For A Star To Fall

Chapter 24: Nothing is Okay

Chapter 24

When Emyle opened her eyes, the first thing she registered was that Jordan was not beside her. Why she she thought of that she did not know, and it confused her, especially because this matter was not important at all. What was imperative was the fact that she had allowed herself to rest when Father was still missing. It was unthinkable and ridiculous. She had failed him again. She had betrayed him. She had not made an effort to help him, and she actually had had time to do so. 

She raised her head and realized that she was in a bed. An unfamiliar bed. Emyle attempted to stop herself from panicking. This situation was much too similar to her first day in the facility. Where was Dr. Valin? She wondered. The mere notion was ridiculous. The passing of time was a constant that would not change. She lifted a hand out of the bed covers, noticing distantly that they were white in color, exactly the same shade in her--no, Dr. Francis' room. It seemed that the basic furniture in all the rooms were the same. Emyle touched her face and felt something rough on her cheek. It was a line, starting from her eye and tracking its way down the side of her face. Dried tears, Emyle realized. She had cried before she fell asleep. That was new and unfamiliar. 

For some reason, she allowed herself to feel, because that was the only reason that she would shed tears. Why? What had triggered...Emyle blinked as the memories of what had happened before she fell asleep came crashing down on her mind. The video...the serum...Father. No! Emotions cried out in her chest. Torment and anguish enveloped her in their cruel embrace. Father had been unconscious when the video ended. Dr. Valin could have killed him. Father was in danger. Dr. Valin sought even eve for everything that had happened. Frowning and locking her jaw, Emyle forced herself to stop thinking for a while and pushed the tortured emotions down. They fell and settled in her stomach, making her feel an empty, cold feeling in her abdomen.  

Her mind was clear now. Emyle felt a lot more refreshed than she had ever been since she came to the facility. Her vision was sharp and her senses alert. But there were other, more pressing things to take care of. She sat up and straightened her back. Looking around, Emyle knew that she was still in Jordan's room, because the walls were painted blue. That meant that Jordan had out her to bed. Why would he do that? He did not care about her. The only reason he was helping her was that he was curious about what Dr. Valin was doing in his private laboratory, most likely. She climbed off the bed, leaving the covers as untouched as she could. Her footsteps silent, she padded soundlessly to the door, knowing that she had to get out of his room before Jordan knew that she was awake. He was loyal to Dr. Valin, she was sure of that. He would report her to him now, because he had obtained the information that he wanted to know now.  

She had to get out before that happened. Jordan could not be trusted now. He could tell on her any moment. To be honest, Emyle was surprised that she had not woken up surrounded by security guards or in Dr. Valin's private laboratory, with him standing over her with another large syringe. She would not allow herself to be captured and punished now, when Father's health was in an even less stable condition than before. She knew that Dr. Valin had been serious when he had said that he would hurt Father if she wandered around the facility. She had underestimated how serious he had been. If what she had seen in the video was the norm for Father, then what Dr. Valin would do to him if she was caught out was utterly unimaginable. 

Emyle stepped lightly towards the door. Just as she was about to reacher the doorknob, Jordan's voice interrupted her train of thoughts. "Hey," he said, "where are you going? It wasn't a one-night stand, right?" Emyle whirled around. How had he realized that she was no longer sleeping? She had not made a sound, and she knew this because she was familiar with how she stepped and under what circumstances she made sounds. Jordan, wearing a T-shirt that said Music is Life, must have felt obliged to explain his method of knowing that she had moved. He turned slightly and grabbed something off the desk. Raising it up so she could see it, he gestured to it and shrugged sheepishly. It was a mirror and it had been angled in such a way that he could see the bed in its reflective surface. Emyle cursed herself. He had known that she was awake the second she had moved. "Yeah," he said, scratching his head, "I'm a guy and I don't clean up much. But I still am quite fond of my face, you know. And yes, I do groom my face--that's why I'm absolutely gorgeous. The mirror comes in useful sometimes too."