Word Count: 1623

~Rosie

I wake to someone sitting by my legs.

My entire body jerks up into sitting position, as I realise Time is looming over me. Placing my hand over my chest, I brush my hair back, trying to gain a little more consciousness.

"Rude awakening much?" I question, clearing my throat. Time is fully dressed and ready for the day, which I suppose is easy enough to achieve when you don't need any sleep. I, however, was plagued all night with horrible nightmares about what happened yesterday. Time's golden eyes never once left my mind, and still are burnt into my eyelids.

"A walk?" He asks, tilting his head slightly.

I blink a few times, trying to gather why he thinks it's okay to come in here this early in the morning and offer a walk. Flopping back down against my pillow, I eye him and the half smile he has on his face. The last thing I want is to face the reality of the day; especially if that means leaving this room. If Time from this era finds me...who knows what will happen.

"I thought we were going to get out of here today," I mutter. At least that was what I was hoping. I'm not quite ready to admit to Time that I made a mistake and needed his brother to get me out of it.

I don't think I'll ever be.

"We are, but I thought a nice walk on the other side of the city would make you feel better about everything that has happened," Time murmurs, placing his hand on my thigh. It may be atop the sheet, but it still makes me shiver. "And I thought we could talk, also."

Scrapping through my mind, I muster up more excuses, as if that is going to get me anywhere. "Will we be under a disguise?"

"Warm clothes and hats. No one will know it's us. Who are you so scared of anyway?" He asks, tilting his head.

He doesn't seem suspicious, just teasing me, but my heart still jumps into my throat. Sitting up, I grab his hand, hoping to take him mind off this conversation it's not often I'm the one who initiates affection upon him. After everything recently, I won't lie, it feels good to feel his skin against mine again. So much so, I have to pull away before he spots the blush on my cheeks from the slightest touch.

"Nothing," i breathe. "let's go."

***

I'm not exactly sure where we are, in what realm, but I know it's beautiful. It's a seaside city, with cobblestone streets and storefronts surrounded by brightly coloured umbrellas. Time and I walk together along a boardwalk alongside a stony beach. It's cold here, giving us the perfect excuse to dress up enough to be particularly unrecognisable.

"This place is beautiful. Everything here is beautiful," I murmur, ignoring the wind whipping past me, concentrating on the churning turquoise sea and whitewash coming up against the stones.

"There's a lot more I would like to show you if you're willing," Time replies.

I sigh, looking down at my feet as we walk. My fingers are tightly wound within his. Despite everything, I'm still uneasy around him, after witnessing what he truly is. He must be able to feel my hesitation, as frowns at me, waiting for my reply which never comes.

"Do you think you're a bad person?" he asks softly. I'm taken aback by his forwardness. The people we walk past don't take any notice, but I suddenly feel trapped, unsure of whether I'm willing to express my feelings with Time completely. Mainly because it terrifies me.

I've seen very little of what Time is capable of, but what I've seen so far is enough to scare any normal person off. But me...for whatever reason it might be, it doesn't scare me. He doesn't scare me. Most likely it's because of the mate bond, but that's not something I'm willing to admit just yet. If the mate bond gets stronger, then who knows what I'll be willing to look over.

"Part of me is," he admits, when I don't reply right away. When I glance at him, he is looking off at the sea, where white foam creeps up the rocks to where we are walking.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "What's the other part?"

"The part you can trust," he tells me, but it's almost as if he isn't telling me the complete truth. At least I still have some kind of scepticism about him. He was willing to withhold his brother against his will, so what might he do to me? At any moment he could turn, and so far, I have little evidence to believe he wouldn't.

"I get the impression the way you act around me isn't truly you. It's almost like you're trying to impress me, when really you're nothing like that."

"The way I feel for you is no facade. Am I frightened I will scare you away, yes. But I would never show you the side of me that a lot of people who are no longer here had to see," he tells me, to which I can't help to shiver.

"I want to," I tell him firmly. If I hide from it, it will only get worse. "It's only fair."

Time bites the edge of his lip, letting go of my hand for a moment. We have stopped near a few bench seats right out front of a convenience store, which I sit down on, but Time doesn't join me. "It's cold. Let me go get you a warm drink."

Dumbfounded, I watch as he walks into the store, leaving me sitting here alone. Turning around, I look out at the sea. Sometimes I wonder if I could escape this. What would my life be like if I wasn't mated to this pureblood immortal? How did I get chosen to be his partner for life, when I don't even know the smallest portion of his power?

"Excuse me ma'am," I hear from behind me. My entire body freezes, as I feel someone leaning over my shoulder. Maybe if I pretend like I don't know they are there, they will go away, otherwise all of this could be ruined. "hey, can you hear me?"

When I don't reply, he comes and sits next to me on the bench. I refuse to even look at him, trying to suggest that he should leave. "Please leave me alone."

"I just wanted to talk," he replies.

"You really don't want to do that. My mate is over there, and he really isn't that nice," I tell him, hoping to scare him off. My mind wanders back to the day Time thought someone was flirting with me. His possessiveness is just another thing that terrifies me, but right now, I could really do with his help.

"I just wanted to talk," he tells me. I feel the way he leans back against the bench casually, as if he is trying to act like he's meant to be here. Any other day I would make a scene, but no one can see me here. "I work for Time."

My blood runs cold. A million thoughts course through my mind, but I keep my face neutral and unmoved.

"Who?"

"You need to come with me," he tells me.

Before I could react, he grabs my wrist, tightly. I want to pull away, but I can't make a scene, so I let him walk me across the street to the other side of the store Time stands in right now, until we are hidden behind it. Immediately, I rip my hand away from him. The man is tall, broad and rather bland looking. A follower of Time's from this current era, I assume.

"Please don't do this," I beg him, hoping he would have some kind of humanity. I'm mainly just confused, unsure of what I'm fighting for because I don't know what went wrong. "How does he know I'm here? Thought was meant to deal with this."

"Do you want him to come here himself and get you? Trust me, you don't want that. Come with me peacefully, and you won't get hurt." He tells me. It's almost like he's begging. Time would have given him strict orders to get me back here.

"I'm sorry, I can't go with you," I comment.

Before I have time to think, I react completely on my emotions. I lash out, striking him directly between the nose. It's enough to have him stumbling back slightly, before he suddenly slips, hitting his head on the edge of a dumpster. I watch in complete horror as he crumples to the ground.

I'm stunned, unsure of what to do. Did I just kill him? He lays there, completely unconscious. I flinch hearing footsteps approach form behind me. Turning around, I realise it's Time, who runs up on me quickly.

"Everything okay?" he asks, looking me up and down until he notices the figure lying on the concrete.

I swallow. "Not really. We need to get out of here."

"Why?" he questions, looking at me, completely mortified. "What? You did that?"

"We really need to talk," I murmur.

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Hey guys! If you're enjoying the story, you can head over to Radish and read Time ahead of Wattpad!

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(Hey guys, sorry about the slow update on Radish, I've been studying for a law test I have today. Everything will resume  as normal soon!)

I've released Thought's own story on Radish, which is available now! I want to see by the end, which of the brothers your prefer

Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼