Both the doctor and Ben looked to each other as if they were now dealing with a crazy person. My blood started to boil.
“When did this happen?” Ben asked skeptically.
“I don’t know, a week ago. I don’t even know what day it is, but that’s when I hit my head.”
“Darling”—Ben was trying to be soothing now—“you haven’t been gone for a week. We found your bike yesterday. It was by the side of the road but you were nowhere in sight. If you’d been hit, you would have been badly injured and not able to walk away as you did. Your groceries were left scattered across the street. A man driving by found your phone under one of the plastic bags and called my number because you’d listed it in your emergency contacts. That’s how we knew you were in trouble.”
“I was zapped into another time. I wasn’t just in trouble, I vanished. It was 1854 and I stayed in Dormer House. I could even tell you the name of their butler.”
Ben shifted uncomfortably.
“Maybe time works differently there.” Even to my own ears the possibility sounded far-fetched. Still, I wasn’t ready to give in and it was exhausting trying to convince them.
“Temporal lobe seizures affect your memories and you can often have vivid dream-like sequences that feel very real. You may also experience many déjà vu moments.” The doctor was trying to help me understand. “But it doesn’t mean these things actually happened.”
“But I know they did.” Tears of frustration stung my eyes but I blinked them back. No one here believed me.
“It can certainly feel that way,” the doctor said. “The drugs we have you on will help with these symptoms and we’re hopeful that if you respond to them you won’t need surgery.”
Nothing made sense anymore. How had an entire week just not happened? Henry. My gut twisted at the loss of him. He had touched my soul more deeply than I had ever experienced and now I was to believe that that had not happened? That the whole experience was just a symptom of some condition?
The sobs started without warning. My body convulsed with anguish for the loss I felt. Ben tried to put a hand on my shoulders to console me, but I barely noticed it. My skin felt numb with despair. My crying was a slobbery mess, with sharp racking breaths followed by embarrassing moans, the kind where dribble fell from my mouth. I didn’t care that the two men stood staring at me and that more than one nurse came in to ogle. I just didn’t care. My world had fallen apart and I didn’t even have the energy to worry who watched on the sidelines. How could they possibly understand?
“Most people have completely normal lives, Emma. Like I said, you could respond very well with the drugs.” The doctor looked to Ben, who was a bit shell-shocked himself. Ben had seen me cry many times but never completely break down as I was doing.
“I think Em just needs a moment to process all of this,” Ben told the doctor, who nodded in agreement and made a motion to leave before turning back to Ben.
“I’ll let you know when we have all the results from the blood tests,” the doctor said just before closing the door.
Ben looked like he was afraid of me. This was not what he had signed on for.
Eventually, exhaustion took over and I passed out.
Chapter 33
Belong
I woke up to the sound of whispering. When my eyes finally opened, I saw the doctor talking to Ben quietly in the corner.
“What I don’t understand is how she managed to make it all those miles in her condition,” Ben said. “Police had already searched that whole area. It was as if she just appeared out of thin air.”
“Judging by her broken nose, she may have fallen quite hard. Could have been enough to knock her out. I suspect that she felt disorientated, wandered off and then simply collapsed in the field. She may not have been visible from the road. We know how thorough our country coppers can be,” the doctor said with no small amount of English sarcasm. “That would certainly explain why she wasn’t found sooner.”
Ben caught my eye and coughed to alert the doctor that I was listening.
“Oh, you’re awake.” The doctor turned his attention to me.
“What were you guys talking about?”
“I was just mentioning to the doctor how, after you’d fallen, you’d wandered off quite a distance.” Ben looked anxiously to the doctor. “I wasn’t sure how you’d managed that, given your broken nose and apparent disorientation.”
“How far was it?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Nearly ten miles. You were all the way up that ridge by the limestone quarry overlooking Oxwich. Do you know why you were heading that way instead of towards our cottage, which was only a few miles away?”
The only explanation I could come up with I knew they would never accept. Why was I on that ridge? Because I had been running for my life when the world had swallowed me up and spat me back into my own time.
“Ben, I heard you say that the police were looking for me.”
“We were all looking for you,” he cut in.
“How long exactly was I missing?”
“Six hours,” he replied sheepishly. “With the rain and all, we didn’t know which way you’d gone.”
It was as if a small flame had suddenly ignited within me, giving me a sliver of hope where there had been none. That had to be something, right? Ben had said it was as if I had appeared out of thin air. That was how Lord Henry had described it too. I could picture the exact spot on the ridge he was talking about. At the time, the lights of Oxwich had been a welcome sight. How else could you explain why I was found there? I had been there when I crossed back into the future. Maybe I wasn’t crazy.
“The good news is you were found and now you’re free to go.” The doctor was checking his watch as if eager to make his last rounds before he slipped away for the evening. “We have a few test results we’re still waiting on, but you can make an appointment to come in tomorrow and we can go over them in my office. I’ll give you a prescription for some painkillers in addition to your medication. It should ease any discomfort you might be feeling.”
I highly doubt that.
“Okay, you’re sure she can leave?” Ben looked nervous at the prospect of being in charge of me. “You don’t need to keep her for observation?”
I no longer wanted to waste any more time. Where had I really been for those six hours? Did one hour here equal one day there? Did time move at different speeds? All I knew was that there was still a possibility, however slim, that I hadn’t imagined the whole thing. First, I would need some proof. Anything to corroborate my recollections.
Ben was eyeing me as if waiting for me to erupt. I could tell he was worried about bringing me home. Conversations needed to be had, but not here. It would not be easy to break off the engagement. Of course it was the right thing to do, but I hated the idea of hurting him. In the long run I knew it would be for the best. Everyone deserved to be loved. I understood that now.
“No, that won’t be necessary…”
A stout little nurse knocked at the door and popped her head in.
“Ruth!” The doctor waved her in and then turned his attention back to us. “The nurse will go over your medication. I’ll see you tomorrow for your follow up.” Adjusting his files in one hand, the doctor left my room briskly.
“Hello, luv.” Ruth handed me a plastic bag. “Here are your things. Your clothes are a bit torn but I’ve had them cleaned.”
I pulled my white top from the bag and something dropped to the floor with a thud. Ben bent down to pick the object off the floor.
“When did you get this, Em?” He handed it over to me.
It was the black stone necklace that Miss Crabtree had given me. I traced its familiar sharp edges. Now I had my proof. I had traveled to another time. Despite all the evidence against it, it was possible and I was living proof.
“Is it yours?” Ben looked confused.
“No, I borrowed it from a friend,” I said, feeling a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. “I’ll
need to return it.” The meaning of my words was lost on Ben but in my own head the cogs were cracking into gear. “Do you think we could stop in and see Dormer House before going home?”
He gave me a funny look. Maybe walking through, I would find some other bit of proof that I’d been there.
“Why would you want to go there? It’s just ruins. There’s not much to see.” He was in the middle of packing up his bag with his computer and work stuff.
“Dormer House? In ruins?”
“Yes, it burnt down over a century and a half ago. You knew that, Em.”
“Right, of course.” The shock was almost palpable but I didn’t let it show. Something I had done had changed more than just one man’s fate.
What had happened after I’d left?
What had become of Lord Henry?
But the real question which tugged at me with every fiber of my being was…
What was I going to do about it?
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The Wayfarer!
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The Wayfarer: A Time Travel Romance (The Wayfarer Series Book 1) Page 20