Digital Mutation (Book Five)

Chapter 36: Back to the Normal

When Annalise wakes up, it feels like she's swimming through a sea of syrup. She's so tired and whatever put her under has left her feeling tingly, warm, and safe. It's so nice, so relaxing...

A yawn stretches her face as her limbs stretch, working out her aching joints, and just as suddenly as it left, it comes again—the panic. She never slept in YouTube. Her doppelgänger saw it as defiance, that sleeping meant Annalise was bored with her, and thus anytime she closed her eyes for a little too long, she was punished.

She braces herself for the screaming, eyes scrunched shut, but instead, she feels a gentle, familiar hand touch her arm.

"Annalise?"

Her eyes snap open and there's Michelangelo, sitting at her side with wide blue eyes and concern etched across his face. She forces herself up and nearly falls into his arms as she wraps him in a hug, face buried against his shoulder, and he returns it.

"Mikey," she breathes, tears brimming. "Am...am I really out? Did Sarina really delete Circa?"

He nods, pulling away from the hug and holding her at arm's length. "Yeah, dudette. She saved you. You're safe again."

She takes a few deep breaths, a tear or two slipping down her flushed cheeks. She's safe. She's back in reality with Michelangelo and best of all, Circa is gone. Circa has been sucked away in an Internet black hole. She exhales loudly, starting to sniffle.

"Annalise?" Michelangelo repeats, reaching out to brush away her tears. "Do...do you need anything?"

She grabs his hand just as it touches her cheek, holding it there for a second as she takes a deep breath. He goes completely still, waiting for her to make the move, and when her eyes open again they're filled with pleading.

"You?" she asks.

He pulls her back into his arms with a nod and a soft "yeah". She settles on his lap, head tilted against his shoulder, fingers tracing the grooves and ridges of his plastron. His cheek tilts against her head. They sit together, wrapped in each other's presence, for as long as they need to. If she focuses on him and nothing else, she feels okay.

He's real, as unbelievable as it is. The simple fact that he is the one thing that shouldn't be real is enough to convince her that he is.

"Lisey," he breathes. "Don't be mad, but...I went and saw your mom. I told her about what happened."

Annalise tenses. "You did?"

"Yeah. She kinda freaked out, but once she calmed down she was really nice," he admits. "She gave me juice and I told her about Circa and stuff. She reminded me of you, actually."

"In a good way?"

"Of course."

She smiles a little. When she speaks next, she changes the topic a little. "I can't believe you met my mom and she didn't call the cops," she says. Her eyes widen a little and she sits up. "Oh my word, she's never gonna let me on YouTube again."

Michelangelo feels his entire body go stiff. Raphael came in earlier while Annalise was still sleeping and showed him the damage. Her channel is gone. Everything she worked for is gone. Maybe he can wait before he tells her and just play along.

"That..." He swallows hard. "That won't be a problem."

"Huh?"

He shuts his eyes, unable to lie to her. Not now. "It's...it's gone. Your channel got deleted," he says. Her expression slackens and he bows his head. "I'm sorry, Lisey."

He waits for tears, for crying, but instead, he gets tears and weak, trembling laughter. Annalise wipes at her face, disbelief hiding behind her eyes and smile. "That's...that's one way to quit, huh?"

"Quit?" he echoes.

Guilt purses her lips. "I...I had been thinking of leaving, since before I met you, but I could never get up the courage," she says. "I thought I'd just keep making videos to please my subscribers but...now, now I'm free." She wipes at her eyes again. "I can focus on something else. Something more important."

While he's happy for her, Michelangelo can't help but feel a slight sense of betrayal gnawing at his gut. He spent the past few years spending hours watching Annalise's videos and now he'll never see them again. He'll never laugh with her "Try Not To Laugh" challenges or watch in awe as she presented gameplay from her passion project. He lost those videos and he's probably going to lose the actual girl too if she's ever going to get back to normal.

"Your mom is worried," he says. He lifts her with him as he stands up before setting her back on her feet. "I'll take you home."

Her grip tightens around his wrists, eyes widening. "No, not now. She's gonna kill me and I'll be grounded for life—"

He shakes his head and takes her hands in his. "If you're going to recover, you need your mom. You need normal."

She releases some of the tension, her eyes soften, and she drops her head to take a few deep breaths. He's right. As terrified as she is of the punishment, all she wants right now is to hug her mom and apologize and maybe cry a little. She misses her and when she realizes it, fully, it punches her in the gut.

"Okay," she murmurs. "Let's...face the thunder."

He manages a smile and releases one hand, holding tightly to the other. "Can I walk you home?"

She nods. "Please do."