A/N: Please re-read previous chapters as both have been revised. Thank you :)
Give me reason to wash this memory clean,
Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between,
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide.
Jenny was older, slightly rounder than the slender frame he remembered, but she was as beautiful and captivating as the first time he laid eyes on her. There was still that unmistakable glow about her, that odd magnetic pull she had on him was as strong as ever.
Her golden locks were cropped short and she was dressed in cut off shorts and a baggy black hoodie with Rebel Sports emblazed across the front Not her usual choice of attire, Julian noted with sly gaze, and leaned his weight against one of the many balconies overlooking the apartment's central garden. She was curled up in the shadows of the courtyard, flattened against the rough beige wall, engrossed in a book that looked like it was falling apart.
It looked like she was trying to hide, and in all respects she seemed to be pulling it off. At least, none of the other residents playing volley ball in the pool or basking in the sun seemed to be aware of her presence, but to Julian she was like a blazing light.
He had spent some of the day trying to trace where Mikael had disappeared to, once his thoughts about seeing Jenny again had cleared and he remembered what he was meant to be doing. He had no clue where to find Andrea, or where to start looking. That had been Anny's talent, an annoying one – she knew how to evade the shadow men. Lead them on wild goose chases, deceive them, lure them into traps; Andrea had always been a good player, infuriatingly so as she'd been taught and trained by Mikael himself, which concluded why Julian was unable to track down either of them so far.
Then again, if Mikael was worried that the elders were getting too warm about her whereabouts, it should give Julian a chance to find her first. He'd come outside, unsure why he'd been lured from the confines of the batch again, and happened to spot Jenny down below.
Julian wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been standing there, watching her reading. It could have been a minute, or hours even, he lost track of time when it came to her. There was something very different, aside from her new style, that he had unconsciously been trying to put his finger on. It nagged for his attention, but he couldn't define it.
She still looked like a ray of sunshine. She still had that warmth about her. She was still Jenny.
She looked up, straight at him. As if she'd known he was there all along. Her eyebrows arched in momentary surprise. The next moment, Jenny was across the courtyard and her footsteps echoed up toward him from the stairwell behind him.
Shit.
He morphed his shape, changing his features into something he knew resembled him in no way. A cigarette appeared between his fingers, burning and puffing, and he leaned back against the balcony as Jenny's blonde head appeared from the dim stairwell.
Her pace barely slacked down at the sight of him, and she paused right across from him with her arms folded. She looked over the edge of the balcony pointedly before turning her pine green eyes to him.
"You smoke now?" she asked scathingly.
Julian looked at the cigarette in his hand and was about to put on a blasé performance when she snatched it from his fingers and crushed it beneath her heel.
"So ol' Mikael let you out of your cage, I see," Jenny said, and frowned. "I like the real you better than the fake one."
He caved. He didn't know why he did, maybe because it was Jenny and she was talking to him, or maybe he was just too tired to trick her again, but he changed back. There was no fear or intrigue on her face; in fact, she looked close to bored, tapping her foot on the terracotta tiled floor, her head turned as she squinted at the pool below.
"Why are you here, Julian?" She sounded unhappy. Very unhappy.
"To find Andrea."
Jenny paused, and then let out a long, deep breath. "Right, right. Of course. Because?"
"She has something of mine," Julian said tightly.
Jenny let out another long breath. "Okay. Come with me."
"What?" Julian bit the word off, taken aback at her directness.
Jenny started toward the stairs and coaxed with her finger over her shoulder. "Come with me. I have what you're looking for."
"Wait, what?" Julian repeated, taking a step after her. "You know where Andrea is?"
Jenny groaned, impatient, and spun around to face him. She gestured to herself. "Come on, Julian, do you really think Jenny would let herself go like this? Dress like this? Cut her hair?" She lifted a strand of blonde hair and shook her head at him in dismay. "Where have you been, under a rock?"
Julian stared at her, restraining from gaping at her, and then it hit him.
"Andrea."
"You found me," Anny said with a shrug. "I have what you want, so are you going to come with me or can I keep it?"
"Alright," Julian muttered, distrustfully following her down the stairs to the floor below.
Andrea took him into another apartment, similar to his but decorated in hot pinks and chocolate browns, with underwear and clothes spread all over as if a tornado had blasted through the place.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting company," Anny said, "Wait here, I'll be right back."
Julian didn't wait. He followed her down a narrow corridor and stopped in the doorway to a bedroom that smelled of morning breath and perfume. A large black wolf unfurled itself from the unmade bed and wagged its bushy tail at the sight of him. Julian recognised it instantly.
"There you go. Take him, he's yours."
"Now, wait a minute," Julian said angrily, glancing from the wolf to Andrea's expectant gaze. "Mikael told me that Jenny was staying here…"
"Did he also tell you about how good the security is here?" Andrea asked, scratching the wolf's head playfully.
"This isn't funny."
"Oh, I don't know, I think if you saw the look on Mikael's face when Pup here chased him out the last time…" Andrea said with a smile.
Julian moved closer to her, shaking his head. "Is this a trick?"
Andrea swallowed, her eyes darting from him to the wolf uncertainly. "What?"
"Are you just messing with me? Is this some kind of payback joke?"
"Um-" Andrea widened her eyes at the wolf beside her, as if it would somehow clear up her confusion. "What are you-"
"Why did I think you were Jenny?" Julian asked, breathless, all the while inching nearer to her. "You have her glow, and her voice and her eyes..."
"Wishful thinking, maybe?" Andrea snorted, avoiding his inquisitive gaze.
"…But when you speak it's all Andrea," Julian said, scowling, "What have you done with my Jenny?"
"Maybe you should go back to the crazy place, Julian. Take your wolf and go, you're kinda freaking me out," Andrea said, rolling off on the far side of the bed to cross the room to her dresser.
"Then where is she?" Julian asked.
"Jenny? I wouldn't know, we haven't met in this lifetime."
Julian stared at Andrea in silent horror. He knew all the dangers that had been lurking in this world, things that were out to hurt Jenny; he'd protected her from all of it before. But he hadn't been there this time.
Andrea was talking but none of her words were finding foothold in his mind. He could see her mouth moving, hear her voice like a distant slur beyond the terrifying ringing in his ears. But Jenny- what about…
"Julian? Hellooo," Andrea said and did a little wave with her hands. "Are you even here?"
He blinked at the way her voice wavered, and snapped his attention back to the main issue that seemed to have caused Mikael a problem. "Anny, where is the child?"
"The what?"
"My kid. Jenny's. You're hiding it. Mikael said you're hiding it. Give me a hint where I can find it."
Andrea shrugged helplessly. "Excuse me? Since when do you believe anything Mikael says? The guy is a liar and a cheat."
To hell with Andrea. If he could find the kid, he could take it, hide it, kill it, whatever he had to do to get it out of the picture – and then he could go find Jenny. It would lure his elders away from Andrea and focus the attention on him. Anything made could be unmade, anything born could die. Get rid of this hindrance. Game over.
He needed to find Jenny.
"So I heard," Julian said, giving Andrea a grim, frustrated look. "He also said that you were hiding something that belongs to me."
"I'm not hiding your pet, he's right there," Andrea quipped, indicating the wolf lying stretched across the ivory bedding like a streak of unreal, impossibly black paint.
Julian glanced at the Lurker, an idea taking shape in his head as he studied his old pet. Funny how his creations used to freak Andrea out – because she knew how he'd created them – yet now she was ridiculously comfortable having it as her own.
Julian slid his hands into his jeans pockets, studying Andrea where she was fussing with her makeup at the mirror. He watched her paint her lips a seductive red; caught himself wishing he could kiss them and feel their softness. She coloured her eyelids a mixture of amber and smoke that made the gold in her eyes pop like fireworks, which, he realised, had not once looked him right in the eye. He tilted his head to the side, captivated with the unassuming grace in her every movement. She ran a brush through her hair, untangling the strands and leaving it hanging like a wave of honey around her face. Oh, he knew the feel of that thick, silky sunshine through his fingers.
Andrea could never pose as Jenny and fool him. There was a distinct difference between the two – he loved one and not the other.
"If you're waiting for an invitation to join me for tonight's neighbourhood barbeque, you're going to be waiting forever," Andrea said.
Oh, but Jenny could pull off one impressive version of Andrea. She had him fooled. Of course she did. That was her game plan, it seemed.
In one instance, Julian felt a rush of relief that Jenny was right here, safe, alive, and well. Then confusion crashed in. Why would Jenny be pretending to be Andrea if she hadn't retained any memory? It was a farce to keep Andrea safe and hidden, obviously, but why would Jenny-?
Julian grinned. Right. Because Mikael was a liar and a cheat.
"Actually," Julian said slowly, and saw her pause with the brush mid-air. "I'm your neighbour so don't feel flattered if you happen to bump into me tonight."
"What are you talking about?" Jenny snapped.
"You didn't know Mikael had a pad upstairs? It's mine now."
"Whatever! Just take your dog and get out of my home," Jenny said, deflated. Her temper had always been like short summer storms that would drizzle out as fast as they came in.
Julian shrugged. "Come."
Jenny whipped around to watch him head for the door, the wolf trotting behind him obediently. Julian stopped in the doorway of the bedroom and turned to a frazzled Jenny.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You're actually going to take him?" She asked in disbelief.
"I'm not taking him far. We'll be right upstairs. Feel free to stop by for some coffee." Julian saw the flash of anger prior to her even thinking of hurling the brush across the room at his head. He ducked it by making a swooping bow and flashing her a wolfish smile before disappearing down the hall, the Lurker right on his heel.
Footnote: Review if you wish Julian would invite you over for 'coffee'. Teeheehee :)