Page 8 of Morning's Light

What is going on? Aisanna never stayed parked if she had plans. She kept herself busy and on a tight schedule. What was she still doing here?

Elon locked up then stepped toward the car, though it took him a minute to notice the slight figure slumped behind the wheel, head turned at an odd angle.

“Jesus!” He sprinted the rest of the short distance and lifted his hand to tap on the glass. “Hey, hey! Wake up.”

Aisanna sat inside the running car, her delicate build drooped to the side and her mouth hanging wide open. Elon had one hand in his pocket ready to call 9-1-1 when he noticed she was breathing, her chest rising and falling rhythmically.

“Aisanna, wake up. Aisanna!” His nerves felt like he’d just eaten a piece of metal instead of chocolate. It took multiple frantic knocks for her to jerk forward. Her head snapped up and knocked against the steering wheel.

She winced in pain. Elon tugged at the door and found it locked. He fished around for his phone and clicked on the flashlight app, flashing it against the car window and watching her pupils contract.

She gasped, one hand shooting up to cover her mouth. At least she was alive.

He fumbled for something to help jimmy open the door. Sometimes, it felt to Elon like they’d known each other for a thousand years. He knew her every gesture, every expression gracing her beautiful face. He saw them in his mind: the terse smile, tight at the edges, the lips barely parted when Johan said something stupid; her squint when she stared over his shoulder, blotting out the rest of the world and bringing his work into focus.

But he’d never seen the look on her face he saw then. There was fear around her wide eyes. Pain evident in the thin press of her lips. There was concern, but not for him. There was something else, too. Guardedness, like a lock clicked shut over a treasure box. And through it all…terror. Sharp, sparkling terror.

“Are you okay?” His voice did not seem to reach her. “Answer me. Are you all right?”

“Ugh…where am I?” she grumbled, her words slurred and slow to come.

Elon propped his head against the window, shielding his eyes to get a better look. There was no broken glass. No clouds of carbon monoxide or smoke in the interior. Had she taken something?

“Are you okay?” he repeated. “You’ve been out here for hours. I thought you’d gone home for the night.”

“Hours?”

“How about you unlock the door and let me in?”

Aisanna rubbed her forehead, disoriented. “I was supposed to already be at home.”

“You’re still in your car. Now unlock the damn door.” Rarely did he demand anything, and never of her. This definitely qualified as an extenuating circumstance.

Hearing the click of the lock disengaging, he took it upon himself to throw the door wide. He knelt beside her and turned the key in the ignition to cut off the motor. A dull hush filled the air.

“God, you could have frozen to death if you hadn’t left the heat on. Did you have some sort of attack? How is your pulse? Let me know if you feel lightheaded.”

He reached for her hand and she yanked it back, shaking despite the warmth. She rebutted with a question of her own. “How long have I been out here?”

“Well, you walked out the door around six, so I’d have to say you were here for at least two hours.” Elon spared a glance at his watch. “It’s a little past eight now.”

“Two hours? Are you kidding me?”

“Please, tell me what happened.”

“If I knew, I would.” She bit the inside of her lip. “Trust me, if I knew…”

“I’ll get you some water.” He tugged her hand until she rose out of her seat. Willing his heart to slow, he took her in, starting from her toes and working his way to the tips of her ears. Already her color had returned to normal.

“What?” She gave her head a toss and turned to size him up in return. “What are you looking at?”

“I’m making sure everything looks normal.” He pressed his thumb against her wrist and mouthed the seconds while he took her pulse.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. I must have dozed off.” Movement belied her words when she stumbled and would have tripped over her own feet had Elon not been there to catch her.

“Sure,” he agreed sarcastically. “Let’s just get you that water.”

Disoriented, she allowed him to lead her back inside. With a single jiggle, he removed his key from his pocket, stepping aside and holding the door open for her. Soon they were in the back room with Elon moving to the prep sink and grabbing a clean glass. A moment later, he handed her the glass and watched her gulp down the whole thing.

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