Above

35

Leeciy
I didn't know where I was going when I got in my car, or when I started the engine, but whoever was in the passenger seat objected my leaving. 
"You're an idiot." Logan's voice says, ripping the keys out of the ignition. 
I huff, looking over at her. 
Her hair was pulled into its trademark messy bun, a few blue strands escaping the raven mess, her arms were crossed across her NASA tee shirt. 
"How'd you know I was here?" I ask. 
She shrugs. "Just guessed, plus Estelle texted me." 
I crack my fingers, which makes Logan visibly cringe. 
"That's gross." She says. 
I figure wringing my hands would work. 
"She likes you back." Logan says. 
"She likes me, she loved August, and I'm not a rebound." I say. 
"I think she's over him." Logan says. "She doesn't have crazy panic attacks anymore." 
"She got over him weirdly quick." I say. "Maybe she's pretending."
"No, she's not, I know my sister." She says. "You're right though, she did get over him strangely quick."
"It's almost as if she forgot him." I say, tapping the steering wheel.
Logan pauses. "Can Cirus make people forget things?" 
I sit up. "I'm not sure." 
"That makes so much sense. Estelle just got happy all of a sudden." Logan says, opening her car door. 
"What are you doing?" I ask, opening my door. 
"I'm going to go interrogate your daughter." Logan says. "Peacefully, obviously. Wanna join?" 
***
"Yeah, I did it." Cirus says. "Can I have my PB&J now?" 
Logan walks to the fridge and grabs a peanut butter and jelly roll from a gas station back in Nebraska. 
"So you just made her forget?" I ask, leaning on the wall.
She shakes her head. "I made a filter, that just fudged a few things." 
"How do you take it out?" Logan asks. 
Cirus shrugs. "It's easy." 
"Can you do it?" Logan asks. 
Cirus nods. "It's easy, but she'll get all scrambled and stuff." 
"How so?" Logan asks. 
Cirus takes a big bite of her roll. "She's thought of him as a friend for a while, all the boyfriend-y memories coming back is probably gonna hurt." 
"Can we make it not hurt?" I ask. 
Cirus shrugs. "It's really however her head reacts to it." 
"Does she know about the filter?" I ask. 
Cirus shakes her head. "To get it out, we'll have to knock her out for minimal damage." 
"What could happen?" Logan asks. 
Cirus finishes her roll, licking a dollop of peanut butter off her finger. "Reiba could happen." She says. 
Suddenly, it makes sense why Reiba's blind. 
***
We walk to her room, knocking on the door.
Luca opens the door. "Oh hey." 
"Is Estelle in here?" I ask. 
He nods. "She's taking a nap."
"Awesome." Cirus says, walking into the room. 
Luca steps aside to let us in. "So what brings you here?" 
"I'm giving Estelle back her memories." Cirus says, pulling the wheeled chair from the desk to the bedside. 
"Why?" Luca asks. 
Logan clears her throat, motioning to me with her head. 
I pretend not to see, but Luca seems to understand. 
Cirus's fingers ghost over Estelle's face, before settling on her forehead. 
Estelle's eyes flutter open. "What's happening?" She doesn't get much out before her eyes roll backwards. 
Logan gasps, stumbling forward. "Is that supposed to happen?" 
Cirus doesn't answer, a dribble of blood coming from her nose.
***
When Estelle wakes up, I'm the only person awake, Logan had fallen asleep at some point, Cirus curled up next to her. Luca seemed perfectly satisfied with the floor. 
I stand, rushing over to her, sitting next to her. 
She's mumbling nonsense, holding her hands against her head. 
"Estelle?" I ask, gently tugging at one of her arms. 
She looks up at me, her eyes wide and frightened. 
"It's okay." I say, grabbing her hands. 
She nods. "Where am I ?" 
"Pipestone? I think that's where we are." I say. 
She blinks, looking away, pushing the hair in her face behind her ear. 
That's when I see the drop of blood dripping down her neck from her ear. 
"My head hurts." She mumbles. "I have a headache." 
I nod. "Do you know who I am?" 
"You're Leeciy, I know that." She says.
"What do you remember?" I ask. 
She shrugs. "I remember Willowdale, and pennies." 
"Willowdale burned down." I say. 
She closes her eyes. "I remember that." 
"Pennies are the smallest form of currency?" I ask. 
"I know that." She says. "I remember someone giving me pennies in exchange for my thoughts, which, honestly, not the best trade." 
"Penny for your thoughts?" I ask. 
She nods. 
"It's kind of our thing, we always say it." I say. 
She nods. "I can kinda remember that." 
"Good." I say. 
She smiles softly. "I remember you." 
"I would hope." I smile. 
She nods. "You don't have to hope." 
"Do you remember the war?" I ask. 
She nods. "Yeah, is that why we're in Minnesota?" 
I nod. "We're on the run." 
"From the Government?" She asks. 
I nod. 
"Then why are we still in America? We should go to Canada." She says. 
"I know, we're working on it." I say. 
She nods. "Is September okay?" 
I smile at her motherly instincts. "He's great, he has the room next to this one." 
"How is he?" She asks. 
"He's good, he's been helping Annaliesee with Hetij a lot." I say. "Do you remember Annaliesee?" 
"Annaliesee's hard to forget." She grins. "I remember everything before August died, then we were going to brainwash me, then everything's a little cloudy." 
"Like, blacked out?" I ask. 
She shakes her head. "Like far away, and echo-y." 
"Do you remember today in the gym?" I ask. 
She shakes her head. "I don't remember working out." 
I nod. "You did really good, it's almost like you were superhuman." 
She chuckles, a drop of blood falling from her nose. "Sounds cool." 
I wipe the blood with the hem of my shirt, trying to not seem so concerned. 
She winces and holds her hand to her head. "My head hurts." 
"I know." I say, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. 
She looks up at me with hooded eyes, before falling backward, her rolled-back eyes wide open.