In Your Time

Chapter 8

*Phoenix's POV*

I woke feeling groggy. It was a moment before I realized I was sleeping in Braden's bed. I sat up quickly and winced as my ribs began to throb.

"Take it easy before you crack a rib," Braden said as he draped his towel over the back of his chair.

"What time is it?" I asked. He glanced at his watch before he sat in his chair.

"It's about noon," he answered. My eyes widened before I shot up quickly.

"Why didn't you wake me! We have to get ready for school," I said quickly. Braden only laughed at me.

"It's Saturday," he said like that explained everything.

"And?" I asked confused.

"We don't have to go to school on the weekends," he explained. I sighed and sat back down on his bed. I'm pretty sure I hurt myself when I got up too quickly. I held my side gently as I relaxed. Braden came closer as he watched my face. I closed my eyes to try and hold in how much pain I was in.

"What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" He asked. I sighed and opened my eyes. I put a fake smile on my face as I sat up a little more.

"I'm fine," I lied. Braden sighed and gave me a look that said he saw through my bullshit.

"You're not fine," he said. I dropped the fake smile before I laid back down.

"I'll be fine after a while," I tried to reason with him.

"You're really starting to scare me," he said softly. I didn't know how to respond so I settled for trying to give him a reassuring smile. I guess I scared him so much that he actually started to worry. He stood before stretching.

"Are you hungry?" He asked. I nodded. He left for a while before coming back with some snacks and ice packs. I propped myself up and put the ice on before I started eating.

"Have my dad take a look at you again when he gets home today," Braden said. He turned his projector on before playing more movies for me. I found it odd that Elizabeth hadn't made an appearance yet. Matter of fact, I hadn't seen her at all since she dropped us off yesterday. I ate my snacks as we watched movies. It was a great studying tool. I learned more about this time period from the movies than I ever could trying to read about it. At first, it felt like I was dropped in a foreign country, but it was a little easier now. One of the movies Braden showed me was 'Back to the Future'. I found myself laughing almost the entire movie.

"You don't time travel by car," I found myself commenting.

"Then how do you time travel?" Braden asked.

"It's like two huge magnets spitting colors back and forth," I said absentmindedly as I watched the movie. I paused and glanced at Braden. His eyes were still focused on the movie. It seemed like he didn't hear me, which was a good thing. I stopped talking and paid attention to the movie. It was comical. After watching a few movies, we went downstairs to get a more suitable meal. Elizabeth already had food prepared as she bustled around the kitchen. She smiled when she saw us.

"Do you two plan on staying inside all day? It's actually really nice out today," Elizabeth asked. Braden handed me a plate before looking at his mother.

"I think dad needs to check her out again. Her ribs have been bothering her. She shouldn't be moving around," Braden said.

"You can still take her to go look at the beach. She's been here a while and only seen the inside of this house and the school building," Elizabeth complained.

"Mom, she needs to rest," Braden argued.

"I could actually use some fresh air," I interrupted. Elizabeth smiled as Braden gave me a stern look.

"Great! I'll make the food to-go then," Elizabeth smiled. I smiled sheepishly.

"I'm going to go change," I said quickly. I went to my room and changed into a pair of shorts and sweater. I grabbed my flip flops and went back downstairs. Braden was waiting with his arms crossed.

"You should go lay down," he tried one last time. I smiled and grabbed the bag of food off of the counter.

"I haven't seen your beach yet," I tried to reason with him. He sighed before grabbing a pair of keys and leading me out to a convertible. I whistled at the vintage car. Well, it was vintage to me.

"Who's car is this?" I asked. He smirked as he opened my door for me.

"It's mine," he said matter-o-factly. I got in and set the bag on my lap as he got in the driver's side and raised the garage.

"If this is your car, why don't you drive it to school?" I asked. He started the car and backed out the driveway before we started cruising along the roads.

"Because my mom insists on taking you to school and she wants me by your side as much as possible, so it made more sense to just ride to school with you and my mom," he explained as he slid a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. He dug in the glove compartment before handing me a spare pair. I put the sunglasses on with a smile.

"I think we should just ride to school together in your car then," I said as I relaxed into the seat and enjoyed the ride. Braden blasted the music until we parks right in front of the beach. He didn't make a move to get out of the car though. He simply moved to the back seat and sat on the back of his car. I followed his lead before I opened the bag Elizabeth set up for us. We ate in peace as we watched the waves crash along the shoreline, then recede over and over again. The sound, the salt in the air, and the view created a lulling and calming effect.

"It's beautiful here," I said happily. Braden finished eating before leaning his hands back against his car and watching the sea.

"It's really calm around this time when everyone has already gone back home," he noted. We sat there and enjoyed the view of the ocean until the sun set. I hated to admit it, but the small trip to the beach helped a lot. I didn't feel so on edge anymore. I almost felt like a normal teenager of this time for a moment. After the sun fully disappeared, we headed back to the house for dinner.