Acme Time Travel Incorporated - Volume 2

Ginny’s shift at the care home started at 8 am, and so she got there at 7:50 am, just to be sure. She walked up to the main entrance and punched in the access code. It was a code only known by the staff, and it was changed every week just in case.

She walked down to the staff room and pulled her work smock out from her locker. She wasn’t much looking forward to the shift, but she thought maybe it would take her mind off Gabriel. She hadn’t really been able to get any sleep all night, thinking over how he had looked as she had left.

He had looked so ... what ... so shocked, so desperate, so misunderstood.

And so sorry that he had inadvertently scared her.

And then she had walked away from him.

Well, ran away to be more precise.

She had walked home with her mind in turmoil. She had been really looking forward to the evening with him. She knew he was very shy and very inexperienced. She could see that he came from a difficult background, but she could also see that he was a sweet boy.

And he looked like he could really care for someone. He didn’t look like the other boys around the town. They were all full of bravado, keen to show off to their mates. You couldn’t go out with one and feel safe. They were on the pull, and with them that could easily end in violence.

But she was sure that wasn’t true of Gabriel. She couldn’t imagine him going back to his friends with sordid tales of conquest.

But something really had frightened her as she had sat with Gabriel. She didn’t know what it was, but she had recognised those feelings before. When they told her to get the hell out, then she reckoned it was wise to do so. But looking back, it wasn’t Gabriel who had triggered the emotion. He wasn’t even aware of what the problem was.

But she had jumped up and ran anyway, even though ...

And she realised that she had probably hurt him a great deal.

“You ok, Ginny?” Monica asked.

Monica was fifty years old and had been working at the care home longer than Ginny. She was Ginny’s co-shift worker today, and Ginny always got on with her.

They made each other laugh.

“Things on your mind?” Monica pressed on.

“Oh, you know ... boys ... that sort of stuff.”

“Somebody been unkind to you, then?”

“No, it’s not that,” replied Ginny, “it’s just that he frightened me.”

Monica looked angry.

“I used to be with someone who gave me that shit,” Monica snarled, “and I can tell you now ... you don’t need to put up with it. If you want I can ...”

“No, he’s not ... well, I can’t explain it,” interrupted Ginny.

“You let me know if you need some help, love,” Monica said, sounding very concerned. “I know what it’s like. Nobody needs that shit.”

“Thanks Monica,” Ginny replied. “If I need to, it’s good to know there’s someone to turn to.”

“Anytime love,” Monica said. “Any time, day or night. Do you understand? Day or night.”

“Thanks Monica. I really don’t think that this boy would ever hurt me, but thanks for the offer anyway.”

Monica looked over at Ginny. She knew that back when she was being hurt, she never thought it would continue being bad.

She had thought it would be all right.

She had thought that if only she could say the right things, do the right things, that he wouldn’t be angry with her ... be so angry that he had to lash out ... lashing out at her until she cried and screamed.

It had taken the support from a strong friend of hers to get her out of the situation.

She didn’t think she could have done it on her own. She didn’t want a sweet girl like Ginny to be trapped in a desperate situation with no one to turn to.

She made a promise to herself to keep an eye out for the girl, just in case.