The Multitudes Within Me (Sequel to The Sound of Ice)

6

It drizzles all day on Saturday, and Eliza and I spend the evening at the coffee shop. It's warm inside, the scent of coffee heavy, and I watch thin water droplets zigzag down the window beside me.

Eliza takes a sip of her coffee and rests her chin on her hand, glancing up at me and smiling. "What are you reading?"

I hold up my book so she can see the title.

"War and Peace," she says aloud. "Is it good?"

"Yeah, it's good."

"It's long."

"That's what I like about it. It gives you time. I don't like when things end too soon."

"Huh."

I'm not quite sure why I said that, and my cheeks start to burn. "You can borrow it later, if you'd like."

"Sure!" Eliza tucks a strand of hair behind her ears and looks out the window. People hurry out on the streets, their heads ducked down, gripping dark umbrellas. A young girl catches my eye across the street, wearing a pink raincoat and matching rain boots. She reminds me of Hailey, for a second.

"Hey," says Eliza. "If you want, we can study for chemistry for a little. Before we head back to the dorms."

I shut the novel and slip it into my backpack. "Yeah, sure."

"I swear, Mrs. Howard is going through a divorce, or menopausal, or something, I'm telling you. She just seems so cranky all the time."

I smile and shrug. "Or she just hates people."

That makes Eliza laugh. "Yeah, or she just hates people. Well, we have that in common, I guess." She flips open her textbook, a wave of seriousness settling over her, the way she always gets when we talk about academics. "Let's get started."

~

That night, I have the dorm room to myself. Pierce is out somewhere, either with friends or with Laura - he told me but I don't remember at all - and I sprawl out across my bed, a black and white movie playing on my laptop.

I love the way the actors talk in these movies, the way their voices fluctuate dramatically, the way their emotions are expressed so plainly across their grainy, softened faces. I'm watching one I've seen multiple times before - I know some of the dialogue by heart now - but I let myself drift off halfway into sleep, half hearing the words, half unconscious. I curl up on my side and rest my cheek against the warm fabric of my sweatshirt, breathing deeply as the movie murmurs on.

After awhile, a knock at the door makes me look up, groggy and disoriented. "Yeah?" I clear my throat and pause the movie. "Come in." It's probably Eliza, or maybe Laura, Pierce's girlfriend -

And then I'm jumping up from the bed and throwing myself into a hug, and I think I'm sobbing, and he's hugging me so hard I'm losing my balance, his arms wrapped tightly around me, the smell of home, and I collapse against his body and cry into his shoulder.

He runs his fingers through my hair and kisses my forehead. "Your hair is a little longer."

I look down and wipe my eyes on my sweatshirt sleeves - I haven't even looked at him, not really - and then I do, and he looks the exact same as I remembered, if not better, crisper, clearer, because I haven't seen him in person in forever - and he's really here, in front of me, and he's smiling, his eyes crinkled with happiness.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, but it's hard to get the words out.

"We had a layover in Boston on our way to New York, and I convinced my coach to give me a couple hours off. I missed you."