Twicelight

Chapter - 19

Third person's pov:

When Sana woke up she was confused. Her thoughts were hazy, still twisted up in dreams and nightmares; it took her longer than it should have to realize where she was.

This room was too bland to belong anywhere but in a hotel. The bedside lamps, bolted to the tables, were a dead giveaway, as were the long drapes made from the same fabric as the bedspread, and the generic watercolor prints on the walls.

Sana tried to remember how she got here, but nothing came at first. She did remember the sleek black car, the glass in the windows darker than that on a limousine. The engine was almost silent, though they'd raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal speed. And she remembered Mina sitting with her on the dark leather backseat. Somehow, during the long night, Sana's head had ended up against Mina's granite neck. Her closeness didn't seem to bother her at all, and her cool, hard skin was oddly comforted her. The front of Mina's thin cotton shirt was cold, damp with the tears that streamed from Sana's eyes until, red and sore, they ran dry.

Sleep had evaded Sana; her aching eyes strained open even though the night finally ended and dawn broke over a low peak. The gray light, streaking across the cloudless sky, stung her eyes. But she couldn't close them; when she did, the images that flashed all too vividly, like still slides behind her lids, were unbearable. Her father's broken expression - Tzuyu's brutal snarl, teeth bared - Momo's resentful glare - the keen-eyed scrutiny of the tracker - the dead look in Tzuyu's eyes after he kissed her the last time... she couldn't stand to see them. So she fought against her weariness and the sun rose higher.

Sana was still awake when they came through a shallow mountain pass and the sun, behind them now, reflected off the tiled rooftops of the Valley of the Sun. She didn't have enough emotion left to be surprised that they'd made a three-day journey in one. She stared blankly at the wide, flat expanse laid out in front of her.

The shadows of the palm trees slanted across the freeway - defined, sharper than she remembered, paler than they should be. Nothing could hide in these shadows. The bright, open freeway seemed benign enough. But she felt no relief, no sense of homecoming.

"Which way to the airport, Sana?" Chaeyoung had asked, and she flinched, though his voice was quite soft and un-alarming. It was the first sound, besides the purr of the car, to break the long night's silence.

"Stay on the I-ten," Sana answered automatically. "We'll pass right by it." Her brain had worked slowly through the fog of sleep deprivation.

"Are we flying somewhere?" She asked Mina.

"No, but it's better to be close, just in case." Sana remembered beginning the loop around Gimpo International Airport... but not ending it. She suppose that must have been when she'd fallen asleep. Though, now that she'd chased the memories down, she did have a vague impression of leaving the car - the sun was just falling behind the horizon - her arm draped over Mina's shoulder and her arm firm around her waist, dragging her along as Sana stumbled through the warm, dry shadows. She had no memory of this room.

Sana looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was three o'clock, but they gave no indication if it was night or day. No edge of light escaped the thick curtains, but the room was bright with the light from the lamps.

Sana rose stiffly and staggered to the window, pulling back the drapes. It was dark outside. Three in the morning, then. Her room looked out on a deserted section of the freeway and the new long-term parking garage for the airport. It was slightly comforting to be able to pinpoint time and place.

She looked down at herself. She was still wearing Nayeon's clothes, and they didn't fit very well at all. She looked around the room, glad when she discovered her duffel bag on top of the low dresser.