I Never Knew

Chapter 14

***(Jay's POV; song for this chapter: "Moon River" sung by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's)***

"So, I guess we're stuck together," I smile cautiously as the others ride away.

Nya sighs pitifully. "Yeah, I guess so." She's been in a foul mood ever since she found out about Neuro. I hope I didn't do anything to upset her.

"Do you need pain meds or something?" I ask, guiding her inside. "You look a little pale."

She pulls away from my touch. "I mean, I just recovered from hypothermia, so that's probably normal. Thanks anyway."

"If you say so. What would you rather me do?"

She looks up, and for the first time, I notice the light in her eyes has diminished to sorrow and loneliness. "You could maybe make me some hot chocolate? I think I'm ready to call it a night."

"Of course, Nya." I rewrap the emergency blanket around her shoulders. "I assume you don't need me right now?"

She laughs, but it's laced with sadness. "Yup. I guess you know me pretty well. I'm going to go get changed."

"Sure." I watch as she slowly makes her way into the monastery. How do I help her? How can I cheer her up?

I jog to the kitchen and throw open the cabinets until I find cocoa mix. I know she's not big on sweet things, so I'll keep the marshmallows on the side. Maybe she'd like the whipped cream off, too?

I hum to myself as I work, imitating the way my mom used to act in the kitchen. She never cooked mac n' cheese without cracking as many cheesy jokes as she could think of. Instead of making circular pancakes, she created faces in the shapes of all kinds of animals. She laughed whenever she spilled milk on herself, and she blew flour kisses to me from across the room.

Pretty soon, I'm singing my heart out to Holly Golightly's hair-drying classic from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Some occasions just call for a song.

"Moon river, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style someday.

Oh, dream-maker, you heartbreaker,

Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way.

Two drifters, off to see the world,

There's such a lot of world to see.

We're after the rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend,

My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me.

Moon river, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style someday.

Oh, dream-maker, you heartbreaker,

Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way.

Two drifters, off to see the world,

There's such a lot of world to see.

We're after that same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend,

My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me."