Lenore almost had everything she wanted.
In just a few short months, she'd graduate early from high school, start an internship at her father's new startup in San Francisco, and then head off to college in the fall on a full scholarship. Everything...
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It was a strange dripping sound that woke her, but it was the sun that kept Lenore awake. It took her a moment to even realize it was the sun. The storm had abated at some point in the night. She threw her arm across her eyes to block out the light; she was tired enough that she wanted to keep sleeping. But as the events of yesterday began to trickle back to her, her eyes snapped open.
Victor had come back.
She lurched up, impeded by one of the blankets she'd dragged down from upstairs and realized she was lying on the couch.
A shiver went up her spine. How had she gotten here? The couch still gave her the creeps, so there was no way she had crawled up here on her own, even in the face of limited options. With another shiver, she went to throw off her blanket when she froze.
On the floor, right beside the couch, lay Victor.
He was cocooned in his own blanket, his head on a throw cushion, fast asleep. Last night, they had stayed in the living room to be close to the fire, their only source of warmth and light. Lenore didn't remember falling asleep, but the last thing she did remember was lying on the floor by the hearth, talking with Victor. In the low light of the fire, he had looked almost as he had before, perfectly normal... Aside from the times when one of the phantom wisps would catch the light. In the morning sunlight, they were still there. The wisps kept close, pushing in and out, in time with his low breathing.
Looking down at Victor, asleep and so close, as though he was protecting her, she had to wonder.
Had... Had it been Victor who put her on the couch?
It had to be. A smile pulled at her lips. Though the couch itself still unsettled her, she was touched by his gesture. It was almost funny that he thought she'd needed comfort more, though he was the one whose life had turned into one big void.
They had spent the night talking. He asked a hundred more questions about what had happened while he was, about his mom, Fiona, and even school. Lenore gave him as much info as she could, but it still amounted to not much. On his side, he had just as little. He still had no memory of the past few months. As far as he knew, he'd stepped into the woods that bordered her yard and then stepped right back out.
Lenore reached down to touch his cheek. She told herself she needed to wake him, though some part of him just wanted to check if he was still real. Mere inches from him, she stopped herself. He was sleeping so peacefully. She didn't want to disturb him.
He needed all the rest he could get...
Especially with everything the day ahead held for him.
She knew that as soon as they were able to reach someone to alert the authorities of his miraculous return, it would set things into motion, and the inevitable investigation would begin. Poor Victor would be whisked away, forced to do interviews and answer questions, and maybe even have to submit to an examination.
