Black to the Past

Chapter 53

"We've gotta get Halle back here," Wilson said as he wore the carpet of Michael's bedroom out pacing.

"We can't. At least not tonight," Jalen told him. "Bruh, you gotta calm down."

"I can't. Those guys, they're bad. They were hurting her dad," Wilson explained for the third time.

"Well, in this life, he looks like he's the one in charge," Michael told him with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Halle can handle herself," Meredith told him from beneath the sleeping bag she'd set up on Michael's floor.

"I can't believe you guys are ready to go to bed. We can't fall asleep, we have to go back and change things before a war really breaks out and we're not able to fix this," Wilson said panicking.

"I'm tired," Meredith whined.

"I know you're tired, but he's right, Meredith," Brooke said from the recliner she was perched in. "The message was pretty profound. You guys fucked up, you need to fix this."

"We didn't fuck up, okay, Brooke. We did our project."

"The project was hypothetical, you dumbnut! You weren't supposed to find a fucking time machine and really go back and warn Dr. King."

"We didn't find a time machine, it found us," Jalen yelled back at her.

"Everybody calm down. I've got a massive headache," Michael said quietly from his queen-sized bed. "We've got to go back. But we have to wait for my parents to fall asleep before we head back down, or they will get suspicious. Let's just turn on some T.V. watch a movie and go down in about an hour."

"Let's keep watch. We're all tired, somebody needs to be in charge of keeping everyone awake," Wilson suggested.

"Good idea," Meredith said as she closed her eyes.

"Meredith, no!" Brooke yelled.

"Okay, okay, get me some coffee then, or a coke, or something. I'm tired!"

"Okay, I've got some energy drinks in my room. And, I don't know how I know that since this isn't even my house," Jalen told everyone as he left the room.

He came right back with an energy drink for all of them and the other box of pizza. "Eat up. Your body won't let you sleep while you're digesting food."

"Dude, have you ever had Thanksgiving dinner? That's all I do after I eat, I sleep," Wilson told him with a laugh as he took the proffered drink.

"Yeah, well, I read that somewhere so let's just try it," Jalen told him.

"I'm going to call Halle," Wilson told the group.

He called her personal cell phone but it rang and rang. "Should I just use the phone the professor gave us?"

"Are we supposed to call each other on that? I can't remember," Michael asked him.

Wilson looked through the phone, A number for Halle was programmed that wasn't her regular cell number. He dialed it.

It rang twice before Halle picked up.

"Hello," she answered.

"You're okay," Wilson said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure for how long. Those goons are in my house, Wilson."

"I know. Have you found out anything?"

"Yeah, my mom is alive. My real mom. The one who gave birth to me," she said almost crying again.

"Halle, omigod! That's crazy!"

Wilson repeated what she'd told him which woke Meredith up instantly.

"You know that's going to change, right, Hal?" He asked her quietly.

"Yeah, and it sucks," she told him.

"I know. Halle, you've got to find out anything you can so we can help your father out when things go back to the way they were," Wilson reminded her.

"I know. I know. I'm just waiting for my mommy to go to sleep," she told him quietly.

"Okay. I wish I were there with you. Be careful. Do you think you can sneak out to come here," Wilson asked her. "What if I come get you?"

"I think it's too dangerous."

"Not if I take the back streets. Find out what you can and I'll call you if I make it there," Wilson told her.

"Wil, it's too dangerous. Just go back and change things to make it right. I want to be with my mom as long as I can," she begged him.

"I understand. I'll see you soon. Call me if anything goes wrong," he told her.

"I will."

"Halle, I love you," Wilson whispered shyly.

"I love you too, Wilson," she told him back.

After all they'd been through they could have been together for a lifetime by now. But she knew that she did love him. And she knew he loved her too.