Nora whistled. “This is...”
“Amazing,” I finished for her.
The main room was an open floor plan divided by three types of flooring, carpet for the living room, hard wood for the dining room, and tile for the kitchen. Unlike Hot Springs where the furniture had come straight from people’s houses, it was clear that everything in our quarters was brand new. Everything was updated, stylish, but also kind of stiff.
Nora shook her head. “It’s too much. Three people don’t need all this space, let alone the two of us.”
“I bet it’s just extra plush because of your dad. He made this place. Why wouldn’t they give him the best digs?”
“Maybe.”
“Something’s been bugging me.”
“What’s that?” Nora hummed.
“If your dad helped design this place and knew they were saving a spot for your family, why did you guys wait so long to start coming over here? You could have moved in right away instead of waiting two years after Apophis.”
Nora’s face fell and I knew I shouldn’t have asked that question. “It was my fault. I didn’t want to go. I thought all of this was just a phase and if we waited long enough the Frost would pass.” She sighed miserably. “I don’t know why they didn’t just leave me behind.”
“Because they loved you.” The L-word felt funny coming out of my mouth as if my tongue wasn’t used to shaping that word anymore.
She gave me a sad smile. “And look what good that love did them. It got them killed.”
I sat down next her on the sofa. “You can’t let yourself think that way. Nothing guarantees that they’d still be alive if you'd left earlier.”
Nora fiddled with a throw pillow, picking at the material. “My dad wanted to leave before Apophis hit. We would have flown in the company jet from Connecticut straight here.” She looked up and her eyes were wet. “They would still be alive,” she said thickly.
I bit my lower lip. Shit. I didn’t know what to say to that. The airplane could have crashed and then you'd all be dead? I was grasping at straws.
When words failed me, I stumbled on an apology. “I’m sorry, Nora. I shouldn’t have pried.” I was shit at consoling people, especially her. I had a talent for making things worse. I tentatively reached out to rub her back, but before my hand touched her, she hopped up from the couch.
“No more moping,” she coached herself. She rubbed her eyes roughly with her palms. “It’s time to focus on finding your father.”
I was slower to get to my feet. As much as I wanted to find my dad, I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. But more than that, right now there was still the possibility that my dad was alive and safe and underground with us. If we went searching for him, that kernel of hope could be extinguished. He might not be here at all and then what?
“Do you have any ideas?” I asked. “Just ask everybody we see if they know my dad?”
“There’s got to be a master list of who all is down here, like a phonebook or something.”
“Maybe we should wait until orientation and ask then.” To be honest, I was a little nervous to walk around and explore before we’d gone through a formal acclimation.
“Do you really want to wait?”
I couldn’t tell what her tone was – if she was judging me for delaying or if she was telling me the decision was entirely up to me. “Does that make me a horrible person?” I grimaced. “I’d really love a shower and fresh clothes. And maybe a long nap.”
“You’re not a horrible person, Sam. We’ve had some really hard days since leaving Hot Springs. Why don’t we freshen up and recharge?” she suggested. “Then we can start looking for your dad in the morning.”
“I like that idea.”
Nora yanked her top off, revealing her taunt torso and sports bra. When her hands went to the snap on her snowpants, I spun on my heel and looked away. I knew my cheeks were flushed, and for once, I couldn’t blame the weather.
I could hear the swish of her snowpants rustling and coming off, followed by her deep chuckle. “Getting shy on me, Sammy? It’s not like you haven’t seen all of me before.”
“Yeah, but that was different.”
“You looking for a repeat performance?” she pressed.
My jaw opened and closed a few times, but no response came except for a ridiculous choking noise. I could tell she was pleased with my reaction.
She stalked toward me, only clad in her sports bra and the black tights she always wore beneath her snowpants.
“I’m gonna test out the shower if you change your mind,” she winked.
She sauntered off in the direction of the single, but spacious bathroom. I couldn’t help but admire her tight backside and how the muscles in her shoulder blades coiled and flexed as she strode away at an even gait.
I hated not knowing what this thing was between us. Nora could go from somber to flirty in no time at all, but that didn’t mean she liked me or wanted to pursue a relationship. Was she just having fun with me or would she want more than just something physical? Did she even genuinely like me or was I the recipient of her flirtations because I was conveniently here?
I listened for the telltale sounds of a faucet being turned on and then the shower starting up. Rather than allow myself to be distracted by mental images of Nora naked in a shower, I busied myself checking out the rest of the apartment.
Besides the bathroom, which was currently off-limits, there were three other rooms. The large living area included a couch, love seat, coffee table, and flat-screen TV mounted to the wall. There didn’t appear to be a true kitchen besides a thin refrigerator, stove, and single sink, but there was plenty of built-in storage and a square wooden table with four chairs. Everything looked new, but uniform and functional, kind of how I imagined dorm room furniture being.
Out of curiosity I opened one of the top kitchen cabinets. It was stocked with an assortment of dishes enough to host an impressive dinner party. The fridge and range stove were smaller than the ones my parents had had, but the fridge was stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. I immediately grabbed a green pear from the crisper drawer. It was small and hard and tasted a little woody, but I couldn’t have been happier.
I peered up at the overhead lights. They weren’t traditional track lighting or even halogen bars. They instead resembled skylights. You’d never know we were deep beneath the earth’s surface from the look of them. There was a panel of light toggles near the entrance and a touch-screen panel. I touched a few buttons experimentally and discovered you could change the settings of the overhead panels to mimic different environments and weather patterns. One minute it was sunny, the next it could be overcast. It was a neat trick, one I’m sure the residents appreciated. I’d underestimated how inventive Mr. West and his team had been when they set up this place.
I did a little more exploring. In addition to the living room and bathroom, there were two bedrooms located on either side of the bathroom, connected by a Jack-and-Jill entrance. The rooms were smaller than my childhood bedroom, but they were both equipped with beds and a writing desk and chair. Two twin-sized beds arranged on opposite walls filled one of the rooms. In the other, a double-sized mattress sat center. I sat down experimentally on the edge of the bed. The linens smelled fresh and were warm to the touch as if the bed had just been made.
I closed my eyes and leaned back until my head hit the pillow. I took a moment to breathe in deeply and exhale. This was it. We’d made it. I might have to pretend to be Nora’s sister for the rest of my life, but I was alive, and I was warm.
In the bathroom the water shut off. I dreaded having to ask Nora which bedroom she wanted. Part of me was afraid she’d suggest we share the double bed. The other part of me was scared she wouldn’t.
“Making yourself comfortable already?”
With my eyes still closed, I felt a little embarrassed that she’d found me like that.
I slowly opened my eyes to see she’d wrapped a fluffy towel tightly around her
figure and another was coiled up around her hair. It looked like she hadn’t toweled off properly. Large droplets of water clung to her shoulders and clavicle. While I was distracted by the water residue, she let the towel drop from her head.
“Your hair!” I gasped. “What did you do?”
“What does it look like?” she retorted. “I cut it.”
“But why?”
“Haven’t you ever just wanted a fresh start? A clean slate?”
I thought about my impulsive decision to kiss Andrea the summer before our junior year and how everything had changed between us, but not for the better. “Yes.”
She ran her fingers through her newly shorn hair, still wet from her shower. “This is a new start for us, Sam. We get to re-invent ourselves. Be who we want to be.”
I touched my fingers to my own hair, limp and dirty from a week on the road, suffocated beneath my ski cap. “I don’t have to cut my hair too, do I?”
She laughed, and it was music to my ears. “You’re a cute one.” She licked her lips. “Why don’t you take a shower and then we can go do some exploring? We can get something to eat that we didn’t have to kill ourselves.”
As if on command, my stomach growled. I clutched at my abdomen, self-conscious.
Her expressive mouth twisted into a wry smile.
“Hustle up, Fargo.”
The vanity mirror was still half-fogged from Nora’s earlier shower. I opened the medicine cabinet. The tiny shelves were lined with every convenience. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Deodorant and aspirin. All signs of civilization.
A pair of scissors sat on the vanity counter. I touched them. Tiny bits of Nora’s hair were still stuck between the two blades. The rest of Nora’s hair was in a wastebasket situated between the toilet and the sink.
I reached for the razor, but stopped just short. Should I take the time to shave my legs and other body parts? Now that we were settled would we resume our happy co-habitation like it had been at the cottage? Or would I get rejected the moment someone else came along who caught Nora’s eye? I tried to push those thoughts from my mind. I still was determined to find my father. I couldn’t selfishly worry about my romantic life while he was still missing.
+++++
“Oh my God. I want one of everything,” Nora practically groaned. “What are you getting?” she asked, swiveling on her stool to face me.
“A fatty cheeseburger and fatty fatty French fries.” I folded my menu closed and set in on the diner counter.
“Mmm,” Nora hummed approvingly.
“What are you thinking about getting?”
“I told you,” Nora said, going back to eyeballing the laminated menu. “One of everything.”
The waitress, a wide-set woman with dyed ginger curls, drummed her acrylic nails against the counter. Her uniform included a name pin that announced her name was Grace.
Our food came up not long after. The smell of ground beef and fried potatoes made my stomach rumble in anticipation. Grace set our plates in front of us. It was beautiful. A warm, decadent, and hopefully delicious dinner, and I hadn’t had to kill it and cook it myself. I could have cried.
I paused before diving face-first into my cheeseburger. “Do you think this is going to be too hard on our stomachs?” We hadn’t had this kind of rich food in months, maybe even in years. I had no idea what reintroducing French fries to my body was going to do.
Nora rubbed her hands together. She’d ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes. “I don’t care if I’m puking all night.”
“You two are new, huh?” a man seated in our vicinity observed. He had a full beard and arms as thick as tree trunks. I didn’t like men with facial hair. I found it too secretive, like they didn’t want anyone to really know what they looked like under all that hair.
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Nora said, cocking her head to one side. Her long eyelashes fluttered.
“This place isn’t that big. I’m sure I would have noticed you before.” The man, not much older than either of us, leaned perceptively closer. I didn’t like it. Not him or his beard. I shoved a fistful of fries into my mouth to cover my displeasure.
“Well, I just cut my hair,” Nora noted, fluffing at her recently shorn hair. It was a little uneven in spots, but I thought she still looked as beautiful as ever. “Maybe that’s what’s throwing you off.”
The man made a humming noise. “Maybe that’s what it is.” He stuck his beefy hand out. “I’m Brian. Brian Stohl.”
Nora took the proffered handshake. “Nora West. And this,” she said, turning to me, “is my sister Samantha.”
I gave him an obligatory smile with my mouth full of French fries.
He looked less than impressed to make my acquaintance and turned his conversation back to Nora. “So when did you get here?” he asked. “It must have been recent. You’re still wearing winter boots.”
I made a mental note that tomorrow we would have to do some shopping so we could diversify our clothing. With our thermal underclothes and heavy boots, we looked like greenhorns. Nora and Beard-Man continued to make friendly conversation. I, however, put both elbows on the table and ate my burger and fries before they got cold.
+++++
After dinner we were able to retrace our steps and find our apartment again without having to call Cynthia for help. I was also thankful that when I used the keycard on our apartment that the door had unlocked without issue. Part of me worried that whoever was in charge would find out we weren’t really sisters and would kick us out for the deception.
I stopped just inside the front foyer to pull off my boots.
“Are you feeling okay?” Nora asked. “You’ve been awfully quiet since dinner,” she observed.
It was true. I had spent the entire monorail ride in silence, staring out the window, while Nora had chattered on about sustainable living. I was interested in what she had to say, but I was bothered that someone had clearly flirted with her at dinner, and while she hadn’t encouraged it, she certainly hadn’t discouraged it either. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I was jealous and I didn’t know how to tell her without it turning into a conversation that I wasn’t ready to have. Coward, my brain scolded.
“I suppose I should turn on a light,” I laughed anxiously. I wondered how long it would take to get used to having overhead lights again.
“We don’t really need them,” Nora breathed. I was suddenly aware of how close she stood to me. She took a breath and placed two fingers gently on my temple. “At this point, I could draw your face in my sleep.”
I closed my eyes, caught up in a spell cast by the rasp of her voice and her velvet touch. I felt her fingertips slowly move down the side of my face, over my cheek, and along the sweep of my jaw. I caught my breath with a faint hiss. The exquisite strokes descended the slope of my throat until her fingers came to rest in the hollow at the base. They lingered there, as if considering going lower.
I opened one eye to see Nora studying me, gauging my reaction even in the dark. “What…what are you doing?” I asked.
A small, coy smile played at the corners of her generous mouth. “Isn’t this how all dates end?”
I released a deep shuddering breath that I didn’t realize I had been holding in. “I don’t know. I told you, I wasn’t allowed to date.”
Nora carefully licked her lower lip. I watched the tip of her tongue swab across its length, and I couldn’t help but imagine what else she could be licking in moments if I ignored the flashing “Danger” signs in my head and obeyed my aching body instead.
“Then let me educate you,” she said simply.
I reached out blindly and finally found the light-switch panel. When I turned on the overhead light, the spell we’d been temporarily under seemed to dissipate.
“I-I think I need something to drink,” I responded shakily. “Does coffee sound good?”
Nora nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
“I’ll see if they gave us some.”
Her
smile started small, but grew into something alarmingly predatory. “Okay. But don’t take too long.”
I cringed when I slammed the doors to the kitchen cabinet near the sink with too much enthusiasm. I opened another set of cabinets and scowled when I came up empty again. Did we even have a coffeemaker? I silently wondered.
I abandoned the hot beverage idea and opened the refrigerator instead. Milk, pulp-less orange juice, and V8 – not exactly drinks to offer someone late at night. You could always just offer yourself, I silently mused, but instantly discarded the idea out of embarrassment.
What was I even doing still up at this hour? I should have just said goodnight and retreated to one of the bedrooms alone so I could over-analyze what had happened tonight. I opened another cabinet and grimaced at its contents. I took out the long, slender bottle and prayed I was doing the right thing.
+++++
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I woke up with a jolt. I sifted my fingers through a layer of down feathers that covered the head of the bed. “What the…?” Had I murdered a goose in the middle of the night?
I swung my feet over the edge of the mattress. The room began to spin, and I pressed my palm into my forehead. “God,” I groaned. We’d hit that bottle of moonshine pretty hard and now I was feeling the aftereffects. “Jesus. What happened last night?” I smacked my lips together. My mouth felt dry.
Nora’s voice answered my rhetorical question. “You drank a little too much of that poison your boyfriend from Hot Springs packed you,” she said drolly. I hadn’t even noticed she was in bed next to me. I must really have been hung-over.
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