ARCANE

006

When June wakes up, she tries to turn on her phone. With it still broken, she glances out the window to check what time it is. The sun is high enough in the sky that her brother is probably worried about her whereabouts. While her other siblings and parents give her the room to make stupid decisions, her brother has never been one to avoid scolding her. June hopes that his guilt over their argument last night will prevent him from lecturing her.

Anyway, she would text him if she could. She's just not that interested in leaving the excitement just yet.

"Get up," she nudges Wesley, who looks up at her through sleepy eyes.

"What?" He scratches his nose, reaching to the counter for his glasses. They splinter his brown eyes.

His sleepy grin reminds her of August. June pulls herself out of bed, stretching her arms high above her head. Though she knows that if she ever dreams of moving from stunt double's assistant to stunt double, she should stretch more, she never does. Today though, it feels natural. Thankfully, everything which hurt yesterday is beginning to feel better.

"It's late," she tells him.

Wesley pulls himself out of bed. "I'm late for work."

June scoffs, putting her head in her hands. When she closes her eyes, she remembers the last few days of the shoot. Her eyes pressed tighter together as she tries to remove the blur of colour, of the red, and of the sound of a scream.

Wesley gets up from the bed, walking around the room. He lets himself have the pleasure of running his hands along with the worn record covers on the bookshelf in the corner. Wesley recognizes some of the tracks from his diner. On the top of the shelf is a picture of Jamie and a boy who he does not recognize; presumably Jamie's roommate. He wonders if this is Jamie's room or Kyle's. Whose soft sheets wrapped him tightly and lulled him to a gently sleep last night?

Wesley turns back to June. She looks at him, cocking her head to the side. When he averts his eyes, she feels guilt climb up her throat. Although she has a habit of analyzing, she never wants to turn anyone else off.

Wesley gestures for her to follow him. In the kitchen, Jamie and Cara are finishing cooking breakfast. The room smells like coconut, which surprises June. It's an expensive cooking ingredient that she didn't expect in some guy's apartment.

Cara has moved to the dishes, cleaning them in the sink. The water is cold since the building's heater must also not be working. At least they have water for now.

"Where's Hope?" Wesley asks, peering across the room. It is difficult to see in the low lighting and with broken glasses.

Jamie finishes platting the food. June watches his hands move around the plate, making sure each piece of toast sits perfectly across the others. He wishes they could've been warmed by the toaster instead of his gas stovetop, but he is thankful for the gas stove for once. When Jamie catches June's eyes, he pulls back.

"I didn't even notice her leave," Cara shrugs. "It must've been in the middle of the night."

As Jamie passes her the plate and the group crowds around the small table in the centre of the room, June is thankful for gas stoves. The lights are still off, so the room is filled with shadows.

"Anyway, she's got the right idea," Cara agrees, although her leg jitters under the table. "If we've decided not to go to the police, then we shouldn't all be seen hanging around together. I'm supposed to see Eden on campus today. As long as he finds her alive, we'll be fine."

"That is, if he finds her," Wesley shrugs. He tries to keep the bitterness out of his throat, but he doubts that the girl will be anywhere.

Cara narrows her eyes, shaking her head. She refuses to even consider that Thea vanished into thin air. She probably just went home, or she fell unconscious in the tall grass. Whatever happened was weird, but it is perfectly explicable. A girl evaporating is nonsensical.