Counterfactual

16 | revenant

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

REVENANT

( — a person who returns as a spirit after death; ghost. )

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          WHEN DECEMBER ARRIVES, THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS SHOW UP SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT. It's almost blinding to walk outside as the sun is setting, with delicate pink to orange gradients covering the skies, courtesy of the departure of that nasty storm, and the streets begin to fill with people as they get their Christmas shopping done. Rowan doesn't find the courage to tell people he genuinely loves Christmas; if he did, who would take him seriously, considering he's awfully similar to the Grinch?

          There are plenty of things Rowan never finds the courage to talk about, including the whole Muse/Taylor situation. Talking to Micah and the rest of them is infinitely different than speaking to Isla, with her being slightly comforting and supportive even under all that skepticism of hers. While he knows he owes nothing to any of them, they cared enough to check on him while he was in the hospital, so he's been forcing himself to be a little bit nicer.

          Eventually, it pays off.

          Now that Taylor has been found (dead, unfortunately), Rowan has finally had a valid excuse to take a break from the book and, deep down, he feels like Gabriel is glad they all have a chance to think about something else. It doesn't necessarily mean Gabriel is free from that mess, being the chancellor of Crowcrest and all, and, with people running around saying he should have done a better job at protecting his students, he's the one in desperate need of a break.

          Isla seems strangely out of place next to the rest of them, with everyone belonging to a different world, despite all the college kids being the trust fund babies Rowan tends to despise, but, then again, she's only with them because of him. It's a peculiar feeling, he thinks, as he never thought he'd ever see something like this happen, but, as it unravels right in front of his eyes, he forces himself to bite his tongue and enjoy the moment while it lasts.

          Coming back to the beach after having nearly drowned in this very sea isn't nearly as frightening as he thought it would be. Rowan thinks it's because it served as a wake-up call, but, even though he no longer sees Taylor, he fears it might not be over yet. Hell, it can't be over yet, as all they know is that she died, but didn't drown. There was no one raising a hand for help that day, as her body was found wrapped in plastic, much like it happened in Twin Peaks.

          The autopsy report hasn't been released to the public, and he doubts the police will open their mouth to reveal the cause of death.

          He's not sure he wants to know, anyway. As he tried to put the pieces together to try and figure out what the hell has been going on with him—depending on Isla and, to some extent, Chase to fill in the blanks regarding his memory—it was easy to identify the starting point. The hallucinations began when he stopped sleeping, which was around the time Chase hit him with that bat and, therefore, the time he first met Muse/Taylor.

          That's what they say. Isla even adds that's when she noticed something was off, even though they were barely speaking to each other at that point, and Rowan is still wary, but desperately wants to believe her. He already trusts her, so that's not even the issue, but everything developed so damn fast for it to not feel like it's being forced to fit some mold or theory.

          There really is something off, but Rowan doesn't want to believe Isla, out of all people, is lying to him for God knows what reason. She has always been exceptionally good at being blunt when others sugarcoat everything to make others feel better, so it's highly unlikely she's not telling the truth, but there's always the ghost, the shadow of a doubt hanging in the air.