Book II - ch 9: Afterimages

* * *

Sarah sat up on Pegasus’ bed, otherwise frozen in place. “Is it morning?”

“No, closer to 22:00.”

He took a seat on the edge of the bed, brows furrowed. “Not that I mind waking up to a nice surprise, but did you by chance inherit Robyn’s custom of sneaking into people’s rooms when they’re away—or unconscious?”

It was her turn to be confused. Though she wasn’t exactly clear about how she’d wound up taking over his bed, she thought she’d had the rest of it figured out. “You don’t remember?”

The struggle to recall the events in question was visible on his face. “Something about nightmares?”

She nodded.

“Did you manage to get some sleep?”

Sarah shrugged. She might still be sleeping for all she knew.

“And you’re alright?” he asked, reaching out to brush back a rebellious strand of her hair.

The memory of him running his fingers along her skin—whether real or not—intruded, and she pulled back, startled by the similarities.

He retreated at once, edging away the next second as if it were a natural, unrelated, motion. Some of the humor had gone from his expression though. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

She shook her head, hoping he wouldn’t see anything more in her eyes and really, really hoping she wasn’t blushing. He couldn’t be held accountable for whatever dream version of him her own mind had concocted. And even then, uncomfortable was hardly the expression she’d choose. She managed a smile, which worked to return him to his natural self.

“And you got some sleep?” he insisted.

“Yeah, thanks for letting me crash here.”

“Good. And no problem. Though you take up a lot of space.”

“Sorry. I thought I was on the couch.”

He laughed, back to being unconcerned with anything. “I checked with Cypher when I got up, there isn’t anything urgent. We’re only expected at 07:00.”

She yawned. “Fine by me.”

Pegasus placed the wet towel back in the bathroom and simply shook his hair some more, making it even more disheveled. It reminded her of the first time she’d seen him, soaking wet in the rain.

“You can sleep some more if you want,” he said.

“Is there anything else to do?”

“I’m meeting Griffon in the game room after I grab a snack. You can join us if you’re awake enough.”

“Sure.” She yawned. “As soon as I make myself look like a human being again.”

“Doubt that’s possible, but a shower would be a good start.” Laughing, he darted out before he could be hit by a flying pillow.

* * *

“What are you doing?” Robyn asked.

Sarah stopped with her hand on the door, looking down at the towel in her other hand. “Taking a shower?”

Her sister laughed. “I thought that’s what you did not thirty minutes ago.”

Sarah frowned down at the towel, puzzled. She remembered that she’d already showered. In fact, now that she was paying attention to it, the towel was still damp. But then why did she feel like she should shower? Her hair wasn’t even dry yet.

“Sarah?”

She blinked up at Robyn, trying to make herself move. There was that tone again, the concern that was unwanted and unnerving, but not all that surprising. Things had been better lately, there hadn’t been any episodes as severe as the time she freaked out at the university last year.

Her parents believed her frequent therapy sessions were responsible for her improvement. She didn’t agree, but she kept her opinion to herself—it was safer.

“You okay?” Robyn asked.

“I’m fine.” She moved finally, strengthening her grip on the towel. “I don’t think I got all the shampoo out of my hair.”

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Yeah, it was better to pretend there was nothing wrong.

* * *

Sarah finished braiding her wet hair right as she got to the game room. Despite the name, it wasn’t filled with games, but had a small matted area for sparring. It wasn’t as complete as their actual training room, but supposedly this was just for fun.

The fun at the moment involved Pegasus and Griffon trying to outmaneuver each other. At least that’s what it looked like to her. Mermaid was watching and cheering from the side, though Sarah couldn’t tell who she was rooting for.

“Hey, Phoenix, do you want to take the loser or the winner?” Mermaid called.

“You could go a round with her, Mermaid. Take it slow,” Pegasus suggested after blocking one of Griffon’s blows.

Sarah would’ve been insulted if she thought any better of her own skills, but she was not at their level yet. She suspected, however, that this was Pegasus’ way of ensuring he wouldn’t have to fight her. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he did all that he could to get out of sparring with her.

She knew he had no problem fighting girls. More than once, she’d watched him and Mermaid try to beat each other to a pulp. Those two were unusually balanced in their matches, with one or the other winning as if they took turns. It made for a fun display, especially with all the goading and jokes.

When Griffon joined the mix, it was much quieter. But the weirdest match she’d seen had been the one time she saw Scorpion and Pegasus fight each other.

They looked less than thrilled when their names were called, but neither complained. It was the one time she saw Pegasus fight without saying a single word. Even when he fought Griffon, he threw in the odd joke at the beginning of the match. But there had been a palpable tension when he faced Scorpion. Even their audience had been silent. Mermaid, who never shut up during matches, had sat quietly in the corner.

The fight itself had been weird, but she couldn’t deny that it was a spectacle. At some point, Pegasus landed a blow harder than even he had expected and that gave him a moment’s pause which Scorpion exploited brilliantly. It looked like Scorpion had won, but he turned the tables on her and suddenly she was face down on the mat. No one jeered, no one clapped. Pegasus muttered something about being tired and walked out without another word to anyone.

As if to accentuate the contrast between past and present, she was roused from her thoughts by Mermaid’s shouting. Apparently, Griffon had been victorious. Pegasus walked straight past Mermaid towards his water bottle like he didn’t see her, but he was laughing at her jokes.

“Are you joining us?” he asked. “Might help distract you a little.”

“Will you go a couple of rounds with me?” Sarah asked.

“It would be best if you start with Griffon, he’s got the most control out of the lot since Unicorn isn’t here. Mermaid does okay, but she’s inconsistent. Oh, and don’t try to take on Scorpion unless someone makes you. She’s known for fighting dirty.”

“And nobody minds?”

“It’s the closest to real you’re gonna get without having someone actually trying to hurt you.”

“I’m not so sure she wouldn’t.” Scorpion was about as fond of Sarah as she would be of actual scorpions. “Are you too good for me, is that it?”

Pegasus chuckled, almost choking on his water. “No, that’s not it. It wouldn’t be a good fit, that’s all.”

He turned away from her to look at the fight, the subject already done. She heard a hard landing on the mattress and turned around to see Mermaid laughing at a defeated Griffon.

“Thanks, Madeleine, keeping me humble.”

Her response was sticking her tongue at him for the use of her real name.

Griffon wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “Two out of three?”

She laughed harder, looking back at the rest area. “Do you guys mind waiting another minute while I finish this up?”

Pegasus gave one of his usual nonchalant shrugs.

Sarah resisted the urge to shrug as well. Maybe she was spending too much time with him. “Go for it,” she answered aloud instead.

Pegasus took a seat and gestured for her to join him. He never took his eyes off the match. “What were you dreaming about?”

She had a panicked moment thinking of the whole pillow saga. Of course, those weren’t the dreams he was talking about. “You mean the nightmares?”

He nodded. “Whatever it was that landed you at my door.”

“Nothing much. Home. Robyn.”

Mermaid landed an awesome kick, and Griffon struggled to recover before her next move.

“If you wanna talk about it…”

“Athena can be found on the south wing?” she asked, lips curling.

“I’m sure Unicorn would be willing to listen. And I’m always here if you need me.”

She was taken aback by the sincerity of his tone. “Thank you.”

Griffon flipped Mermaid onto the mat, but she got up before he could pin her down.

“When was the last time you were outside?” Pegasus asked suddenly.

“Yesterday.”

“No, not related to a mission.”

“I don’t know, a couple of months before graduation, I guess.” Had it really been that long?

Pegasus turned to meet her gaze, something of a twisted smile coming to life on his lips. “You really should go see the world. We have flying cars now and everything.”

“Funny hearing that from you. When was the last time you went on any walkabouts that didn’t involve a mission?”

He laughed, conceding her point with a quick nod. “We have a day off in a couple of days. Where would you go?”

She caught herself before she could say home. There was no longer any home she could go to out there. No one she would care to see—even her friends all thought she was dead. It’d been over a year since she’d vanished from their lives. Over a year since Mom and Dad and her sister…

She blinked rapidly to dispel the stinging in her eyes.

There was only one place that came to mind. “The park.”

It could be a planted suggestion, something stuck in her subconscious from her last conversation with Robyn’s impostor. But the park where they used to go with their grandfather was the only place that still brought back good memories. Oddly enough, it had been important to the other Robyn as well.

It might’ve been a macabre choice, but her mind was still unwilling to fully separate the two girls who would’ve been her sister, and she’d found herself thinking of that park more and more lately.

“The one you and Robyn talked about?” Pegasus asked.

She nodded.

“I can take you, if you want.”

Someone would have to monitor her since she’d be heading to a familiar place, mostly for her safety, though she suspected they were also keeping her under surveillance. That had been the agreement when she decided to stay with them indefinitely.

Besides, it wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy Pegasus’ company. She could try to fool herself all she wanted, the distance she had been trying—and failing—to maintain was nothing but a poorly designed defense mechanism. Defense against what, she had no idea. Or rather, she wished she didn’t.

“Is nobody watching me win?” Mermaid complained, dragging Sarah’s attention back to less complicated things.

“We could go Saturday,” she whispered, trying to sound unaffected.

“Saturday it is.”