Ch 11: Don’t Be Scared of Me

The highest that anyone had ever scored. Cole replayed it in his mind, the wide, anticipation-filled eyes of the scientists who’d run him through the emotometer.

The same bearded man from the conference room had been the one to conduct his interview, drawing answers out of Cole, asking him to expand when his responses were too clipped. The man had been all business, all perfunctory data-taking. That is until Cole had stepped out of the emotometer, the strange capsule that had sent hot tingles riding through his body. Then the man’s eyes had danced and a smile that was almost manic caused his lips to shake at the edges. “This is incredible. We’ve never gotten anywhere close to that level of decisiveness.” He ran a hand through his hair and paced back and forth in the hallway outside the lab. “I’ve got to get Mary and Judy. We have to do this soon.”

“Soon?” Cole asked. “How soon? Thought this was gonna be a long process.”

The scientist shook his head and waved Cole off. “No, it has to be soon. Soon as possible.”

And now Cole sat in the conference room again, less than two hours after arriving, and he’d gotten exactly what he wanted. Somehow it hadn’t given him the rush of excitement he’d expected. He still felt empty and aimless, even now that he had a clear goal to aim for. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. All he could think about now was saying good-bye to his family. He knew his mom wouldn’t take it well…

“Ready to go?”

Cole snapped his head up to see Scott standing in the doorway with Ingrid hovering behind him. Darting to his feet, Cole snatched his backpack off the floor. He shuffled over, and followed as Scott led them back out through the lobby.

“Bye!” Teresa called from the desk. “See you tomorrow.”

Cole lifted a hand and dropped it without looking her way.

“Yes, see you,” Ingrid murmured.

On their way back to the car, Ingrid walked slowly, peeking over her shoulder at Cole. He stiffened under her scrutiny.

Up ahead of them, Scott talked about the positive results of the evening. “Great news, isn’t it, guys? Judy is ready to pull the trigger on this project. You both have hardly any hesitation. You’re prime candidates for this.”

“I’m not a guy.”

“What?” Scott asked.

“I’m not a guy,” Ingrid repeated in a louder voice. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, pushing past Scott. “I’m a female. You shouldn’t use a male descriptor to apply to both males and females. It’s a form of erasure.”

Cole grit his teeth together.

“Sorry,” Scott replied. “Didn’t mean it that way.”

Once inside the car, Cole pulled his phone from the front pocket of his bag. Ingrid settled into the seat next to him, sighing as she shut the door. Cole was going to find out more about her. He wanted to know who this girl was.

“Cole?” Scott said with a wary voice. “You should be keeping internet use to a minimum. Judy doesn’t want anything to mess with your emotometer levels.”

“Texting my mom.”

Ingrid shifted over, dropping an elbow onto the middle seat, and angling her neck to catch a glimpse of his screen.

Cole turned away in an attempt to shield his screen from view.

“No, you aren’t!” Ingrid snapped. “You’re googling me!”

“Yep.”

“Knock it off!”

“And you’re not gonna google me?”

` Ingrid straightened up, tugging at the hem of her dress as it rode up her thigh. “I won’t if you tell me more about yourself.”

“You first. What’d you do?” Cole put his phone back in his bag and pulling together his courage, turned to meet her gaze.

She glared at him.

“Guys-I mean, ah, people, let’s be civil.”

Ingrid ignored Scott, turning up her nose and scoffing in Cole’s direction. “Want to know what I did? I defended my relationship.”

Cole raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? How exactly did you defend it?”

Ingrid rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “I flew a little off the handle, okay? Tatiana Tiara thinks she can have any guy she wants. She deserved to be a little embarrassed for a second.”

Laughing as realization hit him, Cole pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, that was you? You leaked her herpes photo? That was messed up.”

Scoffing, Ingrid crossed her arms in front of her chest. “She should know better than to mess with another woman’s relationship.”

“If you say so.”

“And you?” she asked pointedly.

“And me what? You already know what I did.”

“Yes, and I’m a little freaked out over it. I need to know more. I need to know you aren’t some kind of psychopath.”

“I’m not. Completely rehabilitated. The state of New Jersey’s correctional department can verify.”

A stiff silence filled the air between them. Cole turned away, looking out the window at the sights of Boston. It didn’t seem like a very impressive city. He knew he’d only seen a small part of it so far, but he was still struck by how different it was from New York City, the only other major city he’d ever been to.

For the remainder of the drive, Scott talked about the plans for the next day. He explained that two rooms were booked for them at the Marriott. All they had to do was give their names at the desk. In the morning, Scott would meet them in the lobby and drive them back over to Speculative.

“You should both contact your families tonight.”

“Um..why?” Ingrid asked.

“Like I said, Judy wants to pull the trigger on this thing quick. Whoever you want to see you off, get them down here quick. You gu-people will be riding the Tardis as quick as we can get you briefed and teach you how to use all the tech. Dunno how long that’ll take, but if I had to venture a guess I’d say you won’t even make it to the weekend.”

Ingrid exclaimed wordlessly, something between a yelp and a throaty scoff.

“The weekend?” Cole asked. “But it’s Tuesday. You think they’ll send us in the next three days?”

Scott chuckled. “If you’re ready tomorrow, Judy will send you tomorrow. If you’re ready the day after, she’ll send you then.”

“That’s too soon! I don’t…” Ingrid trailed off.

“You wanted to do this, right?”

“Yes. It’s only that I thought-”

“Try to be ready. Call your families. Give them the news. Invite them out to say goodbye. You knew you were signing up for this.” Scott dropped them off in front of the hotel. “See you at eight sharp,” he said cheerfully. “Your rooms are right next to each other. That’ll be good if you two want to get to know each other a little more. Try not to talk each other out of this, will you? You wouldn’t believe how hard it’s been to find two people this sure about time traveling.”

Cole glanced over at Ingrid. Her lips were pulled up into a disgusted little frown, as if she could hardly stomach the idea of spending more time with him.

“Got it,” Cole muttered. “Bye, Scott.”

He climbed out of the car, and walked around to the trunk. There was a soft pop as Scott unlocked it from the inside. Without waiting for Ingrid, Cole unloaded her bags, throwing two over his shoulder. He lifted her hefty suitcase with his free hand.

Ingrid slammed the car door shut and walked around to the back, her eyes widening when she saw that Cole already carried three of her bags. “Oh,” she murmured. “Thanks, I guess.” A slight pause. “I’ll carry that last one.”

Nodding, Cole handed the smallest of the bags to her.

They walked side by side, maneuvering the crowded sidewalk, before entering the most opulent hotel Cole had ever set foot inside of. He’d only ever stayed at crummy hotels. His family had always stopped at one when they went on their yearly trip to visit his grandparents in Texas. The drive was too long to do it all in one day. This hotel was nothing like those roadside stops.

“Wow,” Cole breathed, staring around at the smooth gray tiles, plush chairs, and the electric fireplace set into the wall opposite the reception desk.

“What?” Ingrid asked.

“This place is fancy.”

“I suppose.” She quickened her pace, striding up to the reception desk.

“Hello,” she said to the smiling woman behind the desk. “You should have two rooms for us. Ingrid Agard and Cole…” She trailed off, looking over at him for help.

“Cole Velardi.”

“What he said.” Ingrid turned back to the desk.

Cole shuffled his feet, standing behind her. Even with his new blue shirt, he knew it was obvious he didn’t belong here. Maybe Ingrid did. She looked so put together and proper. She had those weird fancy symbols on her luggage. The ones that looked like something you’d see on royal stationary. She obviously came from money.

Ingrid tapped her foot and placed a hand on a pointed hip. Yeah, she belonged here all right, tapping her foot and at ease, like she was better than everything and everyone else around her.

“Here are your keys,” the receptionist said, handing two plastic cards to Ingrid. “Room numbers are on the back. Take the elevator to the third floor. Your rooms are at the end of the first hall. There’s a complimentary breakfast in the morning.” She pointed to a smaller room adjoining the main lobby. Through the doorway, Cole could see clusters of small tables covered with crisp white tablecloths. “Breakfast is seven to nine. Enjoy your stay!”

Without answering, Ingrid turned away and marched over to the elevators. Cole followed, moving much slower than her due to the weight of her bags. Ingrid didn’t complain, but Cole could see the irritation in her body language, the way her wrists twisted about, her fingertips tapping against the palms of her hands.

The ride up to their floor was silent, as was the walk down the hallway. Cole kept on wondering if he should say something to her. Her brown hair swished over her shoulders as she walked. His eyes traveled down the backs of her legs. That dress left a good deal of her creamy, freckle-spotted thighs and calves exposed.

Ingrid stopped short, holding up one of the key cards to look at the number. She turned to look at Cole. “This is one room. That means the other is…” Her eyes flicked over the nearby doors, until she stopped and pointed at the one to the right. “That’s the other.” She placed one of the cards into Cole’s hand. “You can leave my bags here. Thanks.”

“I’ll help you bring them in.”

She wrinkled her nose, one eyebrow rising incrementally. “No offense, killer, but you’re not coming in my room.”

A surge of anger stormed through him, and his emotions must have been evident on his face, because Ingrid’s expression turned from haughtiness to fear. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

Cole crushed his eyelids together and fought to gain control of himself. She was scared of him. That was why she was acting like such a cunt. He needed to remember that. He’d seen it in her eyes; she was actually afraid of him. And that was the emotion he’d once thought he’d wanted to see reflected in the eyes of others. He didn’t want it.

He set her bags down on the floor and rushed to the door of his room, fumbling to unlock it. He’d never used one of these fancy plastic cards before. The general idea was obvious. Hold the card up to the black scanner thing on the door and it should unlock. Cole was holding the card in front of the thing and nothing was happening. Feeling Ingrid’s eyes on him, his cheeks burned, and he waved the card in front of the scanner, growing increasingly irritated with each flick of his wrist.

“Cole,” Ingrid said softly. “Can I help you?”

Struggling to keep his voice even, he said, “No. I don’t need help.”

“I know how to do it though,” she insisted. “I’m going to do it.”

Before he could stop her, she stepped up beside him and snatched the card out of his hand. In one swift movement, she placed the card in front of the pad, a beep sounded, and with her other hand she twisted the knob and pushed the door open. She kept the door propped open with her foot and handed the card to Cole. “Here you go.”

He took it without looking at her, and made to edge past her into the room.

“Wait,” she said softly.

“What do you want?” he muttered.

“Um…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“Really, I am. I’m being a jerk to you. I’ve been a jerk all day. I always want to be nice…and I try…but then I’m mean instead. I don’t know why. I can tell today has been hard for you and I know you’re not some kind of rapist or something.”

He looked down at his hands, twisting them together. “I wouldn’t hurt you,” he muttered. “I’m not like that.”

There was a pause. It felt so long. His cheeks burned more hotly with every passing second.

“We have to get along,” he continued quietly, dragging the toe of his sneaker over the carpet. “I don’t want you to be scared of me. Don’t be scared of me. I was glad when Clay and me got caught. I ain’t ever gonna try to do something like that again.”

“Cole, I’m…”

Pity in her voice. Pity. And he hated it.

“Okay, we’re done now,” Cole muttered brusquely. “Long as you know, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Without waiting for her reply, Cole shoved through the doorway and slammed the door shut. He tossed his backpack on the bed.

Hardly a breath had passed when there was a soft tapping on the door.

Cole clenched his jaw. “What do you want, Ing?”

Her words were soft and faltering. “Want to go out for a bite later? It’s only eight.”

Cole sighed. “For…for what?” he asked through the door.

A pause.

“We should get to know each other. We’re going to risk our lives together. We should try to be friends, right?”

Cole ground his teeth together. She was right. They both wanted to do something unthinkable, unimaginable. They were both time travelers. And they were going to have to rely on each other.

“And,” she continued. “You…you didn’t eat anything.”

“What?”

“At the Spec office. You didn’t eat. You pushed your food around and threw it away.”

His heart clanged. Why did she care if he ate anything?

“Sure,” her said. “Sure, let’s go get food.”

The words felt strange to say. He’d never spent much time with women. Planning to go out and get something to eat, it felt…intimate. Oddly intimate.

“Meet you in the lobby in half an hour?” Ingrid asked.

“Yeah. See you then.”

Half an hour. Just enough time to call his family.