The Autumn Prince

39. Wake Up call

"Hey Tom."

Finn woke me with a phone call just after six o'clock. I slid out of bed without disturbing Katherine and made my way to the common room.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"It's morning. Listen, I heard about the staff. Did Meg talk to you yet?"

"I barely saw her. She spoke with Becca and left."

"Damn her," she muttered in a quiet whisper. "Alright, so what do you know?"

"Uh," I droned, trying to conjure memories through the fog of sleep. "I don't—I think she said it reset or something."

"I meant about why it happened."

"I wrecked the spell somehow."

"Fair enough, but don't read too deeply into that. And the tree, can you send me a picture of it?"

"Finn, I'm not even dressed."

"I didn't ask for a picture of you, I need one of the tree."

"You woke me up to take a picture of a tree?"

"Yes."

I stifled a yawn. "The sun's barely up, there's not enough light."

"I'm not going to frame it, Tom, just use your flash. I need to see it and you're too far out of my way for me to check in."

"Fine. Give me a few minutes."

"I'll be waiting," she said, and hung up.

I yawned again and returned to Katherine's room for my clothes, then stumbled back out to the shower, deciding Finn's photo could wait. The card game had ended just before midnight and while I hadn't been particularly tired I had been looking forward to sleeping in, if only to give my brain a rest. Working toward a medical degree with a heavy class load, digesting the existence of other worlds, taking responsibility for three other people, and learning how to control weird abilities all at the same time left me mentally and emotionally exhausted, even after—or perhaps because of—hours of inactivity.

I rinsed, dried, and dressed before Rachel woke for her morning run, then made my way to the patio where I had a good view of the black tree. The first photo resulted in a dark smear. The second was a little clearer, but I couldn't quite get it into focus. I thought it was lack of skill at first, but everything else came through sharp, so I sent it to Finn with an apology and a short explanation.

"Nice morning wood," she typed back with an inappropriate combination of emojis. I wondered if her request was designed solely to deliver that punchline and seriously considered blocking her number.

Becca rose with Rachel and both stopped for a kiss before heading outside to continue wearing a footpath around the island. Sports bras were a second skin for Rachel, but Becca's looked foreign on her, more sexy than cute, and there was no sign of the shyness she'd exhibited while in Katherine's ill-fitting clothing. Once more I had to exert control over my wandering thoughts, and again wished that locking away my libido was as simple as it had been while medicated.

While they were still out, Katherine appeared, no less attractive than the others in her white robe, and we set about making breakfast.

"I think Gloria would do it," she said, scrambling several eggs on the stove. "She's always asking for help with her homework, and I could probably trade an hour of my time in exchange for her gathering some of our things."

I dropped several sausages on the griddle next to her. "She never struck me as someone who'd need a tutor."

"She doesn't, she just lacks confidence. I think her dad puts a lot of pressure on her, and she doesn't want to disappoint him."