In Your Time

Chapter 6

I walked into school the next day with Braden walking beside me and a sleek new phone in my pocket. Elizabeth bought me the phone immediately and Braden showed me how to work it. At the moment, the only numbers I had in my phone were the numbers of the Parks.

The school atmosphere was different after Braden's proclamation. Eyes darted our way as we walked to my locker. It was a little unnerving. I sighed as I opened my locker and grabbed a book I needed as Braden leaned against the lockers beside me.

"Everyone is staring at us," I muttered to Braden. He smirked and took my book from me.

"They just want to know if it's true or not. Let's go," he motioned o the hallway. I nodded before I walked with Braden to my first class. He walked with me to all of my classes and waited for me at the entrance of the cafeteria during lunch. By the time we got to the table, the eyes hadn't stopped.

"Soo, are you guys like the official couple of Saint James now?" Josh asked awkwardly.

"I don't think we're the official couple or anything. Just another couple," Braden answered.

"But when did this happen. You two aren't even affectionate. You don't act like a real couple at all," Navaeh complained.

"It was arranged by my mom so I'm still getting to know Phoenix myself, but that doesn't change the fact that no one should mess with her. If they do, they'll have to answer to me," Braden explained. I ate my food quietly.

"So you actually like her?" Navaeh asked.

"Yes, which means that she's off limits," Braden answered automatically. I knew it was a lie to protect me, but still...

"So I guess that does make you the official couple of Saint James. But I think we'll need a kiss from the couple to make it official," Bryce joked.

"Fuck off, Bryce," Braden dismisses him.

"If you don't kiss her, I will," Bryce teased. Braden didn't give him time to act. He grabbed my cheeks between his hands and pecked my lips quickly.

"There, happy?" Braden said before turning back to his food. I cleared my throat as I stared intently at my food. I was hoping that no one noticed my red face. It took me by surprise. I didn't think he would actually kiss me.

"I'm happy," Bryce chuckled.

"I'm not," Nevaeh gave her two cents. I spent the rest of lunch trying not to draw attention to myself before it was time to go to gym. I walked through then hallway with Braden as he tried to avoid looking at me.

"Oh right, how are your bruises healing up?" He asked to fill the awkward air.

"Slowly. They were pretty bad," I answered. A silence fell over us again as the conversation attempt failed.

"You didn't have to do that... in the cafeteria. I think he was just messing with you," I finally said. Braden sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"But if he did actually kiss you, no one would take me seriously, and kids would start picking on you again. It was better to be safe rather than sorry," Braden explained. I nodded in understanding. If Bryce kissed me instead of Braden, it would be the equivalent to an open invitation. It would tell everyone that Braden didn't care what happened to me. We finally got to the gym and I changed quickly before grouping in with everyone else as we waited for instructions. Today we were playing dodgeball. The name was pretty self-explanatory. We divided into two teams and went over the rules before the game began. It was fun, until I started to feel weak. I was sweating more than I should've been, and my breathing was staggered. I rested my hands on my knees as I tried to shake off my hazy vision. While I wasn't paying attention to the game, a ball came flying and hit me in the head. I quickly lost consciousness after that.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by the colors that sucked me into the past. Through the blur of the colors, I saw my dad with a team of eight to ten people working tirelessly on charts and graphs as they stared straight at me, but I don't think they actually saw me, just the colors.

"We have to get my daughter back," my dad said with determination. There was a spark before the colors began to fade and I was pulled back into a darkness.

I sat up quickly as I panted. Looking around, I was unfamiliar with my surroundings, but I was sure on one thing.

"I went back. He's trying to bring me back," I said in realization. Maybe I was already back in my own time somewhere.

"Phoenix, are you okay?" Someone asked as they touched my arm. I looked over and saw Braden. I sighed and carefully laid back down.

"I'm fine, just feeling a little faint," I answered. He looked worried.

"You passed out while we were playing dodgeball. A ball hit you in the head while you were taking a break, but it looked like you were going to go down before then," he explained. I nodded slowly before closing my eyes. After being in the nurse's office for a while, taking medicine and getting my vitals checked, I was free to go back to my classes. I couldn't stop thinking about what I saw. Maybe the real reason I passed out was because my dad was working on bringing me back and it almost worked. But towards the end, something sparked, breaking the machine. It would probably take a while to fix something that complicated. I sighed and covered my face with my hands. If that's how it was going to happen, it meant I would suddenly disappear from this year. How would I explain that to the Parks? What if I disappeared in front of them? I would have to hide to keep them from seeing the truth, but I already loved them all as my own family.