Rachel barely realized the words had left her lips. “The antique watch—”
“Antique watch?” Her father rubbed his chin.
You wouldn’t understand. “Never mind.” Rachel felt depressed.
“You mean this watch?” Virginia held it up in the air by the chain.
“Yes!” Rachel was startled. “Where was—”
“It was around your neck when I found you. I removed it after we got to the emergency room, so it wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle.”
Edwin looked at the clockwatch. “An odd watch, that’s for sure. Where on earth did you get it, Rachel?”
She practically yanked the watch from his hands. “I found it in the attic.” Or it found me is more like it.
“Looks pretty old. Could be valuable, if you decide to sell it on eBay or something.”
“I think I’ll just hang on to it for now,” she told him.
Rachel opened the case and saw that the clock was ticking. The date on it was the same as just before she felt dizzy and saw Brooke fading away: June 26, 2011. Had she imagined the whole bit about traveling to the past? Or had this watch somehow really made it happen with a purpose in mind before bringing her back to the present?
Rachel had to believe none of it was real. After all, if it had happened, Brooke would be alive today instead of trapped in the past forever.
The thought of what might have been stayed with Rachel as she was discharged and forced to return to reality and normal teenage problems, such as avoiding going to stay with her grandmother this summer. This, in turn, made her remember the summer ten years ago when she had visited Nana. If only Brooke had come too, she might not have met the fate that awaited her.
But nothing could be done to change the past.
Or could it?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Duncan McClure was at work when he heard that his girlfriend Rachel had hit her head and was taken to Willa Hills Medical Center. By the time he got there, he was told she’d already been released and it was nothing more than a mild concussion. Since she did sometimes seem to have two left feet, he figured this was bound to happen sooner or later. He was glad she wasn’t seriously hurt.
Duncan hopped into his Volkswagen Jetta and headed over to Rachel’s house. The two had hit it off right away after discovering each other existed at last year’s high school Christmas jamboree. He loved Rachel and felt the feelings were mutual. He didn’t exactly know what the future had in store for them, but was willing to go with the flow.
A lot would probably depend on whether they both ended up at different colleges or if he was left behind in Lake Melrose working in the family landscaping business. This had sort of been the plan all along, but plans were meant to be changed.
Duncan hoped Rachel would still be his girlfriend no matter what happened after high school. They still had time to work with...
* * *
Rachel was glad when Duncan showed up and planted a quick kiss on her lips. It wasn’t that she hadn’t expected him to come, but most guys weren’t very reliable when it came to showing their concern through actions and not just words. Maybe she and Duncan really did see eye to eye on the important things in life.
“You’ll do almost anything to stay home this summer.” Duncan gave her his trademark half grin as they stood on the porch. He was over six feet tall with a well-developed upper body, both of which attracted Rachel to him. She was still trying to get used to the buzz cut hairstyle he’d had for the past two weeks.
“Wouldn’t you?” she challenged him, knowing full well her mishap was anything but deliberate. If nothing else, at least she’d ended up with an antique pocket watch for her strange ordeal. She had put it in her desk for safe keeping.
“Yeah, I suppose,” he said. “But hitting your head may not be the smartest way to do it.”
Rachel couldn’t agree more. As it was, since returning from the hospital, her father and stepmom had been strangely silent about her planned summer trip. Maybe they had taken pity on her and changed their minds about her going to stay with Nana. If so, Rachel would count her blessings and start making new plans to spend as much time with Duncan this summer as she could, without making him feel she was being too clingy.
“Let’s go in the backyard,” she suggested. “It’ll give us more privacy to talk.”
“Cool.”
They sat on an Adirondack loveseat.
Duncan put his arm around Rachel. “If my dad was here right now, he’d say this yard would be perfect if you planted some orchid primrose and maybe some African valerian.”
Rachel was suitably impressed, but couldn’t resist a comeback. “Good thing your dad’s not my boyfriend. Otherwise I just might care.”
Duncan chuckled. “Got it. No more shop talk.” He regarded her. “So what happened to you today?”
She tensed. “Let’s see...where do I begin?”
“How about at the beginning?”
Rachel took a deep breath and recounted her incredible dream of traveling back in time and reuniting with Brooke and her mother and saving Brooke’s life—before it had all ended too soon, as far as she was concerned.
“That is wild.” Duncan shook his head in disbelief. “And all that after you got popped on the noggin.”
“I even talked to you in the dream,” Rachel told him.
“Really?”
“Well, it was you and wasn’t you. It was a much younger version and you almost hit me with your bicycle.”
“I’m glad I didn’t.” His head tilted slightly as he grinned. “I admit that I did have my fair share of bikes as a kid—and a few fender benders along the way, as I recall. If I had seen you, I probably would’ve had trouble concentrating on what I was doing.”
She giggled. “Come to think of it, you were a bit starry-eyed in the dream.”
“Can you blame me?” He studied her face. “Look at you. You’re beautiful.”
Rachel blushed. He was the first guy who ever told her that—and for the umpteenth time! It made her feel good and happy he was her boyfriend, since she liked his looks just as much.
“I wish you could have known Brooke,” she said, deflecting attention from herself. “Especially when she was sixteen. I think I probably inherited everything you see from her.”
“Wow. That dream must’ve really played with your head.” Duncan tugged on his chin. “Your sister was definitely all that, from the pictures I’ve seen. But you’re not her and she’s not you.”
We’re still forever linked to each other and now in a new almost surreal sense. The dream, compelling as it was, made certain of that.
“It’s not like I want to take her place or anything,” Rachel told him. “I’m happy with who I am. Most of the time anyway.”
“Even if your sister was alive today, I think she might be a little too old for me at what, twenty-six? That’s not to say she wouldn’t find me pretty irresistible, though.”
“How could she not?” Rachel rested her head on his shoulder. In truth, she wasn’t really sure about Brooke’s taste in guys, vaguely remembering her dating one guy against their parents’ wishes. Rachel imagined that Brooke would have seen the same things she did in Duncan, had she been given the chance.
Rachel was more concerned about competition in the real world. If Duncan did go off to college, would she be all but forgotten once he was surrounded by those older, smarter, maybe more beautiful college girls?
It was something she didn’t really want to think about at the moment, at least not while she was the center of Duncan’s attention. And vice versa.
That is, when she wasn’t having dreams about her dead sister coming back to the land of the living.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The following day, Rachel felt little effect from hitting her head and her imagined time travel trip. She had avoided the attic, not quite ready to visit the scene of the incident. At the same time, she was thankful for the experience. After all, it wasn’t every day she got to sp
eak again to Brooke face-to-face, voice-to-voice in a virtual real life. Nothing could compare to that. Though the exchanges were not always pleasant, they had given Rachel a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step into the world of her sixteen-year-old sister before it ended all too soon.
By the time her dad got home from work, Rachel had managed to keep the peace with Virginia. Her stepmother had not been her usual crabby self, which had Rachel wondering how long it would last.
Best enjoy it while I can.
“Feeling better today?” Edwin asked, standing just inside her room.
Rachel sat up on the bed. If I am, does it mean it’s time to be carted off to Nana’s?
“I’ve all but forgotten I even had a headache,” she said truthfully. “And the scratches and bruises on my arms and legs are starting to heal.”
The dream would be much harder to let go of and Rachel wasn’t sure she wanted to.
“Well, that’s good.” He paused. “Virginia and I need to talk to you about something. Why don’t you come downstairs?”
Uh-oh, here’s where the kid gloves come off and my prearranged schedule is put back on track.
“Okay.” Rachel’s thoughts of long summer days and nights with Duncan seemed to be about to go out the window.
Her dad and stepmom were sitting in the living room when she walked in. Rachel sat across from them and braced herself for the verdict.
Edwin’s brow furrowed. “You really had me worried yesterday, Rachel. After losing your mother and Brooke, well—” He choked back the words. “Anyway, Virginia and I have been thinking that maybe you should spend your last summer in high school at home with your friends.”
“Cool.” Rachel was elated, but wondered what the catch was. She looked from her father to stepmother and back again, sensing something was up.
“Virginia’s been getting on me for the last five years about going on our long overdue honeymoon.” Edwin glanced at Virginia. “And I think maybe the time is right.”
Rachel was curious and shocked at the same time. “When would you go—and where?”
“We’re going to Cancun next month,” Virginia said excitedly.
“For how long?” Rachel gazed at her dad.
It was Virginia who responded. “Two weeks. I’d rather go for at least a month, but you know your father—he’s got to get back to the job.”
Rachel had mixed feelings about the trip. She wanted her dad to be happy and he definitely deserved a vacation. But another part of her regretted that the woman accompanying him was not her mother. It was painful to think she was no longer there, though seeming so very real just a day ago.
“So does this mean I get to stay home alone?” The mere thought of having no supervision for two long weeks filled Rachel with glee.
“Not exactly,” Edwin said. “Virginia suggested Nana should come and stay with you while we’re gone. I thought it was a great idea and so did Nana.”
So much for my grand scheme. Rachel pouted. “It’s not that I don’t love Nana, but I’m sixteen and can take care of myself for two short weeks.”
“That’s not the point,” he told her. “You still need adult supervision. And your grandmother could use a break from her normal routine. This seemed like the best thing all around, unless we took you with us—”
“I don’t think so.” Accompanying her parents on their romantic getaway was not exactly Rachel’s idea of a vacation. She tried to picture her dad and Virginia parading across the beaches of Cancun in skimpy swimsuits. Eww!
“Then it’s settled.” Virginia put her hands together. “You get to stay in Lake Melrose this summer and we’re off to Mexico for a much needed vacation. Everyone wins.”
“I agree,” Edwin said.
All in all, Rachel could hardly argue. She was getting what she wanted and would not have her parents around for two whole weeks. Since Nana was starting to get up there in years, Rachel was happy to be able to spend time with her at home, but was looking forward even more to having some semi unrestricted fun and freedom.
“Well, it looks like I get to unpack.” She cracked a smile and looked at her stepmother. “But I’d be happy to help you pack your and dad’s bags.”
Virginia chuckled. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Can’t say I didn’t try.” Rachel peeked at her dad and he seemed to take it all good-humoredly.
The summer was suddenly starting to look quite promising.
* * *
Three days later, Rachel sat in the booth at Round The Clock Pizza restaurant opposite her best friends Priscilla Fletcher and Tracey Landon. The three had known each other since elementary school and had survived petty misunderstandings and competing for boys.
It was the very same booth Rachel remembered sitting in during the lifelike dream in which she was with Brooke at the old deli, before its renovation and name change. How could something that seemed like it was really happening be nothing more than an overactive imagination?
“This is so cool,” gushed Tracey, studying the gold clockwatch.
Rachel smiled. If it can’t really carry me back in time, I might as well use it to impress my friends.
“It’s definitely not your average watch,” she said, her thin face bordered by long, brown Senegalese twists.
“Where did you say you found it?” Priscilla looked up as she ran her hand through her light blonde bob.
“In my attic. It seemed to come out of nowhere.”
“Ooooh, that’s creepy.” Priscilla made a face. “Maybe a ghost decided you should have it.”
Rachel expected their skepticism, but stuck with her story. “More likely it belonged to someone who lived at the house before us, though I’m not sure how the watch ended up on the floor.” She left out the part about her dream of using the clockwatch to travel back in time to visit her dead sister and mother. Then they’d really think she had gone off the deep end.
“Well whatever way this antique watch ended up in your possession, I think it’s definitely a keepsake,” Tracey said.
Rachel agreed. “My dad thinks I should try and sell it on eBay. Maybe someday I will. For now, I’d like to learn about its history.”
Priscilla twirled the watch on its chain. “Wouldn’t that be cool if you found out it belonged to King Tut or some other historical figure...and was worth like a million dollars?”
“Dream on.” Rachel giggled, taking back the watch. “I’ll settle for sentimental value.” The fact that the clockwatch had been tied to her extraordinary time travel dream made it priceless as far as she was concerned.
Tracey sipped her Diet Coke. “If you play your cards right, Duncan will be buying you modern day watches for years to come...and maybe even a ring or two—”
It was a nice thought, but Rachel downplayed it. “I think I’ll just wait to see what happens with us this year, before I look too far down the line.”
“Good idea.” Priscilla put on lip gloss. She was currently juggling two guys and had an interest in a third; whereas Tracey had just broken up with the supposed love of her life and was still hurting. “We’re all way too young to get caught up in that trap only to have our hopes crushed.”
“Doesn’t have to be a bad trap, if he’s a good guy,” Tracey said. “You know that old saying: hope springs eternal.”
The word eternal stuck out in Rachel’s mind. She wondered if in some strange way, time itself was eternal so that no time ever truly ended.
When their pepperoni pizza came, so did three bottled waters.
It was upon grabbing her bottle that Rachel remembered Brooke had handed her such a bottle in her dream in this very building. Brooke had more or less accepted it as proof Rachel really had come from the future. Was it an indication she had actually traveled back in time? Or was it just part of the bizarre nature of the dream, blending real and false things so one could not tell the difference?
Rachel had not returned to the attic since she hit her head, so she didn’t know if the water
bottle was still on the windowsill. If so, it would prove the whole thing was simply a dream. But what if the bottle wasn’t there? Then it might just confirm there was much more to this than the effects of a mild concussion.
She practically flew up from the table, causing it to shake.
“What’s wrong?” Tracey looked up with alarm.
“I have to go,” Rachel told them.
“But you haven’t even eaten any pizza!” Priscilla’s arched brows lowered.
Rachel solved that problem by lifting a slice from the pan. “So I’ll eat on the way home. I have to check on something important.”
“What could be more important than us?” Tracey asked, pouting.
“Maybe nothing,” Rachel admitted. “I’ll explain later.”
Before her friends could say anything else, she ran out. Rachel’s heart was pumping hard, as if her whole future—or past—rested upon a bottle of water.
CHAPTER NINE
Rachel raced past Virginia and heard her say curtly, “Hello to you, too.”
There would be plenty of time to exchange greetings later. Right now Rachel was on a mission as she mounted the stairs two at a time. She reached the second floor and ambled down the hall to the utility room.
After pulling down the stairs, Rachel hesitated. She was as fearful of what she might find as she was hopeful.
She went up to the attic, careful to make sure she didn’t fall and hit her head, if that was truly what happened the last time she was there.
Rachel passed by the familiar boxes stacked high, unlike in the dream. She went over to the window where she’d set the water bottle that day before things got crazy.
It was not there. A surge of excitement coursed through Rachel.
Did I really get whisked to 2001 and an encounter with Brooke? Was this the proof?
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