Reminisce With Me

Chapter 16: Final Mission

Once Helen, Collin and I got back to the firm, I played another round of pool with Nick. I let him win – per usual – as I told him about the future. He didn't ask too many questions about himself, but was more concerned about what movies and video games were out.

"Iron man becomes a movie?" he asked, his eyes so wide and excited, I wished I could take him with me when or if I ever left the past.

"Not just that, the movie Avengers is set to come out in 2012. And in that movie, all the Marvel superheroes are there," I explained as he aimed at the blue stripped ball.

"That's so cool! What else?"

I laughed, ruffling his hair. "It's getting late Nicky. I think we should both head to bed."

Nick and I finished up the last round of the game and he gave me a quick hug before heading to his room. He was such a great kid and I was suddenly concerned about his future and whether he was doing okay. I shook those negative thoughts from my head and opened Helen's door, tip-toing in so I wouldn't wake her up.

I gently closed the door behind me, realizing she was asleep in bed, but felt an ominous presence around me.

We weren't alone.

My fingers searched the wall next to me for the light switch, but it was a lot harder to focus when I could hear the clock ticking in my head. Finally, as I flicked the switch on, I saw a boy who was about a few years older than us, sitting at the edge of Helen's bed. He blinked a few times, the light irritating his eyes. I was stunned to see how blue they were: the ocean in the Maldives.

He looked surprised to see me, untangling his dark curls. I glanced over at Helen, who was sound asleep, and then back at the boy.

I held my hands in fists, hoping he didn't hurt Helen or take advantage of her in any way. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing in here?" I asked, not hiding the anger in my tone.

The boy stood up at once, nervously biting his bottom lip. "It's not what it looks like, I just got to the firm today and came by to see her." He stuttered.

"Don't lie to me," I said defensively. "Get away from her."

He shook his head, walking towards me. "You must be Aubrey. Helen told me a lot about you tonight. Trust me, nothing happened, she was having a hard time sleeping and wanted me to talk to her until she fell asleep." He put his hands up, as if surrendering. "I swear."

I simply watched him and knew in my gut that he was telling the truth. I didn't say anything as he apologized under his breath before walking past me and out the door.

Who was this mystery boy?

***

I tossed a tennis ball in the air and caught it a few times, waiting for Helen to come out of the bathroom. I barely slept last night, my mind wandering to what my Mother had said in the training room about leaving me.

I wish I had tallied the days I was stuck in the past for – like an inmate in their jail cell. But the difference was, inmates normally had a vague idea of how long they are sentenced to prison. My sentence felt like a life time.

Helen walked into the room, grabbing a towel. "I'm going to quickly shower."

I sighed, tossing the ball at her. "Want me to wait?"

She caught it, shaking her head. "No, no. Head downstairs, our first mission is today."

Mission? I thought.

Helen rolled her eyes, expecting this type of reaction from me. "Go find Aiden and Collin in the lobby downstairs. I'll be out in twenty minutes."