Arcane Sequence: 1994: Never Stop Running... (WLW)

Chapter Three: Boca Raton, Florida, May 26th, 1994

Kirah awoke to the sounds of an eighteen wheeler whizzing by from outside of her window, but thought for a moment, startling to attention. I don't live near the highway... She hurriedly sat up and grasped her head as it pounded like nothing she'd ever felt before until she could get her bearings, feeling her mouth as dry as the Nevada desert. Once the room stopped spinning, she gazed around it and realized it wasn't hers. Her matching nightstands were missing along with their lamps and her clothing typically tossed about the room were neatly folded into a chair that reminded her of her father's favorite lounger.

Suddenly remembering she was with Liam at the bar last night, Kirah felt a chill travel down her spine as she surmised with a heavy heart that she must have been in his room. She tried to call to mind just what had transpired after her discussion with Berry, but couldn't get past her acquiescence as she walked back into the bar last night. Kirah lifted her gaze and surveyed her surroundings, pulling back the covers she hadn't realized she bunched along her chest. Once she acknowledged the foreign pajamas were a strange color and styled for a man, including drawstring flannels with cartoon characters she would never be able to name, she checked both sides of the bed.

No one slumbered next to her, but one could never be too sure. Kirah hopped up from the bed and stumbled around the room as her head began to spin again. However, before she could hit the floor, sturdy arms upheld her frail form. Just what was wrong with her? She begrudgingly lifted her head, terrified the person holding her was Liam and ready to run for wherever the nearest exit might be, but startled as a pair of familiar dark almond eyes met her.

Kirah blinked a handful of times, trying to dispel whatever crustaceans must have been skewing her view. Though, when she held her lids open once again, the same eyes as moments prior stared down at her. Kirah stood up a bit straighter as she glanced over her captor's face and felt her own redden with a jolt. She focused on how the woman's lips uncharacteristically slightly turned up in the corners and gulped as she glanced down at their bodies pressed together. Upon the release of a shiver that stirred her down to her very bones, Kirah hazarded another peek up into the eyes of the woman holding her so cautiously and took a deep breath.

"B-Berry...?" Pushing back a bit to look around the room once more in shock of just where she stood, she made sure not to be swamped into that piercing gaze again as she added, "What am I doing here? Is this...your home?"

"You don't remember?" Berry grasped her chin and looked steadily into her eyes for a matter of seconds, then let her go almost entirely. Thankful for the space, Kirah touched her chest, willing the resounding plodding within it to cease its relentless beating, but feeling Berry's hand still grasping one of her own. She placed Kirah's hand on a nearby dresser and took several steps back after letting it go. "The guy you were with yesterday, Liam Worthington, tried to take advantage of you. We know he tipped your drink and think it happened while you were out talking to me. Guess he didn't realize he was in a pub full of plain clothes cops. With the influx of drunks at the trauma center next to the bar and my badge, the EMTs released you into my care after giving you a banana bag in the field. And I let you sleep here last night." Berry pointed at the door as she looked toward it, then turned her gaze squarely toward Kirah with that all too intrusive stare she held so easily. It was as if Berry was literally seeing the many thoughts permeating her mind and she peered anywhere else. Just who taught her to regard people so intensely? "I slept in the living room."

"I... I slept here all night?" Oh, no! Tina! Scrambling to get to her clothing and remembering it laid on a chair beside the bed neatly folded, Kirah briskly walked to them. She clutched them in her hands and walked to the bedroom door. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I have a--"

"Dog?" Kirah jutted out her chin in astonishment. Just how drunk was I last night? I told her about my dog? What else did I tell her...? Berry chuckled, which was yet another uncharacteristic act so much so that Kirah could help gawking. This time as if she'd just realized she had literally giggled, she shook her head and stopped finding whatever was going on so amusing, walking to the door. "You really don't remember last night, do you?"