Code Lyoko: The New Girl (BK 1)

Chapter 50

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Sleeping in the same bed as Saphire was one thing, sleeping three feet across from her was a whole other thing. When Saphire and Aelita shared one bed, Aelita slept soundly. Despite how stiff and silent Saphire kept next to her, Aelita felt safe and protected next to her older sister. Sharing a dorm with her helped Aelita learn more about Saphire, despite the few degrees of separation between them.

One thing Aelita learned about Saphire was that she didn't sleep. Of course, she already knew that. The signs were obviously painted on Saphire's face: sallow bags under her eyes; bloodshot pupils; and a level of irritation that pulled both her eyebrows together and kept them stuck together until she met Aelita's gentle gaze and immediately dropped the look.

Saphire didn't sleep. She tossed and turned on her bed; moaned and whimpered; sometimes her fists would connect with the wall next to her bed, and she'd shoot up, feet hitting the floor before her eyes even opened all the way. Her legs were constantly moving when she did sleep (which was about three hours, max). Did she dream of running away from Lyoko? Did she dream of fighting monsters?

Aelita had no idea. Saphire did not share her nightmares with her. Not even when Aelita gasped awake at the sound of a sudden cry or a hard punch/kick at the wall and hurried over to awaken Saphire. She would simply sit up and blink at her. She'd be covered in sweat and tears. She'd deliver a shaky response and then take a few sips of water before lying back down.

That was how they had spent the first three nights.

After that, Saphire began to wait until Aelita was asleep. Aelita would know Saphire was still awake because there would be no movements coming from her side of the room. Aelita would poke her head up to check on her and find her bright blue eyes pointed at the ceiling. Saphire would lie in the same stock-still position as when they shared a bed. If she noticed Aelita's eyes on her, she would not comment on them.

Slowly, when Aelita could no longer keep her eyes open, Saphire would then either fall asleep herself or stay up and write or read. At the end of their first week of living together, Aelita had discovered stacks and stacks of books hidden under Saphire's bed. Books unrelated to the classes she was taking. Books on space and nature and machines; books on different countries and nations and languages. Books on every topic imaginable. Big books. Thick books. Books with hard covers and sharp edges. Books with dust on the sleeves and dirt caked on the pages.

The stacks changed every two or three days. Saphire was always reading something new when Aelita saw her. Sometimes Saphire fell asleep with a book still open in her hands, her arm draped over the page as a placeholder. There was a new book nearly every night. Aelita wondered if she was truly finishing a book a day, or if she had just gotten bored of one and switched to another. Saphire read by moonlight. She read by phone light. Aelita found it humorous she used Odd's old cellphone more as a reading light, rather than as a way to send and receive messages from the group.

Some nights, Aelita would wake to hear a pen scrawling long paragraphs on notebook paper. At first, Aelita figured Saphire was getting a head-start on her homework, but some nights she'd hear Saphire sobbing quietly and soon realized she was probably penning down her thoughts into a diary. Jeremie had mentioned casually to Aelita that Saphire kept a journal, suggesting Aelita start doing the same to keep track of her dreams and feelings. Aelita had tried, but writing down what she could barely understand was too complicated for her. Maybe she'd get tips from Saphire, but that would mean admitting Aelita knew about her nightly writing sessions, and something told Aelita it would just cause her to shut down.

Not every night was spent in silence. Some evenings after classes, Aelita and Saphire would talk about Lyoko. Saphire wasn't completely open about her past though and only answered questions Aelita asked. For some questions, she'd pause and carefully pick and choose the right words. Those were the nights she'd cry out the most in her sleep. Aelita felt reminding Saphire of the life she left behind was doing her more harm than good and decided to stop asking.