In Your Time novel Chapter 13

"But if he did actually kiss you, no one would take me seriously, and kids would start picking on you again. It was better to be safe rather than sorry," Braden explained. I nodded in understanding. If Bryce kissed me instead of Braden, it would be the equivalent to an open invitation. It would tell everyone that Braden didn't care what happened to me. We finally got to the gym and I changed quickly before grouping in with everyone else as we waited for instructions. Today we were playing dodgeball. The name was pretty self-explanatory. We divided into two teams and went over the rules before the game began. It was fun, until I started to feel weak. I was sweating more than I should've been, and my breathing was staggered. I rested my hands on my knees as I tried to shake off my hazy vision. While I wasn't paying attention to the game, a ball came flying and hit me in the head. I quickly lost consciousness after that.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by the colors that sucked me into the past. Through the blur of the colors, I saw my dad with a team of eight to ten people working tirelessly on charts and graphs as they stared straight at me, but I don't think they actually saw me, just the colors.

"We have to get my daughter back," my dad said with determination. There was a spark before the colors began to fade and I was pulled back into a darkness.

I sat up quickly as I panted. Looking around, I was unfamiliar with my surroundings, but I was sure on one thing.

"I went back. He's trying to bring me back," I said in realization. Maybe I was already back in my own time somewhere.

"Phoenix, are you okay?" Someone asked as they touched my arm. I looked over and saw Braden. I sighed and carefully laid back down.

"I'm fine, just feeling a little faint," I answered. He looked worried.

"You passed out while we were playing dodgeball. A ball hit you in the head while you were taking a break, but it looked like you were going to go down before then," he explained. I nodded slowly before closing my eyes. After being in the nurse's office for a while, taking medicine and getting my vitals checked, I was free to go back to my classes. I couldn't stop thinking about what I saw. Maybe the real reason I passed out was because my dad was working on bringing me back and it almost worked. But towards the end, something sparked, breaking the machine. It would probably take a while to fix something that complicated. I sighed and covered my face with my hands. If that's how it was going to happen, it meant I would suddenly disappear from this year. How would I explain that to the Parks? What if I disappeared in front of them? I would have to hide to keep them from seeing the truth, but I already loved them all as my own family.