The Watch - Part 189:

I’m lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, watching as the shadows make their way across the ceiling as the sun sets. I laid, listening to the world outside: The cars driving by and blowing their horns angrily, and people talking merrily as they make their way home or to the pub for an end of day drink, and when it quietened down for those few seconds, I heard the trees blowing in the wind and the birds singing.

I can’t do this. I have to go back. I would be going against everything that I’ve stood by before. I don’t care about all of this time travel technicalities, they are my friends. Tom is my lifelong friend. He has stood by my side for years, helping me when times were toughest. I will not lie here knowing that I’m not there for him when he needs me most. Amy is my girlfriend – The person who I have been in love with for four years. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

I know what happened earlier today is just unnecessary filler that shouldn’t have happened, but if it weren’t for that, then I wouldn’t have been reminded of the person I have become.

Back when I was in that test centre, he said that everything that happened was because of the watch and nothing else. If it weren’t for me finding that watch, I wouldn’t have been able to speak to Amy and I wouldn’t have learnt the valuable lesson of not giving up and never giving in. The watch may have allowed me to experience what I never thought was possible, therefore leading me to learn those lessons…

But it was me made the decision to use the watch for good, it was me who saw defeat and stood my ground, and it was me who spoke to Amy. I never once manipulated my own feelings, making me feel happy when I was sad, making me feel more confident when I was frozen with nerves. It was all me with an incredible amount of help from my friends. The least I can do is say thank you by getting off my backside and acting on the lessons that I learnt. How dare I lay here? How dare I think that it’s OK for me to rest when I have a job to do?

***

Amy will understand. When she wakes up in the morning and find that I’m gone, she will understand. But there is one thing that I will make sure she knows. I might have left before my body has fully recovered, but I want her to know that I never used the watch to make myself better. No, I shouldn’t just up and leave. I owe her enough to tell her for myself.

Slinging my bed covers from my body, I jump out of bed and walk as fast as my legs will allow me towards the hallway. Knocking on her bedroom door, I hear movement before the door opened.

‘What’s up?’ Amy asked curiously before noticing my determined face.

‘You’re going then,’ she said putting the pieces together.

‘But before I go, I owe you this much: I will not manipulate the way I feel. Ever.’ I wanted to say more, elaborate further, maybe even reword the entire sentence to make it sound better because Amy deserves better, but I just couldn’t. Her facial expression changed from curiosity to surprise, and then to happiness. She flung open the door and wrapped her arms around me once more.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

‘What for?’

‘For telling me. And for asking for my help. That means a lot to me, you know. And it just proves one thing.’

‘What’s that?’

‘You know,’ she said. I do. I trust her and she trusts me. I love her.

‘Have you told her?’ Amy asked.

‘I have.’

‘Good.’

We held each other until Amy pulled away.

‘Amy will be proud of you,’ she said.

‘How do you know?’

‘I’m her,’ she said, her face changing from a smile to a happily-confused expression. ‘I think that is the weirdest thing that I’ve ever said that we both know makes total sense in the strangest of ways,’ she said matter-of-factly. I chuckled, which caused her to chuckle as well.

‘Now, go,’ she ordered.

‘Right.’

I inputted the necessary coordinates into the watch and with one last smile aimed at Amy, I went to save her and Tom from the laboratory.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)