We're getting so close to the ending of Never Without You! Guess how many pages both books have combined!
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Zelda's POV
After my last lecture on Wednesday, Link and I pack up my car with everything we need for our trip to Mammoth Lakes. I can't believe it's almost been a year since we were there. Hopefully this trip won't end in a bunch of broken hearts.
When Cado opens the front gate, and Revali's car approaches the driveway, I check the trunk one last time to make sure we have everything. It's just a 4-day trip, but I don't want to get there and then realize we forgot something important.
"Got everything?" Link asks, taking a look into the back of the car as well.
"I think so."
"Okay, well, the others just arrived, so I think we can leave in a few minutes. Where's Malice?"
"She went back upstairs to grab one more thing." I shut the trunk. "We should leave soon, before my father returns from his business trip."
Smiling vaguely, Link comments, "It's kinda ironic that the one time he's home for the holidays, you're the one leaving."
I nod, feeling almost annoyed by the irony of it all. "He only came back because he promised Penn he'd have Thanksgiving dinner at their mansion. This was when he was still trying to set me up with their son. I thought he would cancel the dinner once I told him I wasn't interested in Ramses, but since he promised, he went through with it anyway."
The front door opens at the same time as Revali parks his car. Malice, with her ponytail swinging through the back of my "Every Tree Counts" cap, trods down the steps and joins us by the cars. She's wearing one of my white tops, a navy colored zip hoodie that looks oversized on her even though it's a medium, and the vintage jeans that don't fit me anymore. I hate how good they look on her. Link seems to notice it too. He stares at Malice for a moment too long, and stops himself from commenting on her looks.
"What?" Link says, having noticed my lingering side eye.
"Nothing."
"Sorry, she just looks so..."
"Careful now," I warn, arms crossed.
"I was gonna say normal. She doesn't look like the Malice I'm used to."
"Good," Malice says, walking right past us toward the car. "Can't risk getting recognized by anyone." She pulls out a pair of sunglasses to complete her outfit. Or rather, her disguise. This takes me back to my Sheik disguise when Link and I visited the aquarium last year. I miss those times—babysitting Riju, spending the night at Urbosa's... I should call them tomorrow to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving!
"Will you stop staring at me?" Malice snarls.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I was staring." I suppose she really does look... normal.
"Guys," Revali tries to get our attention. We all turn toward his car. He has rolled down his window and is now greeting us with his most irritated glare of impatience. "Are you guys ready to leave? We don't want to hit rush hour."
Mipha leans into the frame of the window, waving her hand at us from the passenger seat. "Hi guys," the soft tone in her voice makes up for any harshness found in Revali's.
Link and I wave back at her while Malice is just sort of standing next to us with her arms crossed. The backdoor suddenly flies open, and Impa jumps out, wearing a huge grin on her face. "I'm calling shotgun," she announces, as she gives me a quick hug.
Malice's reaction doesn't go unnoticed. Her jaw drops, and if her eyes weren't hidden behind those black sunglasses, they would fire deadly shots at us right about now.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Malice snarls, her mouth still wide open. "What's Impa doing here?"
That's when I realize that I completely forgot to tell Malice who else is coming to the lodge with us. Impa's eyes narrow at Malice, and I can feel the tension rising between these two wannabe-alphas.
"Uh, Malice," I interject, hoping to diffuse the tension before things escalate. "I forgot to mention that Impa was going to be there."
In disgust, Malice pulls up one corner of her lips. "Yeah, a heads-up would've been nice." But her attention doesn't stay on Impa for long. With the car door wide open, she notices the other two guys sitting in the backseat. With her lips parted in shock, she takes a step away from Revali's car.
"Kiroh?" Malice mutters in disbelief. "Oh no!" Her face loses all color, and her stance shifts from a ready-to-fight mode to downright survival. "He sent you!"
"Who sent who?" Kiroh asks confused, innocently sitting in the middle seat of the crowded backrow.
"You two know each other?" I ask Malice who looks like she's been given the death sentence. She takes off her sunglasses and it becomes clear that it's not Kiroh she's looking at anymore. She's staring past him, taking in the sight of the man sitting next to Kiroh, slightly hidden behind his frame. Despite his hair having changed from white to brown, and his face no longer wearing his distinctive piercings, she recognizes him in a state of disbelief.
"Pike..." She says in such a defeated whimper that he almost doesn't hear her broken voice.
His eyes stay in the car. He doesn't even turn his head in her direction. Lips pressed together, he looks slightly uncomfortable. "Hey Mía."
Malice's shock is palpable but she recovers quickly. She turns to me, her expression a mix of confusion and frustration. "What the hell, Zelda? Impa, Kiroh, AND Pike? Is this a fucking prank? Fuck this," she pushes me aside as she stomps back toward the house.
"Where are you going?" I question.
"Back inside!"
"Why? Hey—Hold on a second!"
"I'm not going to a fucking mountain with Impa, Kiroh, and Pike!"
"Malice," I assert. "Get in the car. We want to get there before it gets dark."
"Pfft, like that's gonna happen," Revali scoffs. "I think that ship has sailed."
Malice has reached the front door but can't get inside. The doors lock automatically, so she has nowhere to go without my keys. And she knows that.
Her hands still clinging to the handles, she groans and leans her head against the door in defeat. She mutters something under her breath that I can't quite catch.
Impa, for her part, offers me a tense smile, avoiding the conflict wholly. "So does that mean I can ride shotgun?" She asks me, ignoring Malice's tantrum.
Gesturing at Revali's car, I say, "You have to ride with them."
"What? Why? I want to ride with you!" She pouts.
"Malice is not going to be okay with that," I say.
"Then she can ride with Birdbrain."
"Hey!" Revali snaps.
I shake my head. "She's not going to want to ride with Pik."
"So have Pik ride with us," Impa suggests.
"Then there's still Kiroh," I say.
"Then Kiroh, Pik, and Link can ride with us!"
"With all these bags, there's not enough room for five people in my car."
"Then Link can ride with Revali, Mipha, and Malice."
"No way," Revali cuts in. "Can we just get going already? We're definitely going to hit rush hour at this point!"
Link's POV
While Zelda and Impa argue about who rides with who, I go talk to Malice by the door. Somebody has to talk some sense into her and I doubt she'll listen to Zelda or any of the others. So it's up to me again...
With her sunglasses back on, I can't see her eyes. But I don't need to—her lips give away just how annoyed she is.
"You okay?" I ask, keeping my tone casual.
"Piss off," she sighs exhausted. "I don't wanna hear it."
"Come on, Malice. It's Thanksgiving break. Is it really that big of a deal that Impa and Pik are coming to the lodge with us?"
"Those are probably the last people on Earth I'd want to share a house with."
I call bullshit. "We both know there's worse people," I say without mentioning his name.
"Yeah, and Kiroh is probably already sending him my location..."
"Kiroh's not a threat."
"How would you know? You don't know who works for Ganondorf!"
"Kiroh is harmless. Trust me."
He's probably known for weeks that Malice is staying here because Impa definitely told him about it as soon as she found out. So if he really was working for Ganondorf, he would've already shared her location with him.
"I told you. Nothing's gonna happen to you while you're with us."
Despite her tough exterior, I can tell this situation is really getting to her. I can't even blame her for it. It might not be as bad as living with Ganondorf, but having to share a lodge with your ex, the girl you hate, and a guy you're worried will sell you out is still pretty bad.
There's probably a lot of history between her and the others, so I won't tell her to just get over it. That's probably the worst thing you can tell a girl. It's best to just show support I think. So I take her side instead. Hopefully it'll get her back to the car.
"Look, I get it." Arms crossed, I lean against the stone pillar. "Between you and me, I'm not a huge fan of Pik and Kiroh either. But they're not bad people. And it's just for a few days anyways. We can survive it, right?"
Malice lets out a heavy sigh. I can't tell if she's looking at me or Pik or Kiroh or Impa or Zelda.
I give her a sympathetic smile. "Hey, if it helps, you don't have to sit next to them in the car."
"How?" She asks.
"Well... Pik and Kiroh can just ride with Revali and Mipha."
"What about Impa?" Is she going to be in our car?"
"She really wants to ride with Zelda. They're best friends," I say. Malice doesn't like that answer though, so I'm forced to add, "She can sit in the front and I can sit in the back with you. Would that work?"
Malice's lips curl into a small smile. "You're gonna sit with me?"
"If it gets you to come with us."
"What about sleeping arrangements?"
"There's enough rooms at the lodge, so you don't have to share with anyone."
"Don't I need a babysitter?" She smirks at me. "Maybe we can share more than the backseat."
"No."
"I'm just teasing you, Link," she grins.
"So are you cool with all this?"
She takes a deep breath and sucks in her bottom lips while thinking it over. "As long as I don't have to talk to or look at them, I guess it's fine..."
I push off from the pillar, stepping closer to her. "Great. Let's go then. The sooner we leave, the sooner we're back."
"Fine..."
Together, we head back to the car. That was easier than I expected. I guess Malice is easily convinced to do anything as long as she gets to be close to me. I wonder why that is. She's always been eager to be near me for god knows what reason, but as long as she keeps her hands to herself, I don't mind giving her what she wants if it makes everyone's lives easier.
I catch Zelda's eyes and give her a reassuring nod. She returns a grateful smile. We all get into the cars and finally get on the road.
I sit in the back with Malice, who constantly wakes me up to tell me we're getting followed by one of Ganondorf's men, only for the car to make a turn at exactly that moment. It happens at least twice an hour, and I never fully fall asleep before she shakes me awake again. But even if she didn't bug me, Impa is blasting Sheikah music so loud that I couldn't sleep anyway, and I swear I can hear Ravioli complaining about traffic even though he's three cars ahead of us.
The drive takes seven hours instead of five, but it feels more like 10 hours to be honest.
At long last, we make it to the lodge, and after unpacking for what feels like another 3 hours, I finally crash down on the king size bed upstairs, face down, arms spread out left and right.
Zelda and I are staying in the same bedroom as last time. My memories from that trip are still kinda fuzzy, so while I remember some things very vividly, other parts I don't remember at all. Or might be remembering wrong. Like... I don't remember anyone's Christmas gifts. I also don't remember snowboarding at all, or taking any of those Christmas photos Zelda showed me after I woke up from my coma. I do remember doing stuff with her though, in this very room, but I don't know how far it went. I thought we did it but she told me after my coma that we didn't. So... yeah. Who knows.
When the mattress sinks deeper, I open my eyes to find Zelda sitting next to me. Her fingers comb my hair. She smiles at me. "You look exhausted."
"Yeah, I could go for a nap," I admit.
"It's past 10 already, maybe we should just call it a night."
"But we haven't had dinner yet," I mumble into the soft sheets, closing my eyes again. She says something after that but I'm already drifting off....
✤ ✤ ✤
I wake up in the same exact position as when I fell asleep; on the bottom half of the bed, sideways, wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, socks and a beanie.
The heavy curtains are only letting in a tiny bit of sunlight, so I have no clue what time it is.
Could be 6 in the morning. Could be 2 in the afternoon.
I pull up my phone. It's almost 9 a.m. I consider sleeping some more. But first things first. Where's Zelda?
I turn around to search the bed. She's curled up in the chunky white blanket like salmon in a sushi roll. She slept on the upper half of the bed, sideways like me because I sort of stole all her leg room. I can't see her eyes because she's facing away from me, but I assume she's still asleep. I scoot closer and spoon her from behind.
She lets out a sleepy "Mhh?"
"Morning," I chuckle and kiss her cheek.
She opens her eyes slowly. Then a soft smile appears on her face. "Good morning," she hums.
We cuddle for a little bit. I almost doze off again but the pit in my stomach keeps me up. I need bacon. And eggs. Thank god we packed groceries, otherwise we'd have to go shopping or eat out.
I shift my body behind Zelda's and lean closer to whisper in her ear. "I'm gonna make some breakfast for us."
Her hands cling to my arm when I try to remove it. "No," she protests. "Stay."
"Zelda, I'm starving," I chuckle. "I'm not going far. Just downstairs to the kitchen."
"Mhhhh..." she opens her eyes halfway again to give me her pouty face. I smile at her, which melts her stubborn expression away. "Okay," she sighs and lets go of my arm. "I'll come with you."
"Just stay in bed. I'll get you when it's ready."
"M...kay," she moans and rolls onto her other side.
I plant a kiss on her forehead, get up, and throw on a blue hoodie. Then I leave the room. The hallway is quiet. All the doors to the guest rooms are closed and the whole house seems perfectly calm. I bet the others are all still asleep.
Impa and Kiroh are probably in the room across from ours, and Revali and Mipha are in either one of the rooms they stayed in last time. Which means Malice is sleeping in Sidon's old room.
I head for the wooden stairs, but just as I pass Revali's old room at the end of the hallway, a memory I didn't know I had hits me like a punch to the gut! It's not the usual rush of nostalgia; instead, it's heavy and nauseating. And out of nowhere, it feels like I'm transported back to last year's winter break.
...
It was Christmas Eve. I had messed up with everyone. Everyone was hurting. Everyone was mad at me. I didn't know what to do to fix things, but I knew I needed to talk to Mipha about everything first. I needed to apologize to her. So I searched the lodge. When I couldn't find her downstairs, I went upstairs.
I remember hearing Ravioli talking to someone. I was hoping it was Mipha, so I knocked on his door. It got really quiet for a moment.
"Is she with you?" I asked.
It was so quiet that I had to press my ear against the door to hear their whispers. It wasn't Mipha though. It was Zelda who was with him.
"She doesn't want to talk to you," Ravioli said through the closed door.
It hurt a lot that Zelda didn't want to talk to me, but I didn't care at that moment, I just wanted to make things right. I wanted to explain myself.
"Please, I can't--" I started but couldn't bring myself to say more. I felt like I had already lost the battle. "Please, Zelda... talk to me..." I practically begged.
"No," Ravioli answered for her. I got so angry but I knew anger wasn't gonna solve anything.
I'm trying to remember what else happened that night. It's all fuzzy. I remember my face was burning! Pulsating! I was pressing a bag of frozen vegetables against my temple. It was already thawing. My chest was on fire and I was so angry but I can't remember who I was angry at!
"Let me talk to her!" I said to Ravioli.
"No!" he repeated.
"I can't just sit in my room and do nothing!" I said to them. It was my last attempt to explain myself. "Please let me talk to her!"
I heard the bed squeak and angry footsteps charging at me. I knew those footsteps didn't belong to Zelda. I quickly leaned away from the door just in time. Revali yanked the door open in a hurry, his face black and blue.
"Piss off!" he snapped at me and shut the door in my face just as fast as he had opened it. At that moment, I wished I could have locked eyes with Zelda, but Ravioli didn't give me enough time to even look into the room.
I was so tempted to knock on his door again. All I wanted was to hold her and tell her everything would be okay.
I slept on the floor that night. Except, I didn't really sleep at all. I was leaning against the wall behind me, all night, staring at Revali's closed door just in case Zelda decided to come talk to me.
But she never did. She slept in Revali's room, and after a while, the whispers stopped and I couldn't stop myself from thinking about them sharing a bed. It made me even angrier but part of me knew I deserved that pain.
Mipha came back to the lodge late at night. When she walked up the stairs and saw me sitting on the floor, she almost wanted to turn around and leave again. But she decided against it.
"Mipha," I said, getting to my feet with a groan of pain. I didn't know what else to say, so we just looked at each other for a moment.
"You look awful," she said with a frown.
I didn't care how messed up my face and hands were. I knew I deserved it.
"I've been looking for you," I confessed. "Can we talk about what happened earlier?"
"I... I don't know, Link," she shook her head. "This is all very confusing, and to be honest, I don't know if I can handle your explanation right now."
"I'm so sorry..." I took a step forward and, unlike Zelda, she didn't back away in fear of getting hurt again. She let me come closer. She let me touch her. "I messed up, Mipha."
"With who?" She asked, wiping a tear. "With me or Zelda?"
"Both," I said.
Mipha nodded. She was trying so hard to hold back more tears. I could see her chest quivering as she held her breath. "So... Are you dating her then?"
I knew she wanted me to say no. I didn't want to lie to her but I also didn't want her to walk away from me. I hesitated just enough for Mipha to lose patience. Disappointed, she passed me and opened the door to her room.
"No, we're not dating," I said to stop her from shutting the door in my face. She didn't believe me. She wanted to, but after everything that happened with Zelda she just couldn't. So I told her the truth. "We're not dating officially, but we've been together for about half a year."
Shaking her head, she whispered, "All this time... Zelda knew how I felt about you. Why didn't you tell me about you two?"
"She wanted you to know so badly, but she kept saying I should be the one to tell you..."
"So why didn't you?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "Maybe because I'm a coward."
"You are many things, Link. But you've never been a coward."
I dropped my head in shame. "I really am sorry about what happened... I should have told you, okay? I should've told you that I'm with her. I shouldn't have led you on."
By the looks of it, Mipha wanted to ask more questions but stopped herself. She looked frozen, hugging herself and tensing up her shoulders while trying to avoid eye contact.
"Mipha..." I said to make her look at me.
"I can't do this right now, Link. It's late, and I am exhausted and hurt..."
"No, please hold on! Give me a chance to make up for it. I'm already losing Zelda, I can't lose you too!"
She stopped for a moment. Then she gave me a bittersweet smile. "You're not going to lose her. I made sure of that."
An outside voice suddenly disrupts my thoughts and ends the memory. I realize that I'm still standing in the hallway and that it's Thanksgiving break, not Christmas Eve. Somebody else is standing in the hallway with me, but it's not Mipha.
"Everything okay?" Zelda asks. She interlocks her hand with mine and smiles at me. "You look a little lost."
I blink the memory away and focus on her. She got dressed and brushed her hair into a ponytail. I consider telling her about the memory I just recovered, but it will only make her worry. I don't want her to know that my head is acting weird again or that there are still missing memories. I don't know how she'd feel about that.
"Link?" She asks again, still smiling.
Screw keeping secrets. I promised to be honest with her. "Actually... I just remembered something from last year."
Her smile stays, but it changes from carefree to supportive. "Would you like to tell me about it?"
"It was the night of Christmas Eve," I say. "I remembered staying in the hallway and talking to Mipha when she came back to the lodge."
"Oh," she nods and gently rubs my arm. "Are you okay? That must be a sad memory to recover."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got disoriented for a second." I play it off with a casual smile. "This lodge is just so big that I got lost. Can you escort me to the kitchen?"
She gives me a happy nod and takes the lead, never letting go of my hand. While I try not to think about that memory for the rest of the day. But I do wonder what Mipha meant when she said, "I made sure of that."