Inversion [Camp NaNoWriMo July 2021]

day xli

d a y   x l i

I open my eyes to a cream-colored ceiling and pale blue walls. Not Cian's room, or the guest bedroom in his apartment.

It all comes flooding back, and I shoop up in bed. My bed.

And there, sitting in the chair beside the bed, in a position so similar to how I'd wake up to find Cian watching over me, is someone I thought I would never see again, sleeping with a troubled frown crinkling his brows, dark bags beneath his eyes.

"Jeremy," I breathe.

Jeremy's eyes flutter open, and then he lurches forward and pulls me into a crushing hug. A choked sob comes from him, the sound reverberating through me.

"Ally," he whispers.

I draw in a shaky breath, tears pricking at my eyes. I can't be completely sure that I'm not dreaming, but this feels pretty fucking real. I hope it's real.

It's surreal, to feel him in my arms, to feel his heartbeat pounding as quickly as mine, to feel the warmth of his body. That terrible night never happened, and this family was never torn apart.

I draw back, eyes widening as the gravity of the situation sinks in.

It's all over.

But what of Cian? And how did I get here?

I hurtle from the bed, slipping out of Jeremy's grasp, and rush for the door. But on the way, I pass by my dresser and freeze. Staring back at me, with blue-gray eyes, is me. Tan, blonde, and blue-eyed. As if the past four weeks never happened.

My head is spinning, trying to understand what just happened. But it's all too much to take in, and I feel like I'm falling again.

This time, everything goes black.

* * *

I wake up a few hours later, and Jeremy explains it all. Well, he explains what it'd been like on their end.

They'd heard a loud crack, likely the same one I'd heard, and the next thing they knew, I was crumpling to the floor in front of them. They moved me to my room, and I've been mostly unconscious for a week. They'd managed to rouse me for a few minutes at a time for food and water, or to use the bathroom, but I don't remember any of that.

None of us know how I got here. More of Death's intervention, I suppose. I haven't gotten a chance to explain what I've been up to for the past month. Although I haven't figured out how much I want to tell them, especially about Cian. Jeremy's asked me plenty of times though, and it takes most of my energy to evade his questions.

Mom and Dad haven't visited me since I've woken up, though Jeremy assures me that they checked in constantly when I was unconscious. I can't tell if he's telling the truth, or lying to make me feel better.

Now it's nearly dinnertime, and we're to eat together, the first meal together as a family after the accident. But I manage to sneak out of the house before Jeremy can convince me to stay. I don't know if I'm ready to face Dad just yet. And I need to see Cian.

The ninety-minute bus ride feels like an eternity, and I spend the entire time trying not to feel too guilty about leaving. I didn't have Cian's phone on me when I'd been transported home, and my phone is probably in a landfill somewhere, so I'd left a hastily-scrawled note for Jeremy on my desk before grabbing a jacket and slipping out of the back door.