Chapter 5 #2
That evening, after her father left for work, Rory flipped mindlessly through the ES channels, stopping on an arrowball game.
The prickling feeling returned, like there was something she should remember about the sport. Did all returned inmates experience this sensation? She stared at the screen, watching the players run down the field.
Arrowball never interested her. Sure, she enjoyed going to games with friends and drinking amongst the energetic crowd, but other than that, she couldn’t care less.
Frustration made her want to punch the pillows on the couch. Would she always have this sense of vague recognition, feeling her memories just out of reach?
Not for the first time today, her mind replayed her dream from last night in vivid detail. There was a familiarity between her and Bane, making her want to throw something. Nice to know Vincula didn’t dampen her violent tendencies.
Killing him had always been her goal, but now the thought gave her pause. It was completely fucked. If Bane killed others and not just Cora, perhaps he was caught and sent to Vincula as well.
“Fuck,” she muttered as she turned off the ES.
Someone pounded on the door, and she jumped up to answer.
“Don’t touch that,” Lauren warned as she descended the stairs.
Huffing, Rory folded her arms across her chest. “No one knows I’m here, remember?”
Before she could open the door, Lauren stopped her. “Get back, or I’ll make you get back.”
Narrowing her eyes, Rory moved out of the way.
When Lauren opened the door and stepped aside, a whirl of purple rushed past her and looked around. Kordie spotted Rory and burst into tears, throwing her short arms around her, almost knocking her over.
Once she was over the shock, Rory returned the hug nervously. Part of her hadn’t wanted to face them, not yet, but the other half was elated.
Kordie eased to the side, and Keith picked Rory up in a big hug. Before he let go, he whispered into her ear, “I knew you were a supermystic.”
Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she forced them back as she looked between her friends. Words evaded her, but thankfully, Kordie spoke first. “We missed you so much.”
“I’d say I missed you too, but it feels like I just saw you,” Rory tried to joke.
Keith’s eyes lit with understanding. “Because you don’t remember the past three months.”
She nodded and turned back to Kordie. “You kept your hair purple.”
Her friends stilled. “How did you know that?” Keith asked, giving her a once over.
Rory motioned for them to have a seat in the living room. “When I woke up in Erdikoa, my grey-scale sight was gone.”
Kordie gaped at her. “How?”
“I have no idea.” Rory fell into one of the oversized chairs and sighed heavily.
Keith pointed to his chest with a goofy grin. “What color is my shirt?”
She pinched her brows together, feeling like she’d done this before. “Blue, like your eyes.”
He clapped as he laughed, and Kordie perked up. “Does this mean I can dye your hair pink?”
“Absolutely not,” Rory responded immediately. The two were sitting awfully close to one another, and Keith’s hand rested on Kordie’s leg.
Kordie noticed her staring and smiled sheepishly. “We’re together.”
“I’m glad you two finally worked that out,” Rory said, unsurprised.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Keith asked and rested his arm behind Kordie’s shoulders.
“I’ve been watching you two circle each other for years.” She tucked her legs under her. “If you didn’t get together soon, I was going to have an intervention. How did it happen anyway?”
Kordie’s cheeks pinked as Keith threw her a devilish grin. “She finally took me up on my offer.”
Rory recalled what offer he spoke of and snickered. “I’m glad she did.”
Lauren opened the front door, carrying two suitcases, and Keith rose from his seat. “Let me help you with those. I was going to grab them later.”
The guard gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks. “I am not a fair maiden who needs a man to do something I can do myself.”
He returned to the couch without arguing. “She is terrifying,” he whispered, making the girls laugh.
“You haven’t seen the half of it, puppy,” Lauren called from the stairs, making Keith pale and the girls laugh harder.
“She’s an An-” Rory began, but Lauren’s voice carried down the stairs, cutting her off.
“Don’t finish that sentence.”
Rory smirked. “I was going to say you were an angry beast,” she called back.
Lauren’s snort could be heard from the second floor. “Liar.”
“Does she have super hearing or something?” Kordie asked, glancing at the stairs.
Lauren reappeared and sat in the chair next to Rory’s. “Don’t worry about me.”
Battling another smile, Rory turned back to her friends. “I need to get out of this house.”
Kordie glanced at her skeptically. “Is that a good idea?”
“I’m going,” Rory replied. “Besides, this one won’t leave my side.” She tipped her head toward Lauren.
“Fuck, yeah,” Keith agreed. “We’ll go to Night Potions.”
Night Potions was a bar near the edge of the warehouse district, a seedy part of town where Rory had a storage unit. The others avoided it at all costs. “Why there?”
Keith gave her a wry smile. “Because no one there will care who you are, and those that do will want to hire you.”
“I wonder how much they’d pay?” she joked without thinking.
Her breath caught in her throat, unsure how her friends would respond, but her lungs loosened when Kordie’s eyes twinkled. “Make sure it’s enough to buy us a round of drinks.”
The three laughed, Lauren smirked, and after an hour of catching up, they stood as the couple readied to leave. Lauren sauntered outside and brought in more boxes of Rory’s things from Keith’s truck.
Kordie’s arms banded around her middle and squeezed with impressive strength. “Never leave us again,” she commanded with a hitch to her voice. All Rory could do was pat her back reassuringly.
Keith gave her a quick hug, and after the two left, Rory stood motionless, staring at the door.
“Your friends love you,” Lauren said as she locked the deadbolt.
“Did I have friends in Vincula?” she asked the Angel quietly.
Lauren had Rory follow her upstairs, and when they stepped into Rory’s room, she opened both suitcases and began unloading one.
“You did.” She pushed the other suitcase toward Rory. “They aren’t much different from your friends here.” She paused. “Well, they’re criminals, but they didn’t bat an eye at your crimes. Your friends here don’t hold them against you either.”
A hollowness settled in Rory’s chest at the mention of friends she didn’t remember. The thought of forgetting Dume, Kordie, or Keith devastated her, and she wondered if she’d feel the same about the others if she remembered them.
As casually as she could, Rory asked, “Was there an inmate named Bane?”
Lauren’s movements ceased, a shirt dangling from her fingers, and Rory already knew the answer.
“Tell me. Please.” She couldn’t be bothered to be embarrassed about the desperation in her voice.
“There was no one named Bane,” Lauren said carefully. “But there was someone you thought was Bane.”
Rory sat on the bed. Half of her hoped Lauren would say no, but she never expected this. She thought they were Bane? “What does that mean?”
Lauren continued putting away Rory’s things. “That’s all I can say. Don’t ask me anything else.”
“Please, Lau—”
“No,” Lauren clipped. “I’ve told you too much as it is. You have been given a fresh start. Live your life and stop worrying about the past.”
Rory’s resolve thickened. Something important was being hidden from her, and she needed to find out what. Returning was an emotional shock, but it was time to pull herself together.
Lauren was right about one thing. Rory needed to enjoy the time she’d been gifted with her friends and family. The guilt about her mother’s incarceration was still there, but the knowledge that her visions no longer plagued her and that she was treated well, helped ease it a bit.
She pulled shoes from the other suitcase, thinking. Her intuition was telling her something, and if her dream last night and the prickling sensation she felt were any indication, there might be a way for her to lift the magic blocking her memories.
She just had to figure out how.
Later that night, Rory stared at the ceiling, willing herself to fall asleep. Her visit with Keith and Kordie lightened her mood, and tomorrow the group was going to Night Potions after everyone got off work.
Tossing and turning, she decided to swing by a pharmacy tomorrow to pick up a sleeping potion. Would she dream about Not-Bane again?
She didn’t know why it mattered. It wasn’t like she wanted to go back to prison, but the elusive recognition was driving her crazy.
Sleep never came.