Chapter 10 - People Are Lonely Because They Build Walls Instead of Bridges

December 16^th 1996

When I woke up, I was groggy, but Chloe was already up and had a cup of coffee for me. Today she was dressed in sweats.

“So, we gonna work out today?” She asked with a smile as she handed me the cup.

I took a sip, my mind not awake yet.

“That is why you bought the work out clothing right?” She asked.

“Yeah.” I said in a raspy tone. “That’s why I bought them.”

“Good!” Meagan said, coming out of her room in sweats. “Because I’m in too.”

The three of us headed out and did a light jog and walking routine, just swapping in and out of a jog every thirty seconds. By the end, Chloe and I were coughing and wheezing.

“Are you two all right?” Meagan asked as we got back to the house.

“Yeah. Chloe is a smoker, and I’m not used to this yet.” I said. “Just give us a moment or two to catch our breath, Miss Track and Field.” I added.

“Wait, I was in track?” Meagan asked.

“Yeah. You were proud of it too.” I said as a familiar car pulled up.

When it stopped Danielle stepped out, wearing a white t-shirt and some jean shorts. Her shirt was tight enough that you could see her baby bump, and she was smiling like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hey future boy, you ready to go?” She called out.

“Yeah, let me go slug some water, and change.” I called back.

“Wait, she knows?” Meagan asked.

“Yeah, she overheard me and Chloe talking in the store the other day. She’s cool with it.” I said before heading into the house.

I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and began drinking. After finishing my third glass of water I grabbed my coffee and dumped the rest down the drain. As much as I don’t mind coffee, hanging out with my new friend seemed to mean more to me than just drinking coffee. I grabbed my orange shorts and a t-shirt and went to the bathroom and got cleaned up and changed. On the way out, I grabbed what was left of my cash from the other night and smiled towards Fawn who was just stumbling out of her room.

“Wait, so, you’re leaving?” Meagan asked.

I walked up to Meagan.

“Yeah, Mother will take you guys back to Disney today, and you will have fun trying to complete your autograph books, before seeing some of the attractions there.” I explained. “Tomorrow is SeaWorld in the rain. No, I’m not kidding. The day after is the Epcot center, and then the following day we should head back.”

“Advantage to being from the future, I guess, you know all of our stops.” Meagan laughed.

“Yep.” I laughed back.

For me, this Florida trip wasn’t about being bored and annoyed by my family, not anymore. It was about rekindling brother and sister relationships with my siblings, and making a new friend. As I got into Danielle’s car, I remembered the first time around how horrible it was for me. I was bored, they agitated me, I hated every moment. A weekend getaway that should’ve been fun, and it felt wasted, but, this time I was having fun, and I liked it.

Danielle drove us to a McDonalds nearby.

“Sorry, the baby has a thing for the French fries here.” Danielle laughed.

“No worries, I know some people liked this kind of stuff before the trans-fat ban.” I said.

“What ban?” Danielle asked.

“Trans-fat ban. In my original timeline they banned the use of Trans-fat in most foods, which was the start of the health craze I guess. By the time I died, people didn’t want to eat things with GMOs.” I explained.

She gave me a confused look.