I sleep much longer than I intended, waking to find it is dark again. I feel much better, though, and I smooth my wrinkled clothes and finger comb my hair. Once I erase all evidence of my presence in the guest room I slip down the hallway to Luke's room. He opens the door almost immediately when I knock.
"Up already?" he asks with a yawn.
"I intended to be up hours ago," I answer.
"I guess you needed the sleep," he says, smiling just a little.
"I guess," I say, smothering my own smile. "But we've wasted enough time already; it's time to get to work."
"Right." Luke yawns again then says, "Give me a minute to get dressed then I'll meet you in the office. I trust you can find your way."
I nod and, turning on my heel, walk through the door. Even though Mr. Carlisle said most of the staff was gone, I still keep myself invisible. Just in case. The door to Orion's office is locked, but I just walk right through. Flicking on the light, I take a look around. It looks exactly the same as the last time I was snooping around in here. The staff must still be cleaning, though, because there isn't a speck of dust.
The sound of a key in the lock startles me and I vanish, turning the light off as I do so. A moment later the door opens and Luke steps into the room. I breathe a sigh of relief as I reappear. Luke jumps slightly when he sees me. "I almost asked how you got in here," he says after a moment.
"The door was locked," I say lamely.
Luke raises his eyebrow at me. "So I noticed."
For several seconds we just look at each other then, hesitantly, Luke asks, "So... like, how does it work...?" He gestures in my direction. "The... walking through walls and shapeshifting... all that crap."
"I don't know," I answer, and it really isn't a lie. "Boris never explained exactly what his scientists did to us."
"You and your brother?" Luke asks.
I nod and he leans against the closed doors. "So he was like you too?"
"Yes, he was."
There is another silence before Luke asks, "What was it like?"
"What was what like?" I ask, even though I know perfectly well what he meant.
Luke's gaze slides away from mine, like he's embarrassed to ask, and he shrugs. "Having your abilities. Learning to use them, I guess. I mean, how old were you when he... did whatever he did?"
It is my turn to shrug. "I don't know. The earliest memories I have I was about fourteen. At least, the earliest clear ones. Everything else is a blank slate... or faint images. Fragments. Useless as a shattered glass. Who knows how long we were in those tanks, being tampered with."
"Tanks...?" A strange looks crosses Luke's face.
"Cryotanks," I say. "They had some sort of field that kept us from flickering out of control before we learned to control our abilities."
"So you really remember nothing?" It seems like he's talking to himself rather than to me.
"Did you think I was lying?" I ask coolly.
Luke gives me a narrow-eyed look. "I didn't know what to think. You've lied before, what's to stop you from lying again?"
I sigh and turn away. "I told you before... I'm done lying. I've spent my whole life lying and... and I'm done with it. Whether or not you believe me is up to you; there is nothing I can say to change what I did in the past. All I can do is change the future."
There is a long silence before I hear Luke sigh. "I wish I could say I trust you, but I just can't...."
"I understand..."
His next words catch me by surprise. "...yet." Cautiously, I turn to face him. "Against my better judgement I'm choosing to believe you. And maybe it's stupid of me, but I'm hoping you'll give me a reason to trust you."
Tentatively, I reach out to touch his hand, stopping just shy, but he grabs my hand before I can pull it away. Swallowing, I say, "I can't promise everything will turn out okay, but I can promise you I will never lie to you again, and I will do everything in my power to make things right."
Luke releases my hand. "That's all I can ask for."
I nod, pushing away the urge to slip my hand back into his. "Then let's get to work. We don't how much time we have."
"Sounds like a plan."