A Time Traveler's Companion: Chapter 19: Another Secret-Excerpt

 

(Excerpt from Chapter 19: Another Secret)

Trigger warnings: Sexual content

In the previous chapter, Mr. Smith sustained injuries during their latest adventure on another planet and was recuperating in the infirmary. Meanwhile, Remi, feeling restless, decided to explore the intriguing yet peculiar rooms and corridors of the monolith. As she wandered through the vast time ship, she stumbled into the main control room and inadvertently touched one of the crystals on the matrix table, resulting in a powerful shock that knocked her out. When Mr. Smith finally emerged from the infirmary, he discovered her unconscious on the floor and promptly carried her to his room, laying her on his bed until she regained consciousness. Although she had been traveling with him for weeks, once he returns her home, it will feel as if she never left at all.

I would like to mention that Remi is currently 18 years old and approaching 19. It seems important to provide this information for context. Also she still lives with her parents.

   I found myself lying on his bed. Rubbing my eyes, everything looked blurry then as my vision cleared, I looked around. My clothes were neatly folded on the sofa in his room. I lifted the sheets and discovered I was completely naked, I gasped.

 “What happened?” I said to myself.

“Mr. Smith will be in to explain,” said the AI.

“Oh great,” I paused and realized that I might’ve been here for a few days, well it kinda felt like it.

 “No, oh shit, my parents are going to lose their minds.” Mr. Smith walked into the room, his attire incomplete. He had black cotton pajama pants but was shirtless, and I found myself unable to look away; his face was etched with unmistakable indignation. Gradually, I pushed myself up and leaned against the headboard, wrapping the sheets around me for warmth. He came closer and sat down next to me on the bed. 

“Remi, do you recall when I warned you about the crystals?” I nodded, feeling like a reprimanded child. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, pressing my lips together and gently biting my lower lip. He let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

 “You’ll be okay,” he said, then hesitated. “But…”

 “But what?” I interrupted. He shook his head, “It’s nothing, but please don’t let it happen again.” He smiled and kissed my lips. I got the distinct impression that I should be worried, but I decided not to ask him for more information. He stood up.

“There is something else,” he said. I gulped, “What is it?”

“When you touched the crystal, the AI scanned your memories.” His brow furrowed, and a flush of anger crept across his face. My eyes widened in realization; he didn’t have to utter a single word. He had pieced together everything about me seeing Melanie at the nightclub in 1936 and not telling him. Also, going with her on another time travel escapade, which I had kept from him. I exhaled deeply, “I made a mistake, just try to see it from my perspective,” I implored and said, “I would like to go home, please.” He turned his gaze away, clearly let down, before meeting my eyes once more. Rising to his feet, he faced me with his arms folded. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said, taking a moment. “I need to think about what to do next, alright?”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, but he just stayed quiet, which made me restless.

“Hold on, why?” I paused choosing my words carefully, “Okay, I went with her, but you’re the one I choose to travel with, don’t you get it? And what’s the big deal about traveling with Melanie. What are you not telling me?”

 “Do you really want to know the truth?” I nodded. “She’s only interested in you as a potential companion because she’s checking you out,” he replied.

 “What do you mean?” He settled back on the bed next to me, his face close to mine. “She’s probably after another body, and I think she picked you just because you’re with me. We’re not a couple anymore; we’re rivals now,” he paused, “well I see it that way. I fear that she’s trying to snatch you from me out of spite. I shook my head and said, “You’ve got it all wrong.” Then a thought hit me, and I asked, “So, am I just your possession, like a pet?” He stared at me without saying a word. “So, it’s true, I am his pet, his plaything, maybe his next body, I thought to myself. I trembled. “She is afraid,” the AI interjected.

 “Damn that AI,” I mused and frowned. Letting out a deep sigh I asked, “Can I go home?”

 He responded with a weary sigh, “Not at this moment,” before rising to his feet and exiting the room without a backward glance. Left in solitude, I turned to the AI, seeking to uncover the events that transpired between him and Melanie, leading up to the moment he crossed paths with me.

 At first, the AI seemed reluctant to share any information, but after a brief pause, a holographic screen materialized in front of me, coming to life and showcasing the moments of their last day together.

I won’t sugarcoat it; my heart ached as I witnessed the tender moments they shared. The scene shifted to when Melanie entered his room, taking a portion of the money from every era known to man, before slinging the brown leather messenger bag over her shoulder. I spotted the quantum time manipulator strapped to her wrist. She probably acquired it without his knowledge, clever. In a flash, Melanie sprinted out of the room toward the main control room. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith was oblivious, enjoying a shower and unaware of the unfolding chaos.

 “Why didn’t you stop her?” I questioned the AI.

“I had no directive to do so,” it responded. My brow furrowed as my suspicion deepened. The AI displayed the location from which Melanie had escaped from Mr. Smith. It turned out they were in the 1950s, which explained the vintage attire she was wearing at the time. As soon as she exited the monolith, she activated the quantum time manipulator and disappeared.

 "I can't believe she actually pulled that off," I exclaimed. The AI then displayed the moment Mr. Smith encountered me. At that point, he had been on a quest through time to find Melanie. The AI revealed to me, "Mr. Smith had been searching for Melanie for quite some time, but she managed to stay one step ahead. It appears she found someone to help her remain concealed from him."

 I gasped and whispered, "Jack."

"When Mr. Smith found you, he had tracked her to that spot using the device implanted in her. However, she quickly caught on to his pursuit. With the quantum time manipulator, she transported onto her companion's ship, who was tasked to kill Mr. Smith. He was the man you saw on the hill." I was in shock, struggling to absorb this revelation.

 "No," I breathed. A hush fell over the conversation before the AI resumed, “Her new companion took aim at Mr. Smith, but you stepped in front of him and Jack couldn’t get a clear shot. In response, Melanie communicated with him through an earpiece, instructing him to hold off. When you looked back up at the hill before entering the monolith, the man disappeared because he too has a quantum time manipulator.” I remained silent, pondering, then I asked, “Wait a minute. I do remember that moment and Mr. Smith had told me that the man I saw on the hill was coming toward the monolith and then he asked me to make a choice, to go with him or not.”

“Correct,” it replied. With a deep sigh escaping my lips, I found myself momentarily speechless, but eventually I whispered, “Thank you for sharing the truth with me.” At the time, the AI only revealed a portion of the truth. Tears began to stream down my face just as Mr. Smith entered the room. 

He looked at me, taken aback by my tears, unaware of the reason behind them. I doubt the AI was meant to unveil what it did. “I regret what I said Remi," he hesitated, "My love for you is so deep that I fear you might abandon me, just like Melanie did." In that instant, it dawned on me that his actions were rooted in his own insecurities. How could someone so strikingly handsome and full of life experience such doubt? I wiped my tears and said, "I love you too."

He leaned in, his lips brushing against mine with a gentle urgency, and soon we were wrapped in each other’s arms, with an intensity that ignited every nerve of my being. He made love to me, his arms enveloping me tightly as if I were the very air he breathed. When he entered me, it was with a powerful thrust, dominant and passionate, that left me breathless, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. Afterwards we lay in each other’s arms, enjoying the afterglow. As time passed, we journeyed to two different worlds. One was a desert planet, its crimson sands stretching endlessly. 

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