“You’ve got to tell me,” Emilia pressed, her voice breaking through my musings. “Where did you find him?”
Grinning, I released a long breath, letting the peace that came with his presence wrap around me. “He’s my fiancé,” I answered, not caring our story was changing once again.
“What?”
Her responding shriek caused everyone in the hall to stop and look at us, the busy motion of the hospital skidding to a stop for half a beat before resuming its usual course.
“That’s not even the half of it,” I muttered in reply, resuming my walking without prompting.
“What’s going on?” Emilia pressed, her eyes darting between August and me as I sat down on the bed and he shut the door behind all of us. “This isn’t the kind of news you would hide from even your parents. How did you two meet, let alone get engaged? I mean, good grief, we live together! I should have heard about this.” Her excitement faded some, the following question appearing to be aimed more at herself than us. “Why have I heard nothing about this?”
August’s eyebrows rose as he walked to my side, laying the bouquet down on the wheeled table beside the wall. “You told her?”
“Not everything,” I muttered. “Only that we’re engaged.”
“What do you mean, ‘not everything?’” Emilia folded her arms, gaze darkening as she watched him take my hand.
“It’s a long story,” I replied, smiling at him.
Gripping his fingers in mine, I relished in being able to openly hold his hand. Everything was so screwed up here, it felt like we were being torn apart when standing right next to each other. The comfort he’d always provided me was still there, but it grew exponentially when we were able to show each other some kind of affection.
Emilia snorted. “I’ve got all day, so start talking. You two have a lot of explaining to do—and I mean everything. How you met, your relationship, the engagement, the accident, all of it.” She sat on the couch, tossing her purse beside her with her coat, crossing her legs, and bouncing a foot in the air in an impatient manner.
August looked to me for confirmation, uncertainty in his gaze. Without speaking, he somehow managed to convey the fear I knew all too well. He was a stranger in this time, forced to decide who he could trust with his truth or not. However, he would tell Emilia the truth if I vouched for her, his reservations aside.
Suddenly, my resolve faded. The air seemed to go stale, and I felt the inside of my mouth drying. Whatever we shared right now was going to change everything. As I pulled away, sucked into my own tunnel of thought, I realized the awful reality of the situation.
I couldn’t tell anyone the truth. Why would I? Everything I wanted was finally in my grasp. My parents were alive, I was in my own era, and August was with me. If I were honest with anyone, it would all go up in flames.
What if this was fate working in my life again? It sent me through the ages to August. Who was to say it hadn’t brought us both back here to live a happy life?
Swallowing hard, I met August’s stare, riddled with confusion.
He misread what I was silently trying to say though, and let out a long breath, closing his eyes for a beat before facing Emilia and resuming his soldier-like posture. When he spoke, it was haltingly and slow, as if he were second-guessing the conversation as well. “My name is August Bancroft, son of Richard Bancroft. My hometown is Syston, in Leicestershire, England. I am a foot soldier—”
“On leave for the holiday to come see me.” Standing as I interrupted him, I squeezed his fingers and stared at him pointedly. Once I was sure my message to him had been delivered, I turned to Emilia. “I didn’t tell you because we met online, and I knew you wouldn’t approve of me going out with someone I’d never seen in person before.”
She pursed her lips, staring at me with a guarded expression. When she said nothing, I continued to scramble, trying to piece together a suitable enough excuse for what was going on.
“We’ve been chatting for about a year,” I told her gently. “I was asking around for a work project and found him on a message board.”
Glancing at him, I smiled, wishing the racing of my heart would slow. I was almost afraid they could both hear it and took a moment to be thankful I wasn’t hooked up to a monitor anymore.
“Yes,” August added with hesitation. “We met . . . Online? Olivia was . . .” Swallowing, he blinked, staring at the wall before sucking in a sharp breath and shaking his head. “She was researching information on a soldier in one of her paintings. I was able to answer some of those questions for her.”
“Right,” I continued. “We didn’t talk for a few weeks after that, but something made me want to get to know him better.”
“And I her.” Smiling, he took my other hand in his, eyes shining with happiness. “Our chance meeting is the single best thing that has ever happened in my life.”
I beamed at the truth hidden among the lies.
Shaking her head, she pointed at me. “What about the crash? How did you go from perfect romance to almost dead in a river?”
“It really was an accident,” I explained quickly. “August and I had a fight.”
“About what?” Standing, she shook her head, obviously unbelieving.
“I asked Olivia to marry me.” August sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed and meeting Emilia’s questionable stare. “And return to England with me.”
She laughed, staring at me as if she expected me to refute it.
Surprised he was able to come up with an excuse so fast, I nodded, going along with it. “I told him I didn’t want to leave Philly. My family and friends are all here and the job I’ve worked so hard for. To give it all up for him would be—”
“Asking too much,” he finished with a soft tone. “And while I do see that now, I did not then. I stormed off into the night and Olivia was forced to come find me. When she spotted me on the bridge, it was at close quarters. She was spooked and slid on the ice, throwing the both of us into the river.”
Emilia shook her head. “No. That story doesn’t add up.” Rising to her feet, she folded her arms. “When did all of this happen? Because you were with me until at least one in the morning. You expect me to believe you snuck out in the middle of the night to meet a man dressed as a Redcoat and got in a fight with him about moving? No.” Pursing her lips, she took a moment to fume. “The two of you are hiding something.”
“I promise you, we are speaking the truth,” August ground out, the lie grating as he expelled it.
“Let me guess, you have no way to prove it,” she countered. “All the messages are gone, right? You want me to take your word for it.”
“Emilia.” Scolding her a small amount, I frowned. “You’re right. We have no proof. You’ll just have to believe us.”
“I know all about your relationship with Olivia,” August offered quickly. “How you were childhood friends, your husband Dan, your son Jacob—”
Emilia held a hand up, her face falling as she stared at him. For a moment, she didn’t move at all. Then, facing me, her tear-filled eyes and trembling lips were revealed. “You told him about Jacob?” she asked quietly. “After everything we went through together? After you swore you wouldn’t breathe a word to anyone else? You told some guy you met online about my private life?”
Thrown off by the unexpected reaction, I gaped at her, fumbling over my words as I tried to figure out why she would be upset by such a thing.
She shook her head, a tear escaping down her cheek. “I trusted you, Olivia. You of all people understand how awful that part of my life was. And not telling me about a guy? I thought we were better friends than that. I’ve shared everything with you because I thought you were doing the same with me.”
Wiping the offending wetness away, she laughed, staring me down. “I guess I should have expected it. You lied and cheated your way out of your parent’s home, stole their money, and dropped them like a hot rock as soon as you didn’t want them anymore. Lying about what’s r
eally going on in your life and talking with someone about how the death of my unborn son drove me to attempt suicide and led to my divorce seems like nothing, by comparison, right?”
It was like the floor had fallen out from beneath me. “What?” I asked breathlessly. “Jacob isn’t here?”
She shook her head, upset and hurt. “Stop it, Olivia.”
“Emilia, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Just stop!” Her voice rose, another tear cascading over her skin. “I’m leaving now, okay? And don’t expect to see me around the house when you get out.” Glaring at August, she sniffed. “I need a little time to process all of this.”
Shoving past both of us, she stalked out into the hallway, letting the door slam shut behind her. The sound echoed, like the final gunshot of a heartbreaking movie.
Flinching, I stared at the abandoned space, tears gathering in my eyes. For a moment, neither of us spoke, the abrupt departure having shocked us both. It was clear we’d touched a nerve, but I had no idea how to try and fix it.
There were more pressing matters to deal with anyway.
Finding my voice, I looked at August, shaking my head. “Something is wrong, August,” I choked out. “Everything she said . . . Jacob is supposed to be alive, and Dan and Emilia aren’t divorced, they’re happily married.”
The warmth of his arms encircled me as he pulled me against his chest, running his fingers through my hair as I wet his shirt with my tears. Saying nothing, he held me, letting me vent out all the emotions the interaction had built up inside.
Sniffing, I pulled away, my mind racing to understand everything my best friend had said. “She said she wouldn’t be at the house? We live together? Do I live in the same place anymore?”
He shrugged, smiling sadly. “I do not know, love. It would seem everything that was once familiar to you has changed in some way. I only wish I knew how to fix it all for you and make it right.”
“I don’t understand,” I persisted, stepping away and folding my arms as I raked over everything. “There’s no way I could have done anything in the past that would have changed this much stuff. My parents are alive when they shouldn’t be, Emilia’s life is ruined when it should be perfect, and I’m apparently an awful person?” Glancing at him, I shrugged. “Have I always been an awful person? Was it only waiting to come out?”
Smiling, he chuckled, drawing me into his embrace. “There is not an awful bone in your body, believe me,” he muttered. Pausing, he seemed to consider his next words, his voice continuing to soothe and comfort me. “Give your friend some distance. She has been worried about you and we inadvertently spoke about something we had no idea was off limits.”
We stood there for a moment, silence encasing us. The enormity of things that could have been changed while I was in the past kept hammering me in the face, though. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get away from it. Somehow, my actions had wrecked my entire life. How? I’d been so careful, so worried about this very thing happening . . .
“We will fix it,” he muttered, kissing the top of my head as he continued to hold me. “If we are to travel again, I do not see why it wouldn’t be to set your life back in order.”
Laughing, I shook my head, closing my eyes as more water spilled from them. “That’s just it,” I muttered. “If we set it right, that means my parents will be dead. They’re alive right now, which feels like a second chance at having them in my life. But Emilia—”
“Has suffered greatly,” he concluded, cutting me off. “I understand.”
“Her entire life has fallen apart,” I amended, glancing up at him. “I could maybe patch things up with her and Dan, but her son is not supposed to be dead. If I stay here and do nothing, she will never have him in her life.”
He paused, frowning as he wiped my face dry. “Are you suggesting remaining here is an option? You are considering letting time remained skewed?”
The whisper pierced me to my core. How would I ever decide what to do? I had everything I wanted now, except for Emilia’s family. It was an impossible conundrum. There was no chance I would be able to decide who should continue living and who should die.
“Yes,” I muttered. “I mean, maybe? Things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be, but what if it’s better this way? I have you here, and my parents. Emilia is still my best friend, and I could work on making things right with her.”
“But her son will continue to be dead.” He didn’t hide the judgment in his words very well, his arms continuing to hold me close.
Groaning, I buried my face in his chest, shaking it, torn. “I don’t know what to do, August.”
“It will not be an easy decision,” he cautioned with care, “but I will stand by you, no matter the outcome. I have believed from the moment I first met you that fate brought us together. For whatever reason, it has deemed you go through this trial, but I will be damned if I let you go through it alone.”
Sniffling as I cried, I hugged him tighter, wishing there was a way to escape the moment and not have to worry about anything. Trying to distract myself, I latched onto the first thing I could think of. “You cut your hair,” I blubbered.
“I did.” He sighed, releasing me to run a hand through the now short locks. “All of the identification Miss Mercer gave me had portraits with short hair, though I am not sure how she managed to get my likeness right on all of them. I suppose she must have remembered from when we met in the past. Do you like it?”
I shrugged, ignoring the reminder of our time traveled state as I touched it. “It looks very nice. Handsome as ever.”
Smiling, he took my hand. “But you liked it better the way it was before.”
Breathing in a shuttered sigh, I smiled. “As long as we’re together, I don’t care if you’re bald. I fell in love with you, not your hair.”
Leaning in, he captured my mouth with his, teeth grazing across my bottom lip as he pulled away. “We will survive this,” he promised me quietly. “Whatever time has decreed we face, we will do so together.”
There were so many things I didn’t know or understand. In my own century, I’d always thought of myself as educated. While there was no expensive schooling given me, I had taken my life experiences and let them lead me down the path of knowledge with the meager amount of teachings I’d received as a child. When I entered the military, I eagerly soaked in everything I could. Combined, it wasn’t much. However, it was enough to give me a sense of security and purpose as I traversed through life.
In this era, I lost all of that. It seemed everything was different, from the buildings people lived in, to the modes of transportation they used. Just this afternoon I’d seen a young boy playing with something that looked like the cell phone I’d been given, only larger. It made gun noises and animal sounds, the laughter breaking from his lips almost maniacal as he went along. Planks with wheels rushed down pathways, some foot powered, some moving of their own volition. Even the footwear appeared to have hidden wheels at times, giving the wearer a sense of weightlessness as they glided past me. Flameless lanterns flickered on unprompted, while slates filled with people beamed out at every interval. The streets were covered with advertisements, some of which also moved or flashed at passersby.
The amount of waste collected around was astounding to me. While the grounds were mostly clean, I did see bits of paper and the strange product my hospital bag was made of—plastic, as Olivia had called it—lodged on the sides of the streets and walkways. Many bins lined the hallways of the hospital, as well as the outside. Sometimes they overflowed with filth, causing me to rethink the number of things I’d used poorly in my own years. The amounts didn’t stack up against what I saw here at all.
Above all, I couldn’t believe the noise that accompanied everything. It was as if mankind had somehow become afraid of silence in the past two hundred and forty years and done everything in their power to eradicate it. Music blared from cars and the moving slates, ringing phones filled the air, horns
sounded every few seconds, and all other sorts of nonsense I hadn’t yet placed.
Perhaps, if I had spent more of the past two days finding my bearings and exploring this place, I would have understood it all better. My time had been spent with Olivia or sleeping, though. As loathed as I’d been to leave her each evening, the hospital workers would not allow me to stay after their visiting hours had ended.
Was that something I’d shared with Charlotte Mercer in the past, prompting her to rent this overly-sized apartment for me?
When I’d first ventured from the Philadelphia Hospital, stumbling into a cab as I’d been instructed, my senses were completely overloaded. Rushing through the streets until I was dropped off at the elegant building I now resided in, my hopes of something familiar were dashed as I walked in and was directed to my room.
Upon entering, I discovered luxury like I’d never known. The entryway was lined with polished floors leading to the main area, where I found expertly arranged furniture, including a writing desk, couches, and table to dine at. Sizable windows covered the far wall, showing off a view of a tree-filled park. To the side, I found a considerable, four poster bed in its own room, with a washroom connected. Only one thing stuck out as peculiar wherever I looked.
There were notes everywhere. As I explored, I found small scraps of paper had been left on objects I didn’t recognize, detailing their use and purpose. Miss Mercer had kindly given me directions on how to order food, what a shower was, and even how to use the moving slate, or “television,” as the note said. I was sure I hadn’t yet discovered all the instructions. However, I found being able to cleanse myself and have a nice meal did wonders for my body as my mind remained with my love through the nights.
Gabriel’s sister had also arranged for Olivia to have some clothes, somehow knowing I would need them at my residence. Unfortunately, this place was the only memory of the meeting I’d had with her, as Olivia was strangely refusing to speak of either of the Mercers as of late.
Abandoning Anarchy (The Lost in Time Duet #2) Page 5
