In Your Time

Chapter 9

It had been a few weeks and everything was calm. I wasn't sucked into the future again, and the kids at school had pretty much left me alone by now with Braden being my ultimate protector. It was weird, I also got to know Braden more in a way I never thought I would. Under all those layers of cool, he was actually kind of dorky. My bruises finally healed up too under George's careful watch. He examined me almost every day after Braden told him that they got worse. I had almost completely learned to filter my words as well. My slip ups were minimal these days. It also helped that I was feigning amnesia. I didn't quite get along with the kids at school yet, but it was getting better. After school, most of my time was spent with Braden at the beach or listening to him compose music.

"What do you think of this?" He said as he glanced away from his notebook. He had been working on a song for a while and just finished playing it for me. Of course, I had to keep from humming along since it was a song he debuted with in the future, but watching the process of his songwriting had me excited in a completely different way. I smiled and clapped in applause.

"It's great! I think it'll receive well and make you famous overnight," I smiled. I wasn't wrong. That song literally had him global in the matter of a few hours. He smiled back at me.

"I think I'm going to play it for the talent show this year," he admitted. That didn't seem right. Based on countless interviews, the first time he played that song was on the boardwalk. Someone recorded him and that's how he got famous. If he played it at the talent show, did that mean I screwed up the timeline? I was so deep in thought, I didn't even see Braden set his guitar down and come closer. I snapped back to reality when I felt a finger press in between my eyebrows.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" He asked with a chuckle. I stopped frowning and relaxed my face. Maybe he planning it this way already and something kept him from doing it. Anyway, if I tried to interfere, I would only make things worse.

"Nothing. I just spaced out for a moment," I lied. Braden dropped his hand to his lap before a look of realization crossed his face.

"Oh, that's right. There's a beach party this weekend. Do you want to go?" He asked. I smiled as I nodded. He smiled back before he reached over and ruffled my hair.

"You look a lot better than when you first got here at least," he noted.

"I feel like I am getting the hang of things," I agreed.

"Come on. Dinner is probably ready by now," he said. He put his guitar away and we went down to eat.

***

The beach party looked like fun. Braden took me in his car after I got dressed in a simple blue sundress with a swimsuit underneath. Braden wore board shorts and a t-shirt. It looked pretty casual from the parking lot. People came to greet him as soon as he walked up. I smiled, seeing that he was popular even before he got famous.

"Phoenix, you're here too. Oh, you came together?" Josh asked. Braden smiles and took my hand in his.

"Of course. She's my fiancé," he said confidently. They all looked shocked.

"I almost forgot you two live together," Nevaeh said.

"Well her parents are in Australia, and as my fiancé, they trust us to take care of her while they're away," Braden explained in my place. I was hyper aware of my hand in his. He still hadn't let go.

"It's just weird seeing the results in person. Especially from you, Braden," Bryce said as he slug an arm over Josh's shoulders. Braden shrugged as he smirked.

"Don't look then," he retorted. Of course, we both knew the truth was that he didn't want to claim me until after getting to know me better recently, but that was something everyone didn't need to know.

"Hey, just a heads up: I think I saw Tara walking around here earlier. I think she's visiting family and heard about the party," Bryce said to Braden. Braden's face fell to a scowl as his grip on my hand loosened a bit.

"Tara's here?" He asked. Bryce shrugged.

"I think it was her, but I could be wrong," Bryce answered. Braden said goodbye to his friends before taking me over to where a bonfire had started. His hand barely held mine as Braden got lost in his own thoughts. I sighed before I pulled my hand out of his. His eyes shot to me quickly.

"Who's Tara?" I asked curiously. It seemed like a touchy subject, but I was too curious to let it slide. I couldn't ignore the way Braden's face looked after Bryce said her name.

"Tara was my first love," Braden answered easily. He froze as he stared at something on the other side of the fire. I followed his line of sight and saw a girl staring back at him. She had shorter, wavy brown hair with bangs and a tall lean figure. She smiled slightly before walking over to us. Her blue eyes took in every detail of Braden's expression.

"Braden... long time no see. How have you been?" She asked.

"Good," he answered shortly. It seemed like a conversation I wasn't welcome to. I turned and made a move to leave, but Braden grabbed my arm and pulled my back to his side.

"Say hi. Phoenix this is Tara. Tara, this is my fiancé, Phoenix," he introduced me. It seemed more like a plot to get under her skin, but I went along with it anyway.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I said quietly.

"Fiancé? When did you get engaged?" She asked. The look on her face was one of hurt and confusion.

"This year. Our parents are friends. Phoenix is living with us while her family is out of country," Braden explained. Tara put on a fake smile, but it still looked sad.

"Well, congratulations," she said.

"Visiting family?" Braden asked her. She shook her head.

"I'm back for good. I was even reenrolled at Saint James. So I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other," Tara said before she walked away. I was fine helping Braden when he needed it, but I couldn't help the feeling of being used to hurt Tara somehow.