by Toni Goode
“Hey, move your ass, don’t block the sidewalk you freak!” One rude person said as she quickly moved out of the way. What was happening to her? She looked at her hands, the cuts on them were healing.
The sound of something dropping behind her made her look as she saw an alley. There was an old metal can that had a fire going in it and one person stood there. It was a man and he had a long white beard. He smiled at her and it put a chill down her spine and she quickly turned and began heading down the busy street. Confusion continued to go through her as she looked at the different stores lined up on the street.
She stopped when she heard something on a television. It was a music video, one that she hadn’t heard of in forever. It was Bon Jovi but what had her more confused is that a music video was playing on the television. A television that looked small and old. The logo with the music video was MTV. She got stuck looking at the video, she remembered hearing how MTV used to play actual music videos all the time but when she grew up it was mainly shows playing. This was all too odd for her.
The sound of music coming from another direction made her look as she watched a tall guy walk down the street with a big radio on his shoulder. He smiled at her as he walked past with music blaring. What the hell was going on?
Another sound got her attention, it was yelling as a man and a woman stumbled out of a bar. They were fighting with one another and clearly drunk. The guy had what looked like a suit jacket on, but he wore a t-shirt with it. The girl wore a denim mini skirt and a denim jacket, but her hair was what shocked Briana most of all. Her hair was in a big ponytail that was resting on the side of her head. She pushed the guy who stumbled into the road and he was nearly hit by a car. The girl stormed off, still yelling as the guy stumbled back onto the sidewalk.
Briana kept looking around at all the people. They kept looking her up and down as if she looked strange to them. She glanced down at herself and she finally saw why everyone was looking at her weird. She had blood all over her t-shirt and her jeans. Thankfully at least she wore combat boots, so they didn’t show any blood. She quickly made her way to the bar; she would clean herself up in there and then she would figure out what was going on.
As she entered the bar she was immediately hit with the sound of weird music. The people in this place looked like they were out of a movie. Punk rockers are what they looked like. Spiked colored hair. Fingerless gloves. She felt like she was in a weird retro movie from like the 80’s or early 90’s. Her mother used to make her sit through countless retro movies. She hated all of them but now she wished her mom was there to explain all of this to her.
“Now aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” A short guy with a mohawk came over to her and grinned big. “Whatcha drinking?” He winked at her.
“Nothing actually, excuse me.” She said as she went to walk past him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm as she spun around.
“You don’t have to be rude about it!” He kept his grip on her arm and she looked down at his hand, then she looked up at him.
“Remove your hand from me or else.” She warned him, and he rolled his eyes. That was all that she needed as she quickly grabbed his arm and swung him around so that his chest was pressing into the bar with his hand held roughly behind his back. The bartender ran over, and a lot of people looked in her direction. She suddenly felt like she was suffocating.
“Hey is everything ok?” The young bartender asked as she quickly let go of the man’s arm.
“She’s crazy!” The guy yelled as he backed up from her.
“Yeah well by the looks of it, you deserved it. Are you sure you’re ok Maam?” The bartender asked.
“Yeah I just. I need the bathroom.” She said quickly as anxiety began to take her over and the bartender pointed across the bar to the bathrooms. “Thanks.” She said as she took off for it.
People stared at her as she quickly made her way into the bathroom. Her heart was racing dangerously fast and she tried to remember her breathing technique that John had showed her. She could really use him right now she kept thinking as she pulled her bloody t-shirt off. It left her in a black tank top. She didn’t care, she used the bloody t-shirt to wipe down her jeans, thankfully the blood on them was minimal compared to the shirt. She did look crazy though, her hair was an untamed mess and she quickly ran her fingers through it. “What is happening?” She couldn’t help but say out loud. And then she immediately though of John. John, can you hear me? Hello? She got not a word in return. She thought back to Selena, she had done this. Whatever this was. She looked at her wrists and she could still see the rope burn. Was she dreaming? Was any off this real?
The bathroom door opened, and a girl walked in as the music from the bar came into the room. The girl looked at her. She was dressed oddly; she had a shirt on that hung off one shoulder. She wore jeans and socks that were scrunchie like. Her mind immediately went to one of the numerous movies she had watched with her mom. This seemed just like it, like an 80’s movie, but she hadn’t even been born till 1993.
“Take a picture it would last longer.” The girl said with a roll of her eyes and Briana quickly looked away as she looked back at herself in the mirror.
“What is um, todays date?’ She asked before the girl got into the stall.
The girl spun around and looked at her oddly. “You’re so drunk that you don’t know the date?” The girl said sarcastically.
“Yeah I um…I am.” Briana lied.
The girl chewed on her gum almost obnoxiously before she answered, “It’s Friday.” She said as she went to go in the stall.
“No, I need the date and year.” Briana said quickly, and the girl spun around, looking annoyed.
“Seriously?” The girl said with annoyance. All Briana did was shake her head yes. “It’s Friday November 16th, 1990.” She finished as she Briana stood there in shock. “You’re like totally killing my buzz here.” The girl said sarcastically as she got into the stall.
Holy shit. Briana thought to herself. She didn’t know how this could be real, but it definitely was happening. She had somehow gone through time and space, and she ended up back in 1990. Her mind went to Selena and her words about a book that was stolen. It was stolen in 1990. Briana gasped as reality hit her, she was in a year that she hadn’t even been born yet so to speak.
She quickly got to the door of the bathroom and opened it. She felt a panic attack coming on as she got out of the bathroom. She leaned against the wall and she breathed heavy as she closed her eyes. How the hell did Selena send her back in time and how the hell was she supposed to get back?
“Oh god this isn’t good.” She said out loud, but it was mainly to herself.
“Hey are you alright?” A familiar man’s voice said. Briana honestly thought she was dreaming because standing in front of her was none other than John’s brother Michael. He looked exactly the same as she remembered him, but it was apparent that he knew nothing about her. “Ok we need to get you to a chair.” He began as she shook her head now as she hyperventilated. Holy shit she was in 1990 and she was talking to John’s brother. The same brother who turned on them all and nearly killed them. She didn’t know if she wanted to strangle him or just kill him quickly. “I’m a doctor ok and you really need to sit down before you pass out.” He said with concern and it bothered her that part of her wanted to believe that somewhere deep down there was a decent guy in there.
“Michael you’re freaking the poor girl out.” Maria said as she walked over, and Briana’s eyes got wide. How the hell was this happening, she was sure it wasn’t a coincidence. Selena knew exactly what she was doing. Briana’s mind went to John. If Michael was there in the 90’s, then John had to be too. Now she really felt like she would pass out. “Oh honey, please sit down. My husband is a doctor for real.” Maria said softly. She wasn’t pregnant anymore and she looked a bit different. She had long brown hair but back in 2018 her hair was short and cut up to her shoulders.
Briana looked at the both of them.
This was absolutely one of freakiest things that had ever happened to her. “I’m going to get her some water.” Maria said as she walked towards the bar and Michael looked at Briana again.
“Which pack are you from, you don’t look familiar?’ He asked, and she honestly didn’t know what to say. “I um.” She felt her throat closing from being anxious but then Maria was coming back over with a bottle of water.
“Here, drink this.” Maria said softly and then she looked at Michael. “And let’s stop with the interrogation ok. The girl isn’t feeling well. She needs space.” Maria added as Michael sighed but he walked away and over to one of the pool tables. “I’m sorry he gets all weird sometimes. I’m Maria by the way and you are?”
“Briana and thank you for the water. I don’t know what got into me.” Briana lied as she sipped the water.
“You don’t need to apologize, it’s nice to have someone to chat with because as soon as his brother gets here then it’s all downhill.” Maria said sarcastically, and Briana nearly choked on her water as she hit her leg into the table some. She wasn’t ready to see John, but she really wanted to see him. She was torn. “You ok? You look like you have seen a ghost.” Maria said with worry.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. It’s just that I remembered something that I need to take care of.” She said quickly. “You wouldn’t happen to have a phone I could borrow?” She asked without even thinking and Maria looked at her weird.
“A phone? Like my house phone?” She shook her head and Briana finally remembered that back in the early 90’s cell phones weren’t popular like they are now. “I’m sure you could use the bar phone but funny story about phones. One day Michael left with the house phone in his hand.” Maria laughed some and Briana laughed nervously.
“I will see if I could use the bar phone.” Briana said as she got up and walked over to the bar. The bartender smiled at her. “Can I use your phone?” She asked as he poured a shot and placed it in front of her. “Oh, I don’t want that.” She began quickly. She didn’t even have money on her.
“You look like you need it and yeah the phone is in the back.” He said, and she smiled softly at him.
“Thank you, and I guess I could use this.” She said as drank back the shot and then went towards the back where the phone was on the wall. It was an odd-looking phone, like one from those retro movies. She had never actually seen a phone like this in person. She wished she had her own phone to take a picture of it, but she had nothing. That technology didn’t even exist here. She stared at the phone and then she wondered who she could even call, it was freaking 1990! She couldn’t call anyone. She felt sick as she stood there. She didn’t know what to do. How the hell was she supposed to know what she was looking for and how many museums were in New York?
She picked up the phone and decided to try something, she dialed her parents phone number. I mean they had the same number since she was younger, and they had lived in that house in Pennsylvania since before she was born. The phone rang once and then twice before a female answered. It was her mother. She would know that voice anywhere. She wanted so bad to tell her what had happened. To tell her that she was ok and that somehow, she was stuck in 1990. “Hello? Is anyone there?” Her mother said, and Briana fought the tears. She hung up as she breathed deep. She was truly alone here. Pity consumed her as she stared at the phone but then she heard a loud voice, his voice.
Briana turned and watched as John walked inside, being loud as he announced his arrival.
Chapter Two
Briana’s eyes got wide as John walked into the bar. It was him though he looked sort of different. He looked harder than she remembered. His hair was longer and untamed. He almost looked like a hair metal singer from the 80’s. He wore jeans that were tight and a black leather coat. It had chains that hung off it. It looked like a biker jacket. She was stuck staring at him as she leaned on the wall. He was pretty damn hot; she couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips. This was her chance to meet the younger version of him. The idea was exciting to say the least but also worrisome. She was in the past so what did that mean about her future? Could she ultimately change the future? An idea ran through her, what if she could change the future and make everything better?
He looked over in her direction and for a moment their eyes locked. God she could get lost in those eyes!
He began walking over and she quickly looked away. She wanted to run and hide but instead she picked up the phone as if she was making a call. He walked past her and to the bathroom. She finally sighed heavily as she hung the phone up. She looked over at Maria who was staring at her with a perplexed looked. Briana immediately turned red. Had Maria been watching her? She quickly walked over to her.
“The number was busy.” She lied as she sipped the glass of water.
“You don’t want to get hung up in John’s world.” Maria blurted out as Briana looked at her with wide eyes.
“Oh, I wasn’t.” Briana began, and Maria rolled her eyes quickly.
“Uh huh. Sure. But take my advice, it’s not worth the rollercoaster ride.” Maria said seriously. “So, are you waiting on friends? New to town?” Maria began to ask.
Briana looked at Maria and she had a huge urge to tell her to leave Michael and that he would ultimately kill her, but she couldn’t say that. She would look crazy not to mention Michael may not have been a psycho just yet. She wondered how long he had wanted John’s title. She wasn’t even sure if he was an Alpha yet. He had told her that he was a bit reckless and that he didn’t get his title right away. Then she thought about Kate, had he known Kate yet, were they dating? She knew they hadn’t married yet because he had said they were married for twenty years, so that wouldn’t be until 1998. There was still 8 years in between now and then.
“Hello, earth to Briana?” Maria’s words snapped her from her thoughts.
“Yeah I um, my friends are supposed to be here soon.” She lied as she sipped her water but then she saw John out of the corner of her eye. He was exiting the bathroom and walking right over to them.
John spoke before she could even run away. “Hey, who’s this?” He said as he grabbed a peanut from the bowl on the table and he munched it down quick.
“This is Briana, she is waiting on some friends.” Maria said quickly.
Briana was at a loss for words. Even though he looked relatively the same he also looked different in ways. He had a lot of hair on his face. It was unkept and wild looking, like him. He had those green eyes though. The eyes she could get lost in.
“So, what’s your deal here? New to town? Or maybe looking to start trouble from another pack.” He raised an eyebrow and ate another peanut.
“I’m sorry what?” Briana said in shock.
“John don’t be rude.” Maria said quickly. “Don’t mind John, he doesn’t have the best of manners.”
“Hey, I’m just trying to figure her out, calm down grandma.” He laughed some and Maria rolled her eyes.
“I agree with Maria, you don’t need to be rude.” Briana finally said as he looked surprised. She didn’t know what to expect as he looked at her and nodded his head. What did that mean? What did the head nod mean? She had no idea, but he walked over to the bar and said something to the bartender. The bartender looked at them and nodded his head. John then walked over to his brother and they began to talk as Michael set up the balls on the table. “I think I pissed him off.” Briana said quickly.
“Good, he is an ass anyways. Honestly, I don’t even know how they could be brothers. Michael is a humanitarian and John is an egomaniac, but I suppose that is why he will be Alpha one day.” Maria began as she sighed.
Briana couldn’t help but feel bad for Maria. She really liked her. How could she save her from Michael? The bartender walked over with a pitcher of beer and two glasses.
“Oh, I’m not drinking.” Maria said as he put the pitcher on the table.
“John said otherwise.” He said as he put the glasses down and walked back behind the bar
.
“See this is what I am talking about. John just expects everyone to do as he says.” She rolled her eyes as Briana grabbed the pitcher and poured herself a glass as Maria watched.
“Sorry I could really use this.” Briana said honestly. She didn’t even care that Maria was looking at her like she was crazy.
“No, go for it.” Maria shrugged her shoulders. “So, did you say you were from around here?”
Briana looked at her as she took a big sip. “No, I’m from Pennsylvania actually.” She said as Maria looked at her confused. “Just visiting friends here for a few days.” She added. “New York is great though.”
“We’re visiting too. Michael had a lecture yesterday and we’re spending a few more days here until we head back. Where in Pennsylvania? We’re over by Lake Eerie.” Maria said quickly as Briana swallowed hard.
“Oh um, I’m over by Philly.” She lied.
“Isn’t that where the Silver pack is?” Maria asked.
“Yep that’s it. The good ole Silver pack.” Briana smiled and took a big gulp of her beer.
“Cool.” Maria said as she looked back at the guys as they played pool. “They get so competitive when they play.” She said as she shook her head. “Then they act like children, you know how guys get.” Maria rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, they are all the same.” Briana said quickly.
“You don’t have a mate yet, huh?” Maria said as she looked at Briana.
“No not yet. Someday I’m sure.” Briana said quickly as she thought about John back in her time. Would he even notice that she was gone? Was he looking for her? They hadn’t spoken about marriage with everything else going on. Not to mention Ana was still engaged to him and that wouldn’t change unless she got out of the coma but what if she didn’t? What about the baby? Would Briana be a stepmom? Her mind began to run wild. She hadn’t even noticed that John was coming back to the table.