Morrigan awkwardly fumbled a potted plant in her hands, its leaves strewn all across the bed. “Elizabeth was snoring too loud,” she said in a hushed tone. It was so quiet that Juro had to walk up to her and lean down.

“What?”

“Elizabeth snores too loud, so I came here.” She continued to fidget with the plant in her hands. “I can go back, though. I just wanted to apologize to you.”

“To me?” Juro exclaimed, touching his chest with his hand. “I should be apologizing to you.”

Morrigan laughed, and she finally seemed more relaxed in front of Juro than she had been in days. “It’s going to be a long night then. Do you wanna kick it off?”

“Sure,” Juro replied, kicking off his shoes and jumping back onto the bed, his arms crossed beneath his head. “Truth be told, I haven’t been as transparent with you as I should have been.”

He looked up at Morrigan to find her looking down at him, and her soft blue eyes felt like crashing waves. Face flushed, he looked away from her. “I have a hard time talking to you about things when I think it could hurt you. I’d rather just figure it out myself, you know?”

Morrigan hesitantly nodded her head before mumbling something under her breath. Juro strained himself upward to hear what she had to say, but she was still too quiet. While someone would have been typically frustrated with the muttering, Morrigan’s charm made it difficult for Juro to become annoyed.

She finally repeated it a little bit louder for him. “It’s sort of the same for me but… how honest are we being right now?”

“Hey, don’t back out now.”

“I thought you’d get in my way, and it really hurt me when you proved my fear. I just have a different viewpoint than you,” she earnestly commented. “Right now, nothing matters more to me than avenging my father and making sure this never happens to anyone else.”

An affirming “mhm” resounded from Juro. “I’m genuinely very, very sorry about how I reacted. I was so shocked by everything that happened, and I really thought I lost you. I just can’t let that happen, Morr.”

As the two continued to discuss their personal goals, both seemed to side-step what they were hiding — until Juro finally brought it up.

“That voice in your head… is it back? What exactly is it?”

Morrigan remained silent for a moment, kicking her feet back and forth on the side of the bed.

[D on ‘ t t ell hi m]

“Yeah, it is. But it’s a lot more… scattered, now? I don’t know how else to describe it. It just sort of tells me what’s going on and what to do, but it’s not very helpful sometimes.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Do you think it’s the cause of your power or a byproduct?”

Morrigan was humming now, and the melodic tone broke the night’s dark cascade. “I’m not sure, although it sounds a lot like my mom.”

“Can’t you ask?”

She shook her head back and forth. “It’s weaker now, I think? It’s voice breaks up a lot, like it struggles to get words out. It doesn’t always answer me anymore.”

“Well,” said Juro, sitting up now, “I guess it’s only fair for me to share something back. I’m going to see Josephine tomorrow morning. I stole her card from Mr. Brown’s place when I found you there.”

Morrigan couldn’t know that Juro “conspired” with Adam and Mr. Brown… but the guilt was gnawing at Juro enough for him to reach into his pocket with the bandaged hand and give her the card.

Instead of reaching out to grab the card, Morrigan’s hand slid over Juro’s bandaged one, and it was only when the cool leather touched his skin through the gaps did Juro realize she was still wearing her gloves.

“You missed the card.”

“I don’t want the card.” She continued to inspect his hand before removing her glove. Pointing over to the overgrown plant, she said, “I was practicing with that, so I wouldn’t mess up again.

She looked up at him through her eyebrows as if she were looking through the visor of a helmet. Her sleepy eyes asked him for permission while the moon tickled her pale skin and barely illuminated it, making her flesh look like marble casted beneath a cool shade.

“Alright,” he whispered breathlessly. This was definitely his karma for making fun of Bruno.

Morrigan mindlessly unwrapped his hand and placed the bandages on the side. Rolling his hand over so his palm was up, she touched the center with her other hand and a wave of relief spread through Juro’s once inflamed hand. Pulling his hand back, he flexed it a few times and was amazed by the almost baby-like quality his hand now had.

“Thank you,” he said, watching as she stood up to throw away the bandages.

When she returned from the bathroom, she moved the potted plant after shrinking it back down to a normal size. Slipping her gloves back on, a yawn escaped her lips; it was much later into the night now, and both of them had a long day.

“Wait, Morr, does using your powers make the voice stronger?” Juro suddenly blurted out after a few moments of deep thought.

Bewildered by his question, Morrigan thought about it for a moment. “I think so. Why?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t use it as much. I know you just helped me with it, but aren’t you worried about how the voice is influencing you?”

Morrigan finally seemed to see through him for a moment, and while she couldn’t pinpoint where her sudden hesitancy came from, she felt herself withdrawing from Juro with every word he said. “We can talk about it tomorrow,” she cooly responded.

“Alright,” he said, grabbing a pillow and throw-over blanket as he set up a small bed on the floor. “Good night.”

“Good night, Juro.” She crawled into the bed and, after a few moments of the sheets’s harsh ruffling, she fell asleep.

Juro stayed up longer, asking himself if he had done the right thing. He wasn’t honest with Morrigan about everything, but should she know about his interactions with Adam? Rolling around one last time, he hoped they had rekindled some of the trust they once had.

When the sun broke the sky’s gentle haze, Morrigan peeled her eyes open to see Juro’s blanket gently strewn on top of her and the spot where he was lying now empty. A slight laugh escaped her lips. “Good morning to you, too.”