Chapter Four: Sinking In

After I exited the TARDIS, I paused for a moment to watch as she dematerialized, having not seen it from the outside yet. It was a wonderful thing to behold, but I was currently a bit blind to it. I was only vaguely aware of her sending me a farewell vibe before blinking out of existence.

I managed to slip out of the closet unnoticed,which was lucky, as I had no desire to explain what I was doing in there. Especially after the disaster the TARDIS had left behind.

I passed the bathroom on the way down the hall, backtracked, and ducked inside. That was a lucky decision, too. I was a mess; my hair wild, clothes wrinkled, and makeup smeared. I spent a minute straightening my clothes and dabbing away what was left of my makeup before attacking my hair, which stuck up in all directions. As I combed through it with my fingers, a flash of silver caught my eye, just on my hand. The ring. I was still wearing the ring.

I pulled the offending object off my finger and unbuttoned my shirt enough to stick it in my bra. I didn't even want to think about the questions I'd have to answer if one of my classmates saw me wearing an engagement ring, especially if that classmate happened to be Penny.

There were a few curious looks when I reentered the classroom, but Mrs. Pierce didn't stop teaching, which, for once, was a mercy. Penny tried to make eye contact, but I just shrugged. It was only second block, hardly noon. No way in hell I could make it through the rest of the school day; even through art, which I loved. When Mrs. Pierce's back was turned I managed to sneak a text to my mom, telling her I was getting a migraine and wanted to leave. She agreed to email the school to check me out so I could leave at the end of the block, so long as I wasn't missing anything important.

When the bell rang to signal class change, I made a dash for the door in order to dodge Penny's questions. I could always text her later, when I had come up with an acceptable explanation.

In the front office, my check out slip was taped to the glass window among a smattering of other ugly orange slips. You always had to be checked out by a parent. Even if you were eighteen, you couldn't check yourself out, something I had always found excessive. I snatched the slip with my name on it and scrambled to my car, a red Chevy Cruze. I didn't bother starting the car for several minutes, I just sat there, resting my head on my hands on the steering wheel, trying to figure out what to do next.

The problem that was causing me the most trouble was my parents. At first I thought that I should confront them; tell them I knew I was adopted. That's what I should do. But then I realized that I couldn't. The first question they'd ask would be: 'how did you find out?'

How the hell was I supposed to answer that? The truth was too bizarre… they'd either think I'd lost my mind, or was on drugs. They couldn't know that I knew.

I sighed and pulled out my phone, scrolling through my text messages. I had to get someone to confirm it, someone who would know but could keep a secret. I needed to hear it from someone I knew; not from an alien that thought kidnapping me was an ideal first date.

I finally stopped on my aunt's name, my mother's sister, she would know. Aunt Amanda was roughly seven years older than me, making her much closer to my age than to my mom's. We had always had a connection, and she always managed to understand when no other at least mostly adult figure would've. I could ask her about this.

I sent the message and awaited her response, just sitting and staring straight ahead at the front end of my car. I had no idea how long I sat there before I got her response.

She was heartbroken that I had found out, but agreed to keep quiet and accepted that I had worked it out under strange circumstances.

Afterward, I only had a vague impression of driving home. The Doctor had probably been right to ask if I was okay to drive, because I really wasn't. But my some miracle I managed to make it to my driveway without crashing or running someone over.

My house was a good distance away from anything, as it was nestled about a mile into woods and only accessible by a dirt road. The only other person on the road was Mrs. Alani, who lived much closer to the main road than my family did. She waved at me as I drove past from where she was watering her plants. It was almost December, so her flower bushes consisted only of dark green leaves instead of vibrant shades of pink. I didn't wave back.

I pulled into the yard and got out. I could already hear Vader barking excitedly in his deep, loud voice, thrilled that someone was home early. Vader was named Vader for good reason; with the body of a Newfoundland and wiry curls of a poodle mix, he was every bit as intimidating as he was a gigantic teddy bear.

It was my job to let him out everyday, as I was always the first one home. I spotted his large black head push past the curtains to peer at me with deep brown eyes. I unlocked the door, took a moment to prepare myself, and pushed the door open.

Vader rocketed past me, lapping the yard in his lumbering sprint before trucking it back to me to say hello. His hellos consisted of jumping up on his hind legs to pace his forelegs on my shoulders. On his back legs, he was almost as tall as I was, so I always ended up being shoved against the wall while he lapped drooly dog kisses all over my face.

I endured his greeting until he found something more interesting, in this case a stick that resembled a small tree, and escaped inside.

I went straight to bed, only pausing long enough to change out of my school clothes, before laying down and pulling the blankets up over my head.

I must've slept, because the next thing I knew, my mom was prodding me awake, saying it was time for dinner. I declined, saying that I still wasn't feeling well.

I stayed in bed, but checked my phone. Penny had texted.

'Where'd you go? You left me all alone in math'.

'Sorry', I sent back, 'Got a migraine".

'Yeah, I feel. So what did the Roman want you for?'

I thought for a minute. 'Guy visiting the drama class', I texted back, 'realized he knew my dad'.

'Ah. Are you still coming to school tomorrow?'

'Probably not… I need to work on that history assignment anyway'.

'Oh… yeah… isn't that due on Monday?".

'Have you started it yet?'

'When have I ever had my life that together?'

'Lol you should probably stay out tomorrow too'.

'Think I might'.

I put down my phone and closed my eyes, but then opened them again. I didn't want to sleep any more. I turned on my lamp and wandered over to the tv in my room to turn it on.

My head was much clearer now, so I mulled over today's event with a much more critical mind. All of the people I had met seemed friendly, or at least the ones that claimed to be my friends did. I wished that I had paid more attention to Amy and Rory, River too. But I supposed I would see them again. Time travel… now that was a thought. For most of my life, I had obsessed over science fiction. I loved it and had always wanted some part of the worlds locked behind television screens or hidden between the lines of a book. And now, apparently, I had access. I was in. For the first time since I had been pulled into the TARDIS, I felt a glimmer of excitement, along with a flicker of doubt. I had half convinced myself that I had dreamed the whole thing up. Because it was all ridiculous, wasn't it? I had had strange dreams before, but none this especially vivid.

I grabbed my phone and checked my messages again. The conversation I'd had with my mom was still there, exactly as I remembered it, and so was the the one I'd had with my aunt. I needed something solid, something that could prove that what had happened and couldn't be explained by my mind warping reality.

The ring.

I had almost forgotten about the ring, my mind too preoccupied to recall that I still had it.

I reached down my t-shirt and rooted around in my bra until I found it. I held it under the light of my lamp, having not studied it yet.

It was beautiful. The ring itself was a sparkling silver. My first thought was that it was made of sterling silver, but it didn't reflect light the same way. A closer inspection revealed that the weaving metal was covered with minuscule intricate designs, carved into the silver in twisting patterns that flowed into and away from each other. The metal twisted up to the diamond, which was breathtaking in itself; the main jewel burned like white fire in the light, surrounded by six smaller stones placed at regular intervals that burned equally bright. Halfway between each of the smaller white jewels sat an even smaller blue one, collectively making the ring look like a large, glittering snowflake.

I slipped it on my ring finger. It fit perfectly. I moved my hand around, seeing what it looked like in different positions; in a fist, holding a pencil, laying flat against a book. At any point it was gorgeous, and very Doctor-y, I was forced to admit. Indeed the smallest stones were TARDIS blue, and in all the ring was every bit as breathtaking as anything else I'd seen today.

I sat down on the edge of my bed thoughtfully. I supposed I was engaged now. The Doctor had definitely acted like we were together, especially after that kiss in the hallway.

I went to the mirror and pulled my hair into a messy ponytail. I probably did need to eat. My mom had surely saved me some in case I decided that I wanted it, but I elected to remove the ring again before checking.