Soul exchange

Thirty seven ~ Don't act surprised. She's hot.

Nyx blinked. Once. Twice. The filtered light from the privacy curtains revealed dancing dust particles around her head from her position on the floor. A scream pierced her ears, and she jumped up, turning towards her terrified mother, clutching her chest.

"Good grief, Nyx! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? What are you doing on the floor? And what the Hell are you wearing? You look like some new and improved version of Lara Croft."

Nyx sprinted the eight feet to her mother and wrapped her in a warm embrace, hiding the burning tears rolling down her cheeks. Her mother's panting slowed along with her heart rate.

"Are you okay, Hunny? Aren't you supposed to be starting work soon?"

Nyx sniffled and pulled back, wiping her splotched cheeks. "Sorry. It's been a rough month. I missed you."

"I saw you just last week, baby. Are you okay? Did you- did you lose another patient?"

Nyx beamed, remembering Iris working contentedly in Tartarus, but quickly wiped the smile when she noticed her mother staring like she'd grown two heads.

"No, no, nothing like that. I just love you so much," she said, dropping her hand to squeeze hers. "Where's dad?"

"He popped into work early. Come by next weekend, and we can have dinner, yeah?"

"Sure, I'd love that. Thanks, mum. It's a date."

Kathryn looked at her watch and frowned. "You really are going to be late for work, baby."

Nyx sighed and nodded before looking at her old room. "Do you still have my stuff in there?"

"Of course, bub."

Nyx brushed past her mother with a smile and pushed her old bedroom door open. As promised, everything looked the same, even the old cellphone on her bedside table.

"Yes," she whispered, scooping it up and pressing the power button. Half battery. Good. She pocketed the phone, threw on a less conspicuous oversized hoodie to cover her superspy-looking outfit, and left the room.

"I'll see you next week! Bye," she called as she headed out the door.

"Bye, Hunny!"

With a groan, she called Agatha at the hospital and asked for the day off, claiming food poisoning hit her hard overnight. Agatha's grandmotherly voice sounded understanding, but Nyx was sure she held some suspicions. Nyx couldn't remember how long she had actually been away from the hospital; her time in Hell muddled her brain.

She called an uber and rode home, watching the people walking to work, oblivious to the destinies that awaited them after death.

"Thank you," she said to the driver as she hopped out and jogged to her house's front door. Unlocking it, she called out, "Selene? Are you here?"

A muffled cursing and shuffling responded, and Nyx froze, staring at her closest friend's closed bedroom door.

Her heart thumped in her throat as the knob turned and the door creaked open. Nyx watched as Selene slunk out, hair mussed and clothes inside out.

"Hi... You okay? I heard what happened on Friday..."

"Yeah, it's been the longest three days of my life, that's for sure," Nyx said, padding closer to Selene.

A subtle whoosh from the bedroom made Nyx pause again. "Who the hell is that?"

"No one." Selene's innocent smile and stepping foot to foot only increased Nyx's intrigue.

"Why aren't you at work?" Nyx asked, taking another step to the open door. Selene stepped in her way with a tight smile and crossed her arms.

"I got the day off."