Catching Up from the Past

Celine can't believe that she needs to stay in one room with Drake. Sure, there are other rooms in this no-star hotel. The problem is, the owner wants to have as many rooms available for other guests.

He's expecting that there will be a lot of people who need a room for the upcoming festival. That made them end up in a room with one queen-sized bed.

"We should be fine around here for now. When Chad was able to create a new wormhole, we should be out of here right away!" Drake assured her.

"I just can't get it why the owner doesn't want to get paid for more rooms!" Celine complained.

"It's the only hotel near the last wormhole. Stop complaining. I'm not going to do anything without your consent." Drake replied.

Celine looked at him and noticed a smile on Drake's face. Did he just think about something naughty that's why he smiled? She tried to ignore him and went out of the veranda.

This hotel is not so bad, especially in this part of town. She remembered the younger version of herself. Those were the days when she's still happy and carefree. But the older she gets, the harder it is to just be happy.

She wondered what will happen if they end up staying permanently during this time. But just thinking about having two of her around here makes her flinch. They messed up with time and traveled to the future and past.

Then she noticed a familiar face from the busy street. That lady looks just like her and she's alone carrying a lot of grocery bags in her hand. That's when she realized that the lady is her mother. She's still alive during this time not knowing that she will be in an accident soon.

"Hey, where are you going?" Drake asked.

She didn't answer him and just walked outside their room. Her mother died when she was only twelve years old. That means that the lady she just saw from the veranda earlier will be dead in two years. It includes his dad since he's the one driving when they got into a car wreck.

Celine can almost smell her mother's scent just how she remembered from her childhood. Her mom is a strong woman and never asked for help from anyone. But she wanted to at least help her carry her grocery bags once in her life. She never had that moment with her before and she wants to catch up on her past.

"Hey, stop!" Drake caught her arm that caused her to stop walking.

"Let me go! I just want to help my mom carry those bags." Celine requested.

"No, Celine! We can't be seen by anyone who knew us from the past." Drake reminded her.

"She's not just anyone, Drake! She's my mother and she died when I was only twelve." She informed him and hoped to convince him.

"It can disrupt what will happen in the future. We can't stop death!" He replied trying to talk sense to her.

"Isn't this why you invented the time machine? Why can't I just be with my mom again?" She asked, feeling frustrated.

"Time travel is still unstable and we don't know what will happen," Drake replied.

Celine looks him in the eyes to check if he's just making things up. But he seems sincere with the reason why she can't be seen by her mom. Drake's hands are holding her shoulders to calm her down. But she can't just stand there when she can be with her mom again.

"Mom!" She called out hoping that her mother would hear her.

But before she can call her mother once again, Drake pulled her closer to him and kissed her lips. She didn't expect it from him but he's now kissing her passionately in the middle of the street. Pulling away is not an option for her because he's making her weak.

Their kiss lasted like how lovers kiss each other. Drake is still touching her cheeks and seems like he wanted to kiss her some more. Celine's lips betrayed her and waited for another kiss. Time seems to stand still and their heartbeats are deafening.

"Let's go back to our room," Drake told her instead of kissing her again.

The spell got broken and she pushed Drake away from her. She has to run away from him but the only place for her to go is back to their room. The way he said it seems like a promise that he wanted to do something more than just kissing her. But their moment is over.

When she finally reached the hotel room, she went straight to the veranda. As much as she wants to lay down on the bed to think things over, she can't. It will seem as if she's waiting for him to continue whatever they have started.

She heard Drake entering the room as well but she just fixed her gaze to the street. Then she realized that Drake only kissed her to stop her from calling out her mom. She's gone from the crowd now and there are no familiar faces around the streets anymore.

"Hey, stop thinking about it and sleep!" Drake told her.

"Are you saying that I should just forget what happened? Unbelievable!" Celine asked.

"You can't approach your mother. She will recognize you and that will confuse her. Is that what you want to happen?" Drake explained.

"Oh, you're talking about my mom!" Celine replied.

"Of course I am. What else should we talk about?" Drake responded.

"Ahhhh...nothing! I'm not thinking about other things. I just miss my mom so I want to talk to her even as a stranger." She stuttered.

She thought that he's not even going to apologize to her for kissing her. A single sorry will do but Drake just ignores the fact that they kissed. It's a big deal to her since she thought that she's still mourning Derek's death. But instead, she's already kissed another guy.