The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|81|

When Colby stirred the next morning, the bed next to him was empty. His stomach dropped, but he willed himself to stay calm. As it turned out, he worried for nothing – Ashley was standing in the kitchen, frying an egg and toasting a bagel for breakfast. When she saw Colby leave their room, she gave him a little wave.

"Good morning," she said, turning back to make sure the egg didn't burn.

"Morning," he replied, sitting on one of the bar stools. "Is there enough for me as well?"

She chuckled. "Alright, glutton." He watched her open the fridge and take out another egg while simultaneously fishing a second bagel out of the plastic packaging. Somehow, she managed to cut more tomato slices in the same, smooth movement that his eyes were too weary to follow.

"And you tell me you can't cook," he grumbled a few minutes later, when she set a perfectly golden bagel with egg, tomatoes and cheese in it in front of him.

"Making breakfast doesn't count," she said, shrugging and biting into her own. He admired his for a second before doing the same, relishing in the warm dough and the crisp salad.

Both subconsciously agreed they didn't need to talk about the night.

For a while, the kitchen was only filled with the sound and smells of breakfast, until Colby jumped up.

"I almost forgot-", he began, licking his fingers. Ashley giggled and threw a paper towel at him. "Wait a second. I'll be right back."

He hurried back to the room, and when he came back, he was holding a black box slightly bigger than his palm.

"I got you something." He set down the box in front of an astonished Ashley, who quickly wiped her fingers on another towel.

"But- why?" she asked.

He shrugged and returned to eating as if it meant nothing. "I didn't get you anything for your birthday, so I thought..."

Ashley opened the box. In it, on a satin cushion, lay a gorgeous silver bracelet with an bead carved out of black marble. She breathed out slowly, taking the bracelet and trying to put it on her wrist. Colby immediately reached out to help, closing the clasp with ease.

"It's beautiful," she said with a smile. "But you didn't have to-"

"Shush. I wanted to, that's all."

"Thank you," she said, leaning over the kitchen counter to press a kiss to his lips. His grin widened.

"I also got this on a marketplace," he said, pulling out a ring. It was silver as well; a broad metal band and a chain wrapped around it. Ashley curiously looked down at it until Colby twisted the chain around the ring and her eyes lit up. "You know. Fidget toy and all. Thought you'd like it."

She chuckled as she took it, smoothly twirling the chain around the metal.

"I wasn't sure whether to get gold or silver, because I know you wear both, but I usually see you with silver rings, so I thought..."

"It's perfect," she interrupted him. "Really. Thank you."

He smiled at her, and the room went silent again. "I have a question, though," he said after a while.

"Shoot." Ashley had finished her bagel and was putting away the dishes.

He hesitated, with an unfortunate feeling that this would ruin the day. But either way, he had to ask. "Why did you never tell me?"

"About what?" she asked, but the sudden tension in her back betrayed her feigned ignorance. Colby sighed.

"The dreams."

"Oh." He looked at her, urging her to continue. "I don't know, it just didn't seem that important." Talking, even thinking about the dreams in broad daylight felt wrong. Ashley forced herself to continue. "I usually don't think about them other than in the night. Like dreams."

He nodded slowly, glad that she didn't refuse to talk about it. "I know a good medium. If you want, we could call her, ask what we should do? Or, I don't know, maybe we could meet her, to see if she senses anything about you. Whatever you're more comfortable with."

Ashley shuddered. "That sounds so unreal."

Giving her a crooked smile, he shrugged. "Well. It is real now, and we have to deal with it. I have to say, though, it seems more like something out of a series. Or a book."

"Yeah," she mused, "anything but real life. Our life."

There was nothing to add onto that, and he finished his breakfast in silence.

Sam arrived in the afternoon, entering a house filled with silence and reluctance. It took until dinner, but eventually, they – mostly Colby – caught him up with what was happening. Concern immediately creased his face, and he glanced over to Ashley, whose eyes were fixed on her meal. Somehow, the sushi wasn't as tasty as usual. The rice felt sticky, the fish slimy, and the vegetables chewy. She forced down half of her plate and decided that was enough for today.

"So, we're calling Ashley. The Pythian Priestess, I mean," Sam eventually said. "We explain the situation and hope she can help."

"That's the plan," Colby said with a shrug. Ashley nodded absentmindedly.

What confused her most about the entire situation, was that while Sam and Colby both seemed intimidated, she just worried and felt embarrassed about the whole ordeal, hoping it'd be done soon. Without putting her into the centre of attention. Her dreams with Ilse were hers only, they were private, and she wished she hadn't talked about them with Colby. But it was too late now, and she couldn't refuse to talk to this other Ashley, which would make her look like she wanted all of this.

Which she didn't. Of course not.

Right?

She pushed away her plate and managed a smile. "Anyone still hungry?"

Both boys had already emptied theirs, but they gladly downed another half of a meal, without hesitation. After dinner, Sam excused himself and went back to his room, probably to review the footage from yesterday. Ashley and Colby stayed at the kitchen island.

After a while, he took a breath. "How are you?" he asked. "Really?"

"Intimidated," she answered honestly. "And scared," she lied.

He put an arm around her shoulders. "There's no need to be," he declared. "The other Ashley will help us- you through this. And I won't leave your side. Just... tell me if or when something more happens, okay?"

Ashley nodded. Liar, she thought, You little liar. "Yes, of course."

"Thank you," Colby said, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Ashley didn't look at him even as he tried to catch her gaze.