In Your Time
Chapter 5

"What the hell?" A voice said from the entrance of the living room. I quickly pulled my shirt down and stood.

"I'll head to bed now," I said to George, completely flustered.

"Grab the ice pack out of the freezer," George said. Braden followed me up the stairs.

"Why do you look like you got beat up?" He asked.

"I can't remember even if I wanted to tell you," I sighed.

"You don't remember how you got bruises that bad?" He asked. I sighed again when I stopped at my door. I just wanted to get out of there. Having Braden Park pre-fame was nerve wrecking.

"I was like this when your parents found me," I snapped. I only realized what I said after the fact.

"They found you?" He asked. I closed my eyes briefly before I turned to face him.

"Yes. I was lost in the park and your parents found me on their walk. My parents are in Australia and they recognized me, so they brought me back here," I covered.

"Do you want to know? Those bruises look pretty serious," he asked. I shook my head.

"I just want to ice this and go to bed," I sighed. Braden nodded before he went to his own room. I sighed and went into my room to ice my bruises and go to bed.

***

The next morning, the Parks let me sleep in. After I got showered and changed, Elizabeth took me to the mall. She seemed really excited. I smiled just watching her. She really must've wanted a girl. She went around excitedly to the different stores picking out clothes for me.

"Braden goes to a private school. I think that's why he's worried about you going. Kids there are different. I mean, you've met my son," she talked.

"He's going to be an exceptional person one day," I smiled lightly.

"I think so too," she smiled and she swiped her card yet again. It was so weird when I saw it the first time. The fact that she even had a card was amazing. I'd heard about them, but in 2026, everything could be accessed by phone, including restaurant menus. It was as easy as sending a text to the kitchen.

"I know it's rough to ask you to go to school in this situation, but if you get into a normal routine, things will feel easier," she explained. I nodded.

"I think normal routine would be good for me too. I got ahold of my parents late last night and they're not sure when they'll be able to make it back. They said it'll be a while and asked if they could trouble you a bit longer," I lied. I knew trying to replace a way back to my own time would take a while, but as long as I was an orphan, the Parks would worry.

"It's no trouble! We're not hurting for anything, and already enrolling you in school anyway. And plus, I've always wanted a daughter and now I think my wish is coming true! Just think of me as your second mom. You could even call me that if you wanted," she smiled happily. I smiled as I nodded. We went around to the different shops before Elizabeth took me to a special shop to get my school uniforms. By the time we got back to the house, we'd been out the whole day. Braden was sitting on the couch on his phone when we got inside. He looked at the two of us before looking back to his phone.

"Ma, you sure do spend a lot of money on a kid that's not yours," he muttered.

"Starting today, I'm adopting Phoenix. She's my daughter now. Well, my second after you," Elizabeth said as she stuck her tongue out at Braden.

"Mom," he said quickly as he set his phone down. She laughed before pulling me up the stairs with all the bags. She helped me put it all away before setting my uniform out for me. The navy skirt, white button up, and red blazer looked nice together. It was also my first time seeing a school uniform in person.

"I'll wake you up for school in the morning and go down to finish up your registration," she offered.

"Thanks, Mom," I said absentmindedly. She paused before she smiled and hugged me tightly.

"I love having you around," she said happily. "If anyone at school questions who you are tomorrow, just say that you're Braden's fiancé," she said before she left the room.

"Okay," I smiled back absentmindedly before the words registered in my brain. I quickly turned and looked at the door she disappeared through.

"Wait, what?"☐☐☐