Their bodies shimmered with their own sweat as Marcella climbed off of him and they both panted out of breath lying back on the bed. They both turned on their sides and faced each other and they passionately kissed again before Tim's hand gently stroked her cheek and Marcella responded with a similar action. It calmed them both down after such a exhilarating period of pure passion and love between them. It brought her back to the first time they slept together, waking up in the same bed followed by a morning kiss from Tim and them just caressing each others face lovingly, and just like it had back then, it made her forget about all the shit going through her brain; and about this stupid curse.
They kissed once more and Marcella got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom, leaving Tim on his own. Water runs from the bathroom and Tim gets up and follows the sound and sees Marcella having a shower. Steam fills the cubicle and the condensation gathers on the crystallised glass and Tim slowly walks towards the shower, opens the door and joins her inside. His hair darkens as the water hits it and he glides his hands around Marcella's body that is soaked with the water mixed with the soapy shower gel. She turns around and faces her boyfriend and his lips ran down her neck and pecked her with a kiss every few seconds, "Tim..." she gasped as his lips found their way to her stomach and her fingers pulled lightly on his hair.
Marcella didn't want it to stop, but she had a night shift to get ready for, Tim may not be a police officer any more, but she was and she had to get going. "Tim. I gotta get ready for work." His hands slid back up the side of her figure as he stood back up from his crouching position.
Water continued to hit the surface of their bodies and drip down until it either dries up or merges with the water already on them. His palm covered her cheek and his thumb moved back and forth over her skin before leaning his head forward for one more kiss. Marcella got out of the shower and left Tim alone whilst he finished getting clean. Getting into her work clothes, Tim arrived in the doorway, towel wrapped round his waist but his body was still wet and shiny from from the steam and water of the shower, she turned and smiled at the sight blocking the doorway and as much as she wanted to stay, she had to leave for her long night shift. As she passed Tim in the doorway, she gave him a peck on the cheek and rushed downstairs, grabbing her parka and car keys and leaving.
Tim's watch was on the table next to his side of the bed and as he got changed, he couldn't help but fixate on it again, still wanting the answers. It was too late in the evening to go out and search for them again and the internet already turned up nothing at all but tomorrow, he was going to go back to the Ellis' antique shop.
·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·
The sun shines through the window and Tim's eyes opened. He looked over at Marcella's side of the bed, forgetting that she was still at work and sighed, he wasn't used to waking up without her and it was stranger to not be able to give her kiss.
Tim started to feel people were hiding things from him; the Ellis' seemed to act strange and even Marcella barely spoke when they talked yesterday, and when she did, it was about trying to forget about it, which was easier said then done. Today he decided that he was going back to the antique shop and he wouldn't leave until somebody told him something, anything that was the truth.
After putting on some clothes, he rushed downstairs and made himself a cup of tea. He sits at the kitchen table and tried to do some more research on the watch; not that he was expecting anything new that he hadn't already seen, and nothing which was of use anyway.
He put his empty mug in the dishwasher and grabbed his shoes from the shoe rack. Before grabbing his car keys, he took a piece of paper from a notepad and scribbled a message on it for Marcella when she returned from work, 'I'll be back later. Hope work wasn't too bad, try and get some sleep. Love you. xx' and left it on the kitchen worktop.
The metal of his keys clinked together as he scooped them up in his hand. If he was going to get anywhere close to getting some answers, he had to have an early start. He wanted to go back to the Ellis' antique shop, he knew they know something and he needed to know whatever it was.
·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·
The bell dinged as Tim walked back into the antique shop. Mickey was nowhere to be seen but instead Florence walked out and smiled, "If you're looking for Mickey, I'm afraid he's not here."
"Actually, I'm looking for you." he replied. Tim knew before he got there that Florence knew much more than she was letting on, and if anyone was going to crack first, it would be her. The woman walked through to the back room of the shop and Tim followed her, "I want to know the truth, Mrs Ellis, about this watch."
Florence's face began draining it's colour again, just like the last time. She wanted to tell Tim about it, it was always Mickey who kept it hidden and she just went along with it. Taking a deep breath, she went over to the filing cabinet and took out the file, "Everything in this file is all we know about your watch. Mickey found it cleaning out a deceased gentleman's house about twenty years ago." she informed him as she placed the file on the table. Tim sat on the chair, and Florence joined him.
Searching through the newspaper cuttings, they all said similar things, 'Time Travel Watch Surfaces', 'Scientists Search For Time Travel Piece', 'Time Travel Watch Watch Wanted' and Tim was taken aback; he had no idea "The dates of these cuttings goes back to the early 50s. Were digital watches like this even made then?"
Florence exhaled, "No." she spoke, "The first digital wrist watch was made in the 1970s, this watch was likely made in the early 50s. The same time these cuttings surfaced."
Tim took a moment, and looked back down, scanning the newspaper cuttings and licked his lips nervously, "Why me, Mrs Ellis?"
"I don't know, Tim." she replied. Tim continued to look through the piles of paper that made up the folder, but nothing seemed to give him the answers he so desperately wanted. He scanned every line, every word and even every single picture to just find any kind of clue. Coming back here, Tim started to think that some sort of progress was being made, and he tried to start to see from Marcella's point of you, about it being just a watch; but there was something still niggling at him. It's not like it was a watch he ordered, at least that would've made a little more sense. This was a random digital watch that turned up at his flat one day.
He still found it strange, and he knows that people are keeping things from him. Even Marcella. Speaking to her yesterday, he now felt that Marcella changing the subject meant something. He didn't think much of it at the time – he was just happy to be around her like he always was – but the way she kept changing the subject, expecting him to just accept it like it was nothing, when he knew she hated the power she had been given. It wasn't nothing, it never was.
Florence was silent as Tim looked through, "There's something I think you should know. Something that isn't in any of these clippings." she admitted. Tim frowned at her, "This watch, there's something else about it."
"What?" he asked, the lines between his eyebrows deepening as he frowned more.
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know?"
"There were other clippings that referred to them." she said before pausing. Looking back at Tim, she knew that Tim wanted to know where they were, "Mickey burned them. I'm sorry."
Tim just wanted to throw the nearest chair to him. Anything to get the anger that was slowly building inside of him out. He was in possession of the watch now, and he couldn't help but wonder what Mickey was hiding and most of all, why he was hiding it. He wondered what could be so bad that he felt the need to burn the clippings about the other thing about it; and even Florence claimed not to know about it, so
"Look, I can't help you, Mr Williamson. But I know somewhere that can." she admits and Tim's face turned to an expression of hope rather than confusion and anger.
"Where?"
"1952. Maryland. It's where that watch was made. Follow the trail of it from there, you should find the answers you need. Find William Frazier, the watchmaker."
Tim stood up, getting his watch ready to make the journey back in time. He never knew what made it go where he needed. It was like just input the year and that was it. As he was just about to press the button on the watch, Florence moved towards him.
"Hold on." she called out, "You do realise you can control when you go, right?" she checked. Tim looked back at her blankly and confused, "Don't tell me you just put in a date and hope for the best?"
"No." he lied with a little stutter.
Florence rolled her eyes, "Top button, you can input coordinates." she informs him, handing him a piece of paper with the numbers scribbled on.
"Right, thanks." he replied looking at the piece of paper.
The bell dings as the shop door opens and Florence turns abruptly towards the sound, "Go. Now!" she demands. Tim inputs the data in the watch and presses the button and before Florence has a chance to do anything, Tim had gone and Mickey was almost in the room.
She tried to quickly grab the folder, shoving the clippings into it, "What are you doing?!" Mickey asked, his voice louder and angrier than usual causing her to drop the folder and papers on to the floor. He looked around as she kneeled down and picked up the papers. Something about the room felt off; Florence was acting strange, looking frightened as soon as he walked into the room. He walked closer to her, crouching down to help her and they placed the papers back into the cardboard folder. Getting up off the floor, Florence returns it to the filing cabinet and turns her attention back to her husband. Mickey's hand raises and rapidly makes it's way to Florence's face, striking it against the skin of her cheek. "You stupid bitch. What have you done?"
"He – he had a right to know, Mickey. That watch -"
"Yeah, yeah, you said; it's going to change his life." he argued back, as Florence holds her cheek from the slap she just received. "Where has he gone?" he asked, but she doesn't reply. "Florence!"
"I sent him to Maryland, 1952."
Mickey shook his head, "No, no no! You stupid, idiotic woman." he insulted, "Please tell me you didn't tell him about the secret."
The look of terror and panic on her face told Mickey the answer, "I – I'm – I'm sorry, Mickey." she apologised, "I didn't tell him it because you told be not to, but I told him to follow the journey of the watch. He's going to find out sooner or later."