In Your Time

Chapter 22

The first thing I registered was the sound of soft beeping. My body felt heavy, but the thought of returning back to my own time made my eyes open quickly. I looked around curiously before I tried sitting up.

"I wouldn't move just yet. We don't know what other side effects you might have," my dad's voice reached my ears. I felt my eyes water at hearing his voice. I missed him. He moved into my line of vision and smiled softly.

"Still, I'm glad that you're awake. We really thought we were going to lose you," he said with unshed tears I'm his own eyes.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"A few months. We had to give your body time to heal after the surgery. There was a lot of damage. Was it like that every time?" He asked curiously. This time, I did sit up.

"Never that bad, but there was always damage to my torso," I explained hoarsely. He handed me water and propped my pillows up for me before I explained everything to him. I told him about the past and about the Parks and the school I went to. I told him about being pulled, how I was found, everything except my relationship with Braden. I decided to leave that out of my story. He told me how I was technically 18 years old now. Apparently the time I spent in 2017 paralleled the time I missed in 2026. I missed my birthday but I couldn't help it as my mind drifted to thoughts of Braden. He would've been a huge star by now. I know he said he would wait for me, but I didn't actually expect him to. Honestly, I didn't expect him to remember me at all.

My dad explained how I was still in the lab. They ran physical and mental tests on me to make sure I was okay and record my experience. I even made sure to tell my dad that I purposely tried not to mess up the timeline. The next day, Merlyn came to visit me. She was blubbering more than I did.

"We were so worried about you!" She cried. I ended up having to repeat everything to her.

"Wait, you were staying with Braden Park? The Braden Park? So in his interviews when he talks about waiting on a special someone in the future, it's you?" She asked. I looked at her curiously.

"What?" I asked, thrown off. I'd seen all his interviews and he never really answered when asked about his love life. He always just said he didn't have one. Merlyn pulled her phone out and went to a clip of one of his interviews.

"...and are you currently dating? Or is there someone you're crushing on?" The interviewer asked. He smiled slightly, looking bashful suddenly.

"There's a special someone I'm waiting to meet later in the future," he answered. The interviewer tried to get more out of him, but that was all he gave. Curiously, I had Merlyn go get the phone out of my jeans. Surprisingly, the phone Braden got me was still there. After a hesitant moment, I turned it on. Luckily it still worked. After a moment, the text messages started flooding in. They were all from Braden. They were messages telling me about his day, telling me he missed me, ones that said I love you, and so on. There were over a thousand of them. Curiously, I typed in 'I'm back' before hitting send. Hopefully it would work. I hid the phone under my blanket as my dad walked in again. He checked my vitals before giving the okay for my release. I didn't have to stay here anymore. I could resume my somewhat normal life. But I'd been gone so long, I forgot what that was.

The next few days, I started going to school again and getting into my old routine of future life. Still, I couldn't help but to check the old phone every now and then. I had to do some digging before I finally found a compatible charger. I was worried that if it died, I'd never hear from Braden again. But still, he held on for me all this time when I told him he didn't have to, I didn't think something as simple as a dead phone would get in his way. I waited and checked the phone daily, but there was no reply. Granted, he last texted the phone around a month ago. Maybe he finally got rid of the number. He was a celebrity after all. I was starting to lose hope, but I was the one who told him not to wait for me.

I was walking with Merlyn after school when she picked up on my mood. I wasn't going to lie and say I was fine. I'd been kind of down lately. Going back to my normal life wasn't easy. And the pain from my surgery still lingered from time to time.

"Oh, Braden has a live interview," Merlyn said before she opened the app on her phone. We stopped walking as I watched on with her.

"How do you feel coming back from your European tour?" The interviewer asked. He smiled, looking better than ever as he adjusted in his seat.

"It was really cool seeing all my international fans. I had a blast and I loved meeting everyone," he answered easily.

"You mentioned on your social media account that you finally found the girl you were looking for late last night. Where is this girl? What is she like?" The interviewer asked excitedly. Braden blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Merlyn glanced at me as I quickly pulled the old phone out and turned it on. I had a notification from Braden. It was a simple text that said 'see you soon'.

"Honestly, I'm not exactly sure where she is yet, but I finally got in contact with her again. Phoenix, if your watching, I'll come find you soon," his voice brought my attention back to his interview. The comments in the live were going crazy. Merlyn's eyes widened before she started typing away. I turned my attention back to the old phone and typed a text to him.

I'm watching your interview. I'm in Cali. I'll meet you tonight at your place, I sent. On the interview, the talking stopped. I looked to see him pull out his phone and smile at the screen.

"Is that her?" The interviewer asked. He nodded.

"I'll see her sooner than I thought I would," he answered before putting his phone away.

"You really love her," the interviewer smiled.

"I've been waiting on her for a long time," he admitted.

"You must be really excited," she said.

"You have no idea," he smiled.