Beyond the Broken Angel

CHAPTER FIVE

— disbelief —

GISELLE STARED AT Selene's back as she and Will followed the woman through the forest and to the manor.

Meeting the cousin that had been missing before she was even born only added another layer of confusion to Giselle's already confusing situation. Even worse, some of her crazy theories that bobbed around in her head were starting to make sense.

Which was terrifying.

Even though her more reasonable conscience told her that there was a perfectly normal explanation for everything, that other, more imaginative part of her brain that she hadn't quite tapped into since childhood had plenty of abnormal explanations.

Her mind was still in a cloudy haze even when they made it inside, her and Will taking a seat on the low-backed antique sofa as Selene sat across from them in a love seat.

The woman seemed squirrelly, crossing and uncrossing her legs several times as she tapped her fingers along the arm rest.

"Aunt Selene, is everything alright?" Will asked, leaning back against the couch with his foot propped up on his knee. "Are you two truly related?"

Selene smiled nervously. "Oh, honey, you're asking all the wrong questions here."

"And what questions should I be asking, then?"

Selene looked to Giselle, studying her. "Ask Giselle when her birthday is."

Will followed his aunt's eyes, coming to a stop on Giselle. Giselle could see his confusion plain as day on his face, but that didn't stop him from asking the odd question.

"July 4th, 1997," Giselle answered him.

He made a face. "Don't jest."

"What? Do I look older than that? Younger?" She looked to her cousin when Will rolled his eyes and looked away from her. Selene wore an amused smile.

"Now ask him when his birthday is," Selene told her.

"July 5th, 1912," Will stated before Giselle could even open her mouth.

She turned on him, glaring.

"What?" he asked, frowning at her glare. "You've no right to look at me in such a manner. Nineteen-ninety-seven," he scoffed.

"No, William, she's telling the truth," Selene said, biting at fingernails. "And, Giselle, he's also telling the truth."

Will and Giselle shared a look, agreeing with their eyes that something, indeed, was very odd here.

"I'm really confused," Giselle spoke up, aiming her words at Selene. 

Selene shook her head, throwing her hands up. "Okay, um, let me try something different." She put her hands in her lap, her finger fiddling with the fabric of her dress as she spoke. "Will, keep and open mind about what I say, okay?" Will gave a wary nod. "Okay, well—that tree has the ability to transport people eighty years into the past." She snapped her eyes to Giselle. "The year is 1937, honey. Not 2017." She smiled awkwardly. "Don't panic," she tacked on.

Giselle's first reaction was to stand up and leave—whether it was from irritation or horror, she didn't know—but she kept herself seated. "What?" she breathed out. "That—"

"Go look. My mum's house is gone," Selene challenged. "It doesn't get built until 1952."

Giselle's stomach turned. The strange clothes, the antique furniture, lack of modern technology. 1937 made sense. And that was terrifying."But that's—I mean, that's impossible. Time travel isn't—"