Present Drifter

Chapter 10

William and Ryder happened almost consecutively. I barely made it a day before I was launched back in time again. It's been a week now since I was thrown into the wild west and honestly, I'm kinda aching to travel again.

Ryder's been on my mind non-stop since I got back and it sucks. I haven't seen Daxon since he came over last week. Falling for Ryder has made getting dumped so much more difficult. My motivation to get out of bed has almost completely disappeared. I feel like I've somehow lost three guys even though they're all just different versions of the same guy.

The wild west has left me with a new addition of questions. It bothers me that Victoria's name was the same. That and the fact that I'm pretty sure I was poisoned and I only drank two things that night, one of which was her weird drink. That guy who shot me with William was with her too. I didn't see him until the fight broke out. Maybe he poisoned me?

I've figured out that I travel back when something happens that is related to the past life. I traveled back to 1890's after Victoria mentioned Huckleberry Finn and William gave me that book. The wild west happened after I heard the sound of horses running and I ended up riding a horse on multiple occasions. It's almost as if my subconscious sends me back when something reminds it of one of my past lives.

Getting back to the present is different though. In 1890, I was shot. In the wild west, I believe I was poisoned. In both, I died. And if my theory is correct, that the guy who shot me also poisoned me, then I've been killed by the same person.

These are the kind of haunting thoughts that have kept coming up this past week. I haven't made any plans since the breakup and have lacked the motivation to do anything but lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. That past time leaves a lot of time to contemplate my time-traveling adventures and the stupid boys keeping me from getting over Daxon.

My door slowly creaks open, interrupting my looping thoughts. Kenneth pops his small head in through the tiny opening he's created, staring at me from across the room. I smile at him, trying to hold in a laugh. His face remains emotionless as he contemplates what he wants to say.

"Hey there bud," I say while sitting up in my bed so I can see him better. My hair falls down the side of my face, a mess of morning tangles. Kenneth awkwardly looks away from me for a moment.

"Uhm, well I was wondering," Kenneth starts. He looks around the room nervously while he pauses. "I was wondering if you would help me set up for my party tomorrow"I smile at him when he finally looks me back in the eyes. It's so sweet that he asks.

"Yea! Of course," I respond enthusiastically. "I'm going to change and I'll be down in a sec, okay?"

Kenneth gives me a small nod in response, a grin on his face. A moment later, I hear his light footsteps thud down the stairs.

Tomorrow we're celebrating Kenneth's eighth birthday. My mom has invited a small group of kids from his school that he's mentioned. When I was his age I always begged for a huge party, but with Kenneth's social anxieties, we've planned a smaller celebration. A pile of decorations my mom bought covers our kitchen table at the moment.

It's almost ten I realize as I pick up my phone for the first time all morning. My mom probably left for work a couple hours ago. She asked me a couple days ago to help set up for Kenneth's party today because she wouldn't be home much. It makes sense. The weekdays are always jam packed for my mom.

I slowly make my way down the stairs after I get ready. Kenneth sits at the head of the dining room table, his feet dangling below him. He's focused on a small plastic treasure chest that he seems to have pulled out of one of the decoration bags. He opens and closes it slowly, an amused smile on his face.

"What do you wanna start with?" I ask. I move towards the side of the table and slightly open one of the bags to see what random items my mom has brought for us to put together.

"Uhm," Kenneth mumbles, looking up from the chest and at the other decorations. He stumbles out of his chair plopping to the floor with a soft thump. Slowly, he walks around looking at each bag. When he gets to the other side of the table, he pulls one bag from off of a large white cardboard box, revealing what looks to be a cardboard pirate ship we'll have to build.

"This," he exclaims, pointing at the box with a grin. I force a pained smile onto my face knowing there's a high chance that this things breaks because of me.

"Well we better get started then," I say, secretly trying to tell myself that it can't be that hard to set up a decoration meant for a kids birthday party. Right?

Wrong. I last about an hour before my frustration tempts me to chuck the cardboard pieces over the fence. My head plops into my hand as my last attempt falls to the ground in front of me. Kenneth stares at me from the other side of our sunken ship, his lips pressed together in confused disappointment. His head tilts to the side as he looks at the 2-d ship that lays on the ground.

My eyebrow raises as I watch him grab the top of the ship and pull it to the side of the yard where he props it up against the fence. It's not what it was supposed to be, but honestly that's probably as good as it will get. Kenneth stares at his accomplishment with a smile. I walk over to stand next to him, gently ruffling his hair as I come to a stop.

"Perfect," I say in admiration. "Glad someone here knows what they're doing."

Kenneth looks up at me from the corner of his eye and gives me a big smile. I kneel down and wrap my arms around him, gently picking him up and snuggling my face into his shoulder. A squeal of happy giggles escape from his mouth. He scrunches his nose at me in frustration when I set him down. I'm glad he's happy.

After that we grab lunch, and then spend the next few hours getting decorations actually set up. We stuff goody bags with all those cheesy gifts like bubbles and candy. We fill balloons, taking time to abuse the helium and its power to make you sound like a chipmunk. And we hang up streamers, cover the backyard with those plastic treasure chests, and hide a larger chest with chocolate coins inside for the treasure hunt.

We stand by the back door when we finish, scanning the yard admiring our work. Kenneth seems happy, at least I hope he is. Everything in me wants to give this kid the world. For now, I'll just have to settle for the best eighth birthday ever.

"Hey dorks," Victoria cuts in. Kenneth and I both quickly look at the gate into our backyard when she talks. I was not expecting her to come over.

"Uhm hey," I say, a little confused. She makes her way over to us, smiling at Kenneth and then looking back up at me.

"I'm taking you out," she explains.

"Huh?"

"I'm taking you out," she repeats.

"Where?"

"To par-tah," she says, dramatically enunciating the word. Besides me, Kenneth let's out a big sigh and then goes inside.

"A party?" I question, antsy about going out.

"Yea, you haven't been out since you and Dax broke up," she justifies.

"It's been a week." I defend. Victoria cocks her eyes at me in annoyance. Clearly not caring about the short time frame. "What if he's there."

"If he is, he'll be drooling because you're going to be looking so hot." That comment makes me laugh. I roll my eyes and look at her, a grin teasing at my lips.

"Fine," I give in. Guess I'm going to a party.

But I will be getting my own drink this time.