Stranded in Bridgeport ~ Chapter 5

Spencer's question was simple but it was lost on me. I had no idea when the last time I traveled. It must have been awhile. Spencer brushed my hair out of my eyes and looked down at me. "Does this mean that your condition is gone?"
"I  really don't know, Spence. Don't you think we should do some sort of test to make sure? I mean, it could be worth our time."
"For now, we should just leave it alone and watch to see if anything happens over the next few weeks. I've been here everyday for a couple weeks now and since you're just starting to get your mobility back, we could let it be for just a bit longer."

Right as he finished his sentence, a pain shot up my leg and I sat up in pain. He grabbed my arm and stood up with a look of panic on his face. "Whats going on?!" He leaned down next to me as my leg started shaking on it's own.
"Either I'm having a seizure or I'm about to travel." I explained to him as calm as I could but the pain wouldn't go away.  He held onto my hands and told me to think about right here, right now. When nothing happened, I relaxed. He picked me up off the couch and I felt better instantly. This was where we went wrong because as I settled down into his arms, I slipped away for the first time in a year.

I woke up in the middle of Bridgeport city. The sky was light and there were only a few people in the park.  I stretched out on my back and attempted to stand up but I couldn't manage to get up. A lady who walked past scowled at me and whispered under her breath. I called out for someone to help me at least stand up. If I could get on my feet, I could walk far enough to sit down somewhere until I found myself back in my own home.

I attempted dragging myself but to no prevail. I closed my eyes and just waited until I heard a pair of footsteps running towards me.
"Ande! Oh my god I've found you!" My dads voice echoed around the park and I knew finally what time I was in. "Why are you on the ground?" I tried once again to inch myself away from him.
"Sir I don't know who you are!"
"Ande...You know me. It's dad..." I bit my lip. I needed something to get me out of this mess I was in. The clouds billowed in the sky as it began to sprinkle. It was the day years ago that my dad found me in Bridgeport. I was alone in that ally searching for some food.  It was the worst and best day of my life.

I looked up at him as his relieved look turned to confusion. "Ande, she told me you were skin and bones, covered in blood. You look fine. Are you okay?"
"Dad, I need to talk and you need to listen. I am your daughter but I'm not the one you're looking for."
"I only have two daughters and Eden is at home. And that's where you'll be soon enough!"
"Dad, I'm from the future. I'm not even sure what year it is. I swear I can prove it to you...I know where Ande is."
"So get up and show me!"
I reached my hand out to him and he pulled me up. I was very unstable but I could walk for the most part.

"What happened? How is it that you can...you know?"
"I don't even know." I said, watching my feet so that I didn't stumble and fall on the hard sidewalk. "Pretty soon you'll discover that it started in the middle of this 'trip'. I have just a few things to tell you. Ande is really weak. There is a lot that happened and you need to make sure doctor Spencer pays a lot of attention to the scars on her back." I turned around and grabbed his shoulders. "You have to listen close now. Ande was raped multiple times. She's going to have a baby. Everything is in her diary and you'll find it all there." I turned around and began to scuffle along again.

I could hear how scared he was from the way he was breathing. He was attempting to put aside all of the things I told him about what happened to me so long ago. I tried not to give too much away because I've seen the movies about all the time travelers and things could really end up messed up if I talk to much to him. Instead, while the rain was making it hard to see and move, I took him to the ally I remember so perfectly because of its occurrence in so many of my dreams. I saw my own figure laying in that ally and as soon as he saw it too, he pointed at me and told me to stay where I was until he was sure that I was telling the complete truth.

I walked away before he got to the end of the ally. I didn't need this part of my life back in my mind. I knew that as soon as he picked me up, I would say one word and be lost to this world for months. I didn't need to see that kind of suffering now so I slowly made my way to somewhere warm. I needed something to wrap around myself to brush away the coldness but there was nothing so I stood in an empty laundry mat in nothing but my underwear while my clothes dried.

When I was finally able to put my warm clothes back on, the rain had not yet subsided. I spent almost 4 more hours in the laundry mat waiting for it to stop. It was dark by the time I was finally ready to leave. That was also about the time my legs decided to give out and I toppled on the floor hard. I tried to push myself up for an hour before I gave up and closed my eyes for a forced nap.

"Oh my god. Ande!" I heard Spencer's voice before I saw him. Before I knew it, I felt his hand on my arm, pulling me up gently. "Where have you been?"
"Bridgeport." I said into his ear as he lifted me up onto the couch. "It's only been a couple days, why do you sound so worried?"
He looked at me with question in his eyes "It's been longer then that. You've been gone for weeks."

Something brand new ~ Chapter 4

Spencer arrived at the hospital about an hour after he said he would. I could hear him from downstairs talking to Laura, the nurse.
"Where is Ande at?" He asked her, pushing open the door to the hospital.
"I helped her into the bathroom about 20 minutes ago. She's in the tub relaxing." She sighed and sat her book down on the counter. "She's in a whole lick of pain and I thought that the water would help with that."
"Will you go help her out and dressed so I can check on her?"
"Of course. I'll let you know when she's done."

I heard Laura coming up the stairs and promptly pulled a towel from the side of the tub and wrapped it around myself. She opened the door with a whole new stack of dry, warm towels and helped me out.

About 15 minutes later I found myself in the downstairs lobby with Spencer next to me. He didn't look real great but he was overly worried about me.
"How are you feeling? Have you had much overbearing pain?"
"It was worse when I called you. It's really starting to die down."
"That's a good sign. We can probably get started with physical therapy in about a week or so. We just need enough time to be sure the pain has gone away completely."
"Thank goodness..." I sighed with relief as I laid my head back on the chair and closed my eyes as I felt more of the pain rush away from me.

~Two weeks later~

"Alright Ande." Spencer said, holding out his hand to her so that she could grab it for support. "Are you ready to walk after almost a year?"
"You have no clue!" I gushed as I grabbed his hand and he lifted me out of the chair. My feet touched the floor and only a little feeling shot up through them. Spencer did tell me how hard it was going to be to wake them up from their sleep.

"I'm going to hold onto your shoulders and you try to walk forward." He wrapped his arms around hers for extra support just in case she fell.
I took my very first step in about a year and suddenly, I yearned for more. I wanted to run and jump but I couldn't. All I could do was move a half step forward. I started to laugh as i stretched my leg out in front of me.

Spencer didn't warn me before he let go, he just did it. It was exhilarating. Putting one foot in front of the other. I finally felt free of the prison I was subjected to for so long. My body was aching for more. For more strength to push into my legs. And that's when I fell.

I fell so hard that the breath was knocked out of me. Spencer pulled me off of the ground and put me back in my chair. "I really think that's all for today, Ande. I don't want you to get hurt or excited. This is just the first step to bringing back what you had before and one day won't do that for you." He smiled shyly at me and I grabbed his hand again.
"Are you okay, Spencer?" I looked at him and felt a frown appearing on my face. "You seem really down lately."
"Eh, I've just been overly tired. I've been working double time and it's exhausting."
"Is that all? Nothing else?"
"That's really all it is."
"You always seem so...sad. Did something happen with Ella?"
"Well, if you count breaking up and then calling me a billion times  to tell me how much she hates my guts." He laughed sourly. "I don't ever pick up. I just let it ring and she rants on my voicemail."
"It sounds to me like she's the one who needs help."
"What about you, Ande. Why are you always so happy? How do you go through life with what happened and always have a smile on your face?"

 I laughed. Noting now that I almost never smile these days except when I'm around Spencer.
"You just don't see the dark side of me. When I'm with you, I remember there is a hope that I'll be normal again. That alone makes me smile." He pulled me up out of my chair again. I had little say in what happened but he hugged me so tight that I felt squished but as soon as he let me go, he pressed his lips to mine. I held back at first but then realized how good it felt and I kissed him back. I realized that this was probably just out of lonely pity for himself but I didn't care and neither did he.

The weird thing is that it actually didn't end. His presence was suddenly something I was used to every morning and every night. He never wanted to be away from me and I never wanted him to leave. We never even talked about it. It just happened and everyone on the island knew what was going on when even we didn't quite get it.

 One night while we were watching a romantic movie about a time traveler and his wife, Spencer looked at me with utter confusion and asked:
"When was the last time you traveled?"