Now You See Me

Twelve: A Window In Time

"Can you come over?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"I just...wanna see you." Tori sounds like she's been crying, but I know better than to pick her up on it. Last time I did that, she gave me the silent treatment for the following week. Tori talks so much that it's scary when she stops.

"Okay. I'll be there in ten, yeah? Want me to bring coffee?"

She chokes out a giggle. "Please. Usual."

"I'll be there in ten with coffee, then."

"Thank you, Damien."

Fifteen minutes later, I'm standing outside the entrance to Tori's student flat. Judging by the fact that the recycling box outside their door isn't full of empty bottles of booze, I gather that her roommate went home for the summer. Tori always stays, though. She says it's for me, but we both know there are other things keeping her here, things she doesn't want to talk about and things I'm not suicidal enough to ask her to shed light on.

"You're five minutes late," she says accusingly when she opens the door, but quickly forgets her complaint when I thrust a large takeaway coffee at her as a peace offering. She sits on her bed slurping it while I take my coat and shoes off at the door, but pauses to indicate that she wants me to sit next to her. I do so, and she leans her head on my shoulder, sighing. She doesn't look good; her eyes are surrounded by dark purple that has nothing to do with makeup, her hair is tousled and she's still in her pyjamas at three in the afternoon. Her fingers tremble around the cardboard cup. She's shivering.

I reach around her for the throw she always keeps on her pillow during the day and wrap it round her shoulders.

"Thanks, D," she whispers, and takes another sip of coffee. "I'm sorry about this. I just...didn't want to be on my own. I guess." Her voice chokes up awkwardly, like it always does when she tries to explain something emotional, though this time I think some of it's from tears.

"I wasn't doing anything anyway."

"You never are." She smiles up at me. "Quit saying that. You're never not doing anything." She settles back down against me. "You just aren't doing something someone's asked of you."

I don't have a response for this, because we both know she's right.

"My prescription got held up," she finally murmurs, "They said it would be in tomorrow." Her voice breaks. "But that's what they said yesterday."

Hot tears spatter on my t-shirt. I tighten my grip on her, because there's nothing else I can do. I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial my mum's number. She picks up on the second ring, so I know she's on her lunch break.

"Hey, sweetie. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know I'm staying at Tori's tonight."

There's a pause before she replies. "Okay. Need me to bring anything over for you?"

"I should have everything here," I say, "But could you drop in at the pharmacy on the corner and see if Tori's prescription's in yet, when you finish work? There's been a delay, apparently, and she's had to go without her tablets."

The change in my mum's attitude suddenly flips, which is understandable. I usually stay at Tori's to keep an eye on her, after she gets too drunk to look after herself – hence the reason why everything I need for the night is already here. Mum had always said how I was going to regret getting attached to Tori, but I haven't seen evidence of that yet.

"Of course, love. If they have them I'll come and drop them off, okay?"

"Thanks, Mum."

She hangs up. Tori's calmer than she was, sipping her drink and fiddling with a strand of hair that slipped out of my ponytail.