I laughed. I laughed hard. Tears were forming in my eyes. This James Ryder lookalike is a real comedian. The three men looked at me like I was a crazy person. Maybe I was getting a little crazy. I think its reasonable after what I experienced.
"Okay, that's pretty good! You got me! I'm totally punked!" I giggled. My laughter ceased when I saw his solemn face. "I mean... come on. You can't be serious?"
"Believe me, I am." Mr. Lookalike crossed his arms across his chest.
"You can stop the act right now, okay? I'm convinced, hands down to you. You would make a perfect James Ryder. You got his looks and I guess the talent too."
"No ones acting here, alright? Believe it or not, I am James Ryder and you are in my home trespassing. If you think acting clueless makes you get out of things, you're not fooling anyone. So, I'm going to ask again. How the hell did you get into my property?"
I stood there frozen. The guy was scowling at me; breathing heavily. It's almost like he's being serious. It was almost believable. I glanced at the two other men and their eyes showed pity and confusion. Scanning the whole room if there was a camera insight. There wasn't.
They can't be serious, right?
My hands started fidgeting. I clenched my hands into fists trying to stop the rising anxiety. There was a newspaper on the table and I quickly snatched it.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" I ignored him and focused on the paper in my hands. I looked at the date and February 10, 1955 was written on it. My hands were trembling as I read the news. The year 1955 keeps showing on every page. Then, my eyes wandered again in the room. That's when I noticed the interior of the house is different from the modern designs I know. Walls covered with red wallpaper. Windows closed by striped drapes. There was a piano at the far end with a stand lamp beside it. A huge white couch behind me with a matching recliner. The guy's furniture are like the ones you see in vintage stores. Their clothes were like the ones I saw in old films. Mr. Lookalike was wearing a white T-shirt tucked-in to his blue jeans. Martin was wearing, long sleeved polo shirt with a vest on and a red tie, brown flannel pants and shiny black shoes same thing with George but he didn't have a tie and vest on. Everything screams 1950s.
"No, no, no...," I murmured to myself. I dropped the newspaper and it landed on my feet. My lungs constricting as I find it hard to breathe. "This is impossible. This can't be real. This has to be a dream! A hallucination! It has to be! It has to be..."
"What are you on about now?" His eyes narrowed at me. His gaze softened seeing my panic stricken state. "Are you feeling alright?"
My emotions are all over the place. I couldn't hear what he was saying. All I could hear is the loud ringing in my ears and my thumping heart. My vision started to blur and I tried to find something to lean on as my knees weakened. Muffled voices neared me and I backed away trying to get some space. I was breathing heavily and clutched my chest to calm my wild beating heart. My body couldn't take it anymore and it shut down. Before my body could hit the wooden floor, someone caught me just in time. I raised my eyes and they connected with a pair of worried green eyes. An urgent voice was the last thing I heard before darkness took over.
I didn't know how long I was out. I could hear people whispering and having a silent conversation. Slowly, I opened my eyes and was met with the cream colored ceiling. My hands wandered on the soft blanket beneath me and realized I was lying on a bed. A very soft bed. Moving my head to the side, Mr. Lookalike was leaning by the window and was intently listening to someone.
He felt my gaze on him and his eyes turned towards my direction. Mr. Lookalike stood away from the window and came up to me.
Maybe I should stop calling him Mr. Lookalike since he is James Ryder.
He stood next to the bed and leaned down. My cheeks flushed when he softly brushed away the small strands of hair on my forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
I was swooning over his deep and husky voice. I can't believe I am meeting James Ryder. The James Ryder, Hollywood's bad boy.
"Y-Yes." I croaked. I cringed on my voice. It sounds like a frog on crack.
"You must be thirsty. Here, drink this." he reached for the glass of water by the bedside table. I sat up and thanked him. I greedily drank the water and gave back the empty glass.
"Say it." Martin said sternly at James Ryder. "Now."
He sighed and his eyes were on me. "If... you fainted because I raised my voice, I want to apologize for that. My temper sometimes gets the best of me."
"It's alright. I felt a little overwhelmed from everything. I'm sorry if I cause so much trouble." I apologized.
"You're no trouble but you did scare us a bit there. Good thing Dr. Stevens has an open schedule so we're able to call him." Martin smiled. George was standing next to him. He addressed me with a slight nod.
"Good morning, Grace. My name is Dr. John Stevens." Dr. Stevens appeared in my line of vision and stood next to James Ryder. He's most likely to be in his early fifties. He gave me a kind smile as he stares down at me and was wearing an all white uniform with a stethoscope around his neck. His uniform reminds me of the doctors in horror movies. The crazy ones in a haunted asylum.
"I beg your pardon?" Dr. Stevens furrowed his eyebrows. My eyes widened that I might have said my thoughts out loud.
James Ryder stifled a chuckle and turned his face away from the doctor. His reaction clearly means I did say it out loud. He cleared his throat and replied. "She said she feels a little dizzy."
Thank you James Ryder for saving me from embarrassment!
Dr. Stevens nodded understandingly. "Ah, I see. It's a common reaction when your body is experiencing exhaustion. Now, may I ask how you injured yourself? I examined your knee and your wound looks like it got cut but they told me they found you in the pool and there isn't in the pool that is made out of glass."
"It's because I broke my car window and my jeans got caught on the broken glass." I explained.
"So you drove here, broke your window, came to the house and jumped to the pool? I'm sorry but that's very confusing and I don't see any car other than Mr. Ryder's."
"No, that's not what happened." I played with my fingers. A habit of mine when I'm stressed or nervous. "I... don't know how to explain it to you. I'm having a hard time to even just saying it out loud."
"I understand. Would you like for us to find your family? They must be very worried about you."
Good luck with that. My parents are not even born yet! I thought to myself.
"They live in a very far far away place and it's impossible for you to reach them. No one can."
The doctor hummed in reply. "Well, I do hope they can help you reach out to your family for your sake. Besides exhaustion and her wound, there's no any other problems. So, she should be just fine. Let her rest for a bit. Keep her hydrated and change her bandages. If you need anything else, call me."
"Thanks Doc." Martin shook his hand and escorted him on the way out. George excused himself and said he'll get me more water. That leaves me and James Ryder in the room.
"So..." James Ryder began. He tucked his hands inside his pockets and sat down next to me. His scrutinized gaze making me nervous. "I find it hard to believe that anything you just said are true. Now, I want you to tell me the truth. No more hiding anything. I want the whole picture. Who are you and where did you come from? How did you get here?"
"You're not going to believe me if I told you. You'll think I'm crazy." I answered timidly.
"Try me. I'm all ears."
We sat there in silence for a few good seconds. He raised an eyebrow; telling me to start talking. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay, so... My name is Grace Michaels. I'm 18 years old and I live in Safe Haven, New York and... I don't belong here. What I mean is... I'm not from this time..." I studied his reaction but he has a really good poker face on making it hard for me to read him. He didn't say anything so I decided to continue. "I came from the year 2019. I came from the future. I was driving back home from work when a lightning struck on the bridge. My car swerved and went straight to the river. It was sinking and I tried to get out before I drown. I was dead scared and panicking. I kicked my car window so freakin' hard until I broke it and swam out of the car. Then, I just swam and swam until I got to the surface and it lead me to your pool which is really weird and impossible... I know it sounds super crazy but that's the truth. The whole truth. Somehow I time traveled to your time and if you're thinking why, I don't know. I can't even fully accept that I time traveled and of all places I landed here at your house. But that's how it is. So, that's the whole picture."