Page 36 of Forget Me Not
Bastien crossed his arms. “I’m not going to like what you say next, am I?”
“Yeah, probably not. She knows everything.”
“Everything? As in…” He pointed at himself, then to her and back again. “Everything, everything?”
“Everything.” She grimaced. “I told you she was smart! She’s basically a genius and she had most of it figured out before we even got back here.”
“How did she figure out my part of it?”
“You don’t think it’s weird for a dude to randomly chase a deer into the woods and start talking to it? You were acting pretty chill for a dude who just spent the afternoon being waterboarded with the paranormal—and who stashes clothes in an abandoned crypt? She knew about the dreams.” She made air quotes. “She did the math—it wasn’t exactly calculus. Though, she actually called you a dog.”
Syve covered her mouth to hide her smile, while Bastien placed a hand to his chest, feigning offense.
The two continued talking about everything and nothing in particular, stopping just long enough for Syve to order take out—explaining her kitchen was basically just for show because she was anawfulcook.
When Syve started yawning, Bastien glanced at his watch and winced.
“It’s one in the morning.”
Yawning again she nodded. “That explains why I’m fighting for my life to stay awake over here.” She rubbed her eyes with her palms.
“I should go. You should get some sleep.”
Syve hummed in agreement, and he stood up. “I’ll…talk to you later?”
Syve yawned yet again, wanting to walk him to the door but lacking the energy to extract herself from the cushions. “Later, yes.”
He smiled at her and bid her goodnight. Fumbling with the doorknob, he slipped out into the early morning air and pulled the door closed with a soft click. He’d made sure it was locked behind him.
She marveled at how considerate the action was, nuzzling deeper into the couch before sleep finally took her.
Bastien
Baswatchedthroughthewindows as Cyrus jogged across the street toward him. He rolled his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck with a yawn. There was not an ounce of regret in his body for having stayed up so late with Syve, but he was running too many consecutive days with no sleep and the accumulated deficit was starting to take its toll. Thankfully, he only had a few hours left of work, then he could go home and straight to bed.
It was girl’s night, so Syve would be spending the evening with Aimi and Cameron—he could silence his phone and sleep for twelve straight hours, guilt free. She texted him that morning to make sure he had gotten home alright, apologizingfor not asking sooner because she’d fallen asleep on the couch as soon as he had left. She also said she was certain she didn’t shift in her sleep again. That had to be a good thing.
The cowbell jingled as Cyrus stomped into the storefront with a face-splitting grin.
“Hey, Pup!”
“You’re insufferable. What are you doing here?” Bastien gave Cyrus a once over, squinting before asking, “Are you—is thatcoffee? Why are you covered in coffee?”
“You’ve been holding out on me with this town, brother. I just met the most fascinating woman—and yeah, it’s coffee. She dumped two whole cups on me.”
He looked entirely too proud of that fact, grinning like a mad cat.
“Why are you smiling about that?! Where were you?”
“That coffee shop across the street—” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “That barista, she’s so damn feisty, can’t be taller than here.” He held his hand up to his chest. “And she’s got this hair that makes me wanna hide my dog.”
Bastien cut him off, “First of all, you don’t have a dog.” Cyrus made a tsk sound and waved him off. “Secondly, what the hell did you do to provoke Aimi?”
“Aimi?” Cyrus hummed. “I didn’t manage to catch her name, thanks.” He winked.
“Cyrus,” Bastien scolded.
“It’s nothing, really, I was just helping out.” He shrugged.
