My eyebrows shot up. Eric felt bad. No reason? Ha. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’d put his own spin on the events.
“It wasn’t for no reason,”I said to the family group chat.“He tried to rape me. He held me down, flipped up my skirt, and fondled me. He’d backed me into the corner crying when Christopher burst in. There was no mistake. His actions were deliberate.”
“I stuck up for you. I know you’d never make up that kind of accusation,” said Andrew after he checked his phone.
“He’s a liar.”My hands still shook, and I blinked to clear the tears from my eyes.“He’s been stalking me for months and wrecked my house. You saw what he did. I’ve seen him outside my dojo, in my grocery store, and near my work. For three months, he followed me everywhere. He only took a break when I got involved with Christopher because I was never alone. You saw a picture of the heart in the steam. That freak watched me shower.”
There was a pause while they all read my words.
“Maybe Christopher did that to scare you,” said Meghan. “To make you move in with him. It worked.”
Andrews’s eyes looked unconvinced at my arguments. How could he believe that bully instead of me?
“Remember how upset Christopher was when we asked for your help? He’s sweet, and patient, and gentle. It wasn’t him.”
“Eric’s been out of the country on business,” said Andrew. “He has an alibi for the break-in. He gave me his card, and I checked with his company. He was gone this summer and most of the fall. Before Eric left in July, he saw Christopher hanging around outside his place. While he was away, someone broke in, but he didn’t find anything missing. Eric was intimidated. Christopher’s a big guy, or Eric says he would have gone to the cops then. Since he’s been back, he hasn’t seen Christopher, so he let it go. He chose not to press charges.”
“That makes no sense. Eric is a liar. An accomplished one. He made everything up to separate Christopher from me. You did what he wanted and are leaving me vulnerable. You took away the only person who makes me feel safe. Andrew, you need to undo this.”
My pleas fell on deaf ears. As usual, Dad said nothing. My heart broke that he didn’t believe me.
Meghan rejoined the argument. “They found Christopher’s prints in Eric’s house. Your stuff was in his office. Christopher is the liar. How well do you know him? Couldn’t you be mistaken?”
Eric’s lies had been well-planned, and he’d convinced my family. He’d taken the facts but twisted them, making Christopher look guilty. He was adept at manipulation. I had no other choice but to tell them the truth.
“I need to tell you my secret.”I couldn’t think of another way to show them what Eric was capable of.“I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t think you’d believe me. I worried you’d think I was unstable, but I need you to trust me. I know it was Eric.”
I looked up to gauge their reactions and took a deep breath. All six eyes watched me, expectant. They were waiting. It was time.
“I’m from the future.”
They looked up from their screens. All three faces remained blank. Nobody believed me. Hell, if I’d heard someone say they’d come from the future, I wouldn’t believe either. This was why I hadn’t bothered to explain until now. Seeing their reserved expressions, it dawned on me that I had said nothing that made them think I was unwell. They already thought that. How could I blame them?
I hadn’t spoken in six months. I’d complained about a stalker they’d believed was imaginary. Meghan had mocked my fear and paranoia to tease me out of it and hadn’t taken it seriously. She believed Eric’s version of the attempted rape—that I’d overreacted. They’d been convinced that Christopher was violent and had taken advantage of me. To top it off, I’d just announced I’d time traveled from the future. I’d expected too much. This was not going well. In fact, it was horrible. I couldn’t make it worse, so I gave them more information.
“I realize it’s difficult to believe, but it’s a long story,”I said.“I’m from 2022 and traveled back in time five years after I made a wish. Five years ago, I met Eric at your engagement party. We got married six months later. He was an abusive asshole and a liar. He beat me, gave me scars, but I was too scared to tell anyone. I know better than anyone what he’s capable of. He terrifies me. He sees me as powerless, a victim. Eric is my stalker. He’s framed Christopher. I’m scared he’s going to hurt me. He’s violent and dangerous.”
I watched Andrew. He reread my messages. He looked up with a frown, then scrolled back to read them again. Maybe he was listening, thinking. He was my best hope. He knew some things just couldn’t be explained. I didn’t see how this differed from his belief in UFOs.
“So, you’re saying Eric is your husband?” Meghan’s eyebrows remained high, her voice strained, her tone incredulous. One hand was on her hip. She remained unconvinced. She preferred concrete facts and explanations. Black and white answers. Good and bad. No shades of gray or supernatural hocus pocus. To be fair, if it hadn’t happened to me, I’d find the story unbelievable.
“We were married at City Hall on December 3rd, 2017. We were in a car accident that killed him on April 30th, 2020. That’s when I lost my voice. Trauma-induced selective mutism. That’s why I can’t talk. I was miserable and alone for two years. One night, I wished I could redo my life. The next morning, I woke up, and I’d traveled back in time five years. Ember was a kitten again. That was in May. I still have no voice, but my scars are gone, and I remember the other time. That’s how I know Eric is evil.”
Meghan shot Andrew a look, and he shrugged. Perhaps he didn’t know what to believe. She nodded again, and he looked away. Her mouth was a flat line of disapproval. I didn’t understand their silent communication, but when he looked back, he nodded and looked resigned. What decision had they made? They didn’t believe me. My tears threatened to return. I was on my own.
“Elizabeth, this doesn’t make sense,” said Dad, looking up.
He looked tired. These were his first words since I’d arrived.
“Have you been drinking? Do you need help?” His expression showed him at a loss. He didn’t know what to think and was reaching. He wanted a reason.
I flinched at his cruelty. Was he saying I was like my mother? A drunk who didn’t know delusion from reality. That’s what he thought of me? My heart felt bruised.
Andrew stared out the window in the direction the police car had driven. The electric kettle turned off and Meghan poured hot water over the waiting tea. Nobody spoke for several minutes while the tea steeped and they reread what I’d written. There were more strange glances back and forth. They weren’t sharing their thoughts, but the silent messages flying around the room left me with a sense of unease.
Meghan handed me a cup of steaming tea. “Drink this. You need to calm down. You’re overwrought.”
Her words were insulting, but I tried to view things from her perspective. Maybe she just needed time to accept my difficult revelation.
