Black Stars - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 1

Chapter 21 - Hours

Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.

- Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore 

Leah didn't sleep well that night. Her dreams were shattered, fracturing one image from another like the reflection from a broken mirror.

For the first time, she saw Patrick and Sophie. They rose suddenly from the depths of her mind, as if she'd never forgotten them at all. Their expressions were painted with emotions that made her panic, that were filled with a familiarity and love she couldn't reciprocate.

She could see the physical similarities between herself and them. Patrick had her thick black hair, Sophie her green eyes. And yet, she couldn't remember anything other than their physical appearances, no interactions, or quirks, or facts. It brought on a terrible sense of loss, of forgetting and not knowing what was forgotten.

At four a.m. it became too much. She rose and showered, rinsing off multiple layers of sweat, before perching in front of the foggy window, watching the sun rise.

Cassandra's presence had obviously taken a subconscious toll and Leah was eager to leave. She would wait until nine, she decided, and then go looking for Jared.

Whether or not she actually wanted to find him was another matter.

As much as she hated to admit it, Jared was observant and if she wasn't careful, he'd see the difference in her instantly. She'd have to pretend nothing had changed while somehow convincing him to switch sides in a war he thought she had no idea about.

The thoughts made her fidgety, and by seven-thirty she couldn't stay still any longer.

Jared's room was on the top floor and Leah climbed up quickly, pleased when her ankle didn't protest to the movement.

She found his room and knocked, glancing around the dim corridor. There was no response, and after a minute she tried again. This time some grumbling echoed from behind the door, accompanied by shuffling feet.

Leah refrained from yelling at him to hurry up, but when the grumbler finally emerged, Leah started in surprise. It wasn't a him at all. It was a her. A very long-legged, blonde, blue-eyed her.

The girl was glaring while rubbing sleep out of her eyes, clad in an oversized t-shirt.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh." Leah glanced away and her cheeks flamed. "Sorry, I was told this was Jared's room."

"Yeah, it is."

Leah blinked.

"Right. Is he here?"

"He's in the shower."

Leah shifted, glancing into the dim room. Steam rolled up from beneath the bathroom door, clouding the air.

"Can you tell him to come find me when he's done? I'm in room 214."

The girl's eyes flashed and she leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sure. He might be a few more hours, though. He's still got a few things to do."

She dropped Leah a sultry wink that made it obvious what that to-do-list consisted of, and Leah felt her cheeks heat.

"Right. Of course. Well, um..."

The girl laughed and turned away.

"I'll tell him you dropped by. Room 214, yeah?"

Leah nodded and the girl gave her one last grin before closing the door.