Dark as the Night

37

I'm sorry I've kind of disappeared for a couple weeks.  I've been really busy and only just finished revising this.

With this part we begin chapter 10, which has not one, but three new scenes I need to write.  For some reason I'd made this chapter ridiculously short and it was a good place to include some character development.  So please be patient with me as my updates are slow for a while!

-Evie

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April's chill seemed to have completely disappeared with the changing of the months, and Odessa's mood was high, her mind as clear as the brilliant morning sky. Her body had healed in a few weeks, but her heart had healed in one night.

Having let all her pain out the night before, she was able to see things with better perspective today. The weather seemed to reflect her mood: warm, bright, and if not joyous, then at least more peaceful. It was a beautiful day to be alive, and life was a gift her mother had given her twice.

James had been right – Odessa had known deep down that her mother was dead and now the certainty in that knowledge allowed her to mourn and move forward. She would always miss her mother deeply, but she wouldn't let the pain of her loss hold her back. Odessa didn't want to let her mother down by wasting the life she had been given. Somehow, she thought James would agree with that thought.

James. Odessa felt her cheeks warm and quickened her pace as she made her way across the dewy grass to the food hall. She wanted to be strong, but he had seen such a weak, miserable side of her and taken care of her the way a brother would. She had no relatable concept of sibling love; Odessa instinctively knew that she had always been an only child. But James had done for her what his older brother had done for him, and she was indescribably grateful to him for it. Still, she was embarrassed that her behavior had warranted the big brother treatment.

Tai took in the dark circles under James's eyes as the other boy yawned widely. "It's rare to see you so tired," he commented with a concerned frown. "Did something happen?"

James scratched his head as another yawn overtook his face. When he was able to speak, he answered, "Nah, I just went to bed pretty late, and then had some trouble sleeping when I did." He popped a kink in his neck as he spoke.

"Nightmares again?" Tai's voice was quiet as he remembered sharing his bedroom with the troubled young James during the first years after his parents' deaths. So many nights Tai'd had to comfort his sobbing friend, waking him from horrible night terrors in which his parents died repeatedly.

"Something like that..." James trailed off. Tai chose to drop the subject. There was no doubt in his mind that if James needed to vent, he would.

As they drew nearer to the food hall, they saw a familiar dark ponytail ahead of them. Tai jogged toward Odessa, calling out to her. She turned at his greeting and grinned at him. Her shirt and jacket, as usual, were a bit too big for her slender frame. Her eyes were a little red and her face slightly puffy, but her smile was so bright that Tai felt a small clench in his chest.

"Good morning," he said, more breathless than the short jog warranted.

"Hi," she replied. "Are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that," Tai responded. He scrunched his brows and brushed her bangs from her forehead to look into her red-rimmed eyes. "Are you feeling better?"

Odessa nodded and looked up at him warmly. "I am, thanks. I was able to get some perspective on everything last night. I've decided not to give up on remembering my past, but I'm not going to try to force it anymore. I'll remember when I'm ready to."

Tai pulled his hand away and smiled back at her. "Good. It's about time you ease up on yourself." James snorted and avoided looking at her, but Odessa noticed his lips twitch in a suppressed smile.

They walked into the building together, then Tai told them he'd be right back and walked to the restroom. An awkward silence fell on the remaining two as they waited for their friend. Odessa peeked up at James and noticed his pallid complexion and the smudges under his droopy eyes. She reached up to touch his forehead. "Are you feeling ok?" she asked.

James pulled away from her with a start, his cheeks flushing slightly. "I'm fine. What are you doing?"

She pulled her hand back slowly, a blush creeping up on her own cheeks. "You seemed to have a fever last night, and you look sick today," she mumbled, frowning.

He tried to recover his cool with a forced smirk and a raised brow. "I thought we weren't going to talk about last night?"

Odessa blushed harder and turned away, glancing at him in her periphery. "We're not... I'm just worried that you're getting sick." She put her hands in her jacket pockets and looked away.

James's expression softened and he lightly touched her chin, turning her back to face him. "I'm really ok. I'm just tired and my body temperature's always a little high, so you don't need to worry. I'm surprised you didn't see that when you looked through my medical records." He grinned wickedly. Damn stalker."

She smacked him on the chest, her cheeks coloring further. "I didn't stalk you! I just looked up your address, not your entire medical history." He just laughed at her pouty expression and tried to deflect.

Tai walked up right then and at his questioning look, they stopped fighting. Odessa shrugged, and James swatted her ponytail. When she glared, he adopted a look of false innocence, devilish grin back in place.

After getting their food, the three friends found a table and sat down together to eat. Usually, Odessa sat across from James and Tai, but this time Tai sat beside her, with James across from her. Whenever Odessa turned to Tai, she'd look back at her plate to find something missing. And each time she called James on it, she would turn back and see something new had replaced it, usually stolen covertly from James's plate. She couldn't help but laugh at the boys' antics, even with James's subtle kicks to her chair and Tai's frequent shoulder bumps when she tried to take a bite.

Finally they finished eating and left the food hall. Tai told them he was going for a run and asked if they would like to join him. James declined, claiming the need for a nap before work, and left.

"There is a council meeting today, so I have to open the Med Center for Leila," Odessa said. "Otherwise I would."

"Want me to join you after?" Tai asked. "I don't have anything going on again today." Hope shone out of his eyes. "Please don't make me go home and sit around with nothing to do. Again."

"Sure," she chirped. " I think I'm just cleaning today, but I definitely wouldn't mind some company. We can be bored together." She winked at him then walked off with a wave.