Starting today, I'm adopting Phoenix. She's my daughter now. Well, my second after you," Elizabeth said as she stuck her tongue out at Braden.

"Mom," he said quickly as he set his phone down. She laughed before pulling me up the stairs with all the bags. She helped me put it all away before setting my uniform out for me. The navy skirt, white button up, and red blazer looked nice together. It was also my first time seeing a school uniform in person.

"I'll wake you up for school in the morning and go down to finish up your registration," she offered.

"Thanks, Mom," I said absentmindedly. She paused before she smiled and hugged me tightly.

"I love having you around," she said happily. "If anyone at school questions who you are tomorrow, just say that you're Braden's fiancé," she said before she left the room.

"Okay," I smiled back at her before the words registered in my brain. I quickly turned and looked at the door she disappeared through.

"Wait, what?"