Page 18 of Finding Her
“What other options do I have?” I couldn’t breathe. It was as if I was an inch below the surface of water, trying to get my lips past the waves to suck in air. Oxygen was nearby, but I couldn’t reach it. I would grab Venus and somehow get back to the forest. Maybe there I would find my breath. I had to get out, I had to pursue the voice. Everything would be better.
“Graysen will be home in less than an hour.”
“If I go back, maybe I’ll find answers.” I tripped over my words repeatedly, my thoughts eager to communicate fasterthan my tongue could manage. My fingers fumbled with the knots of the boot laces.
“Or maybe you won’t.” She appeared in front of me again with a clear drink.
“I have to go!” I shouted with a choke. My chest heaved. Sweat dripped down the back of my neck. My entire body was buzzing. I shot up and ran to the back doors, my hands struggling with their lock in a clumsy panic. I could break through the glass if it didn’t budge soon. The doors were the surface of the ocean that I was drowning in; I just needed to getthroughthem.
In my terror, I barely felt the small pinch in my neck. But as calmness washed over my body, I wondered what… pinched me. A pink arm wrapped over my chest from behind, its hold supporting my weight as I slouched into something cold. The world went dark, and another memory was lost to the cosmos.
Faeryn
“Andthatis why I have a chunk of my ear missing.” Graysen finished the story he had been telling over breakfast with a finger gun and click of his tongue.
Graysen’s tone was particularly cheerful that morning, although lacking some authenticity. Maybe he could sense that I still felt off. I had woken up with a headache, some mild nausea, and a general sense of having overslept. A two-day hangover seemed excessive to me, but my body had beenthroughit recently. I didn’t have much memory of my night out, or the day after. What a shame my accelerated healing in this world didn’t seem to be applying to my Drooler recovery.
“Oh,” I snorted at the unexpected answer to “what happened”. “I thought Thornians were more docile than that.”Who takes a bite of someone’s ear while they’re being helped up?
“They’re peaceful, but they’re the least developed species of our world. I think he was drunk and got confused while hungry.” He squinted as if pondering the idea. “He did apologize profusely and buy me a drink once I was off my shift.”
“Your world certainly isn’t boring.” I tried to remember if this kind of thing happened on Earth—without the involvementof hard drugs. “You know most days I think I’m dreaming, but I find it difficult to believe that my mind would make up some of this shit on its own.”
I shoveled the last bite of breakfast into my mouth. It was comforting that, despite a wealth of alternative preparation methods, eggs could just be regular scrambled eggs here. Sure, they probably came from a weird chicken alternative, but it was the closest to Earth food I figured I would get.
“Well, prepare to be even less bored.” His eyes moved uncertainly to a zoned-out Mykie. “I’d like to take you exploring somewhere magical. Maybe it’ll help with recovering your memories to have a change of scenery.”
“Where’s that?” I couldn’t help but be intrigued. Well-rested from two days without troubled dreams, I was excited to see what else Trebianna had to offer. After our day of somewhat mandated bathroom small talk, I was starting to feel more relaxed in Graysen’s presence. I got a glimpse into how he interacted as a normal person. Not a hero dragging an injured woman from the woods. Not a chef. Not a self-appointed caretaker. Just Graysen. A man with a history of depression, friends, and a job. It provided a much-needed breather to settle into our dynamic.
“Eitrea Island,” he said, standing up to clear my plate.
“You’ll love it,” Mykie cut in the conversation unexpectedly; she had been stewing in thought by the sink window silently for almost an hour. Graysen had unconvincingly assured me it was normal when I asked if she was alright under my breath.
“Are you coming with us, Mykie?” I wanted her to. The more people I had to talk to, the more I could learn, and the less I would fixate on my own predicament. Mykie was a little rougharound the edges, but I didn’t mind that so much. I wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, either.
She huffed out a subdued laugh and began shuffling through the fridge, “Me being there would completely ruin your outing, babe.”
“That’s not true,” I objected kindly. I hoped she wasn’t still feeling bad about the Drooler situation. Now hyperaware that Graysen had blamed it on her, I worried about the words I was forgetting from their argument that night. There was no way to be certain, but I suspected today’s silence might be related to whatever had gone down.
“Actually, she’s right, my dear.” Graysen shuffled Mykie to the side, grabbed a gray carton from the fridge, and handed it to her since she seemed to be lost amongst the shelves.
Mykie poured the familiar silver liquid out of the carton into a glass. She replaced the cap and rested her elbows on the marble countertop to support her head with her hands. Her heart-shaped cheekbones smooshed up into her eyes from the press of her slim fingers. “It’s not exactly a hospitable place for me. Arielnas visited a long time ago, and they weren’t at the top of the food chain.”
“What was higher on the food chain?” I tried not to look straight at her razor-sharp row of teeth. I remembered the woods I’d been lost in, and the menacing cacophony that reverberated through its trees. This planet was feral. Surely Graysen wasn’t about to sign me up for round two of running from beasts. I didn’t think I would be lucky enough to survive the second time.
“It’s a surprise!” Graysen less than subtly elbowed Mykie in the ribs behind the countertop.
“I don’t think I want to go somewhere I can be eaten.” I was honestly quite surprised he was suggesting this. Since finding me, he had been nothing if not overly cautious and attentive. This was out of character.
“Mykie can’t go because her species is on the dinner menu. You and I won’t be of any interest whatsoever in that regard.” He locked eyes with me and spoke smoothly, trying to assure me of his certainty. It was concerning how effectively it worked.
“Graysen…” I began to protest despite my resolve being ready to give in to my curiosity and his velvet-toned promises of security. Getting out of these brick walls was exactly what I wanted, and this was the most positive he had been since my arrival. If we were going to be stuck together indefinitely, it might be nice to make a good time of it.
“Trust me?” he beseeched.
“It’ll be fun,” Mykie droned factually. “Eitrea won’t beat the pub, but it’s a close second.” What was up with her today? She sounded so distant.
“Alright.” I looked away from Mykie and back to Graysen, allowing myself a hesitant smile. “Let’s do it.”
