A/N: There was more to this chapter but I had to transfer it to the next one when I saw how massive it was becoming so I'll try to update it soon. As always, my sincere apologies for any mistakes and thanks for reading.
Chapter 2 (Yellow Light by Of Monsters and Men)
I dare you to close your eyes
And see all the colors in disguise.
Delphine carefully placed the thick blanket up the sleeping silhouette, before picking up the dirty gauzes and the ointments tubes from the coffee table. Standing up, she risked one more glance towards the couch before heading for the bathroom.
She quickly threw away the blood stained bandages, tossed her clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower. The hot water dripped on her skin, sliding down her body while the steam raised around her, fogging her sight. Closing her eyes, Delphine allowed the warmth to enfold her whole being, loosing her senses into the comfort provided by the sound of the water hitting the bathtub and the feel of the drops massaging her skin.
As relaxing as it felt, though, it wasn't enough to ease her mind.
Adrenaline was still racing in her veins.
When she had woken up, almost 17 hours ago, she had never imagined her day would have ended with an unknown girl passing on her couch after storming into her life with a bunch of armed men at her heels.
Delphine knew she was putting herself in danger in more ways than one. If those men found out she had lied, she sensed there would be no locked doors in the world capable of keeping them from bursting into her appartment. And, on the other side, if she had helped a crazy psychopath run from prison she could be arrested and deported, that if she managed to survive the encounter.
A chuckle bubbled from her chest. For some reason, she had a hard time believing that the woman represented an immediate danger for her.
The first option was the most probable one.
But as much as she had been terrified of those men, she also knew she couldn't leave the brunette alone to defend herself from them.
She still didn't knew much about her. In fact all she knew was that, for some reason, the girl claimed to be known as a code number.
324B21.
What that meant, Delphine had absolutely no idea.
She had tried to gather more information, once they had arrived at her home, but the woman hadn't said a word since then. Delphine had given up after a few minutes, assuming half the things she was saying weren't even reaching the girls ears due the exhaustion she could see in the brown eyes.
Instead of pushing, she had led the woman to the shower, leaving some old sweat pants and a t-shit for her to put on, and went to arranged the couch for her to spend the night. Once the brunette had reappeared on the living room with the yellow folder clutched against her chest, Delphine had urged her to lie down so she could tend to her bruises and scratches.
There wasn't any massive injury, most of them seemed recent and were most likely a result of her getaway from the pursuers, but what had caught the blonde's attention had been the amount of needle marks in both her arms. She had traced her fingers over the white spots and was about to say something when she had noticed the girl lost in a deep sleep.
Delphine's first reaction was to assume the obvious and relate the amount of tiny scars to drug use. What could also explain why she hadn't been able to say her own name, only repeating that code instead. When she had looked at the woman more closely, however, it didn't seemed plausible to say she was an addict.
She had good skin, good hair, and was in a very good shape as Delphine noticed while cleaning the scratches from her arm and legs, what had even caused her to blush a little, although she would never admit it out loud.
No, this needle marks were from something else.
Her eyes had fell over the yellow folder hugged to the woman's chest, and, for a moment, she had considered to take a look at it to see if it contained some answers, any answer, to the many questions forming in her mind. She knew the woman was so tired she wouldn't even stir, but the thought had only lasted a second.
Delphine was curious, she was, afterall, a scientist, but she wasn't nosy. She would try to get her answers in the morning, when the girl was well rested. If not, she would just hand the matter over to the authorities and continue with her life.
Closing the faucet, Delphine finally got off the shower pulling of her robe before heading for her bedroom. She lingered on the living room for a moment too long, watching the brunette wrapped on her deep blue blanket with a peacefull expression.
The sight made her smile.
As she turned to leave, her fingers grazed over the corridor lights leaving them on just in case. She didn't wanted her visitor to be affraid of the dark, or of anything else, anymore.
By the time she had changed into her sleeping clothees, the adrenaline had finally worn off and the fatigue had settled over her limbs. Delphine climbed on her bed and close her eyes. The last thing she remembered before succumb to slumber, was the feel of that girl's hand gripping hers and the sound of her voice echoing in her ears
The sound of the alarm clock jolted her into a sitting position. Delphie snorted, sinking back into the matress and covering her eyes with the back of her arm to keep the sunlight away.
She could still fell exaustion clinging to her body. It seemed as if she had just fallen asleep although she knew she had had at least six or seven hour of rest. The temptation to remain beneath the covers was too great, she didn't had any classes this morning, she could drag her hours of sleep with no problem.
Just as she was about to doze off, she heard noises coming from her living room. Eyes still closed, she furrowed her brows and strained her ears to make sure it wasn't only her hazed mind playing tricks on her. When footsteps reverberated over the floor she opened her eyelids, staring at the ceiling as all the events of the night before came back, crashing into her like a wave and washing all the lethargy away from her.
Suddenly, she was wide awake.
Pushing the covers away, she got up quickly, making her way towards the living room. From the door, she could see that the couch was empty.
Slowly Delphine took a few more steps until she could see the whole room. Once she spoted the woman curled beneath the blanket, with both her knees folded against her chest and her forehead resting against the big window, she stoped on her tracks.
Delphine's parentes weren't rich, but they had a good life. When she had decided to move to the United States they had supported her decision both emotionally and financially, flying with her and making sure she had a nice place to live, despite her efforts to convince them she could rent a room or divide an apartment with another student.
Her one bedroom apartment wasn't too big, but it had a good size so she could comfortably live in it for years and years after college was over. The thing she had loved the most, however, had been the natural light that soaked every room of the house through the big windows, and the view she had from the park across the street. She remembered how she used to have breakfast looking over the landscape every day, in a position not much different from the one the brunette now was sitting in, with time she had lost that habit, but the sparkle she could see in the girl's eyes reminded her of the reasons why she had started to do that.
The wonder she in the stranger's face, erupted a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Delphine watched for another moment as the girl reached out a hand and placed against the glass almost wishfully. Taking a deep breath, she took a step towards the figure.
"Hey." Delphine kept her voice low, but woman jumped at the sound anyway. "I am sorry I didn't meant to scare you." She dismissed her excuses with a small smile, nestling further into the blanket.
"Are you feeling better?" The woman nodded and Delphine stepped closer. "I am glad."
She sat on the arm of the couch, facing the girl, and spoke again in a soft voice "I will ask and I would like if you could answer me, but you do not have to feel obliged to tell me, alright?" The brown eyes were studying her closely. "Just please do not lie to me."
The girl countinued to look at her and Delphine read it as a sign to continue.
"What is your name?"
She dragged her gaze back to the window, but Delphine could tell she wasn't seeing anything. Not really. Trying to cover her frustration, she leaned foward.
"I promisse I will not hurt you. I only want to help you, but for me to do that you will have to help me too."
"I...I told you before. They called me 324B21." Turning to face Delphine once again, she went on. "That's the closest thing I have to a name."
"They? Who are they?" Delphine tried another approach. She suspected she wouldn't managed to get a name any time soon.
At the question something inside the girl seemed to click. Her eyes widened and she dropped the blanket, letting it fall to her elbows. "The people at the institute and at the Hesperides Garden."
"Hesperides Garden. As in the mythological garden of Hera?" Delphine frowned skeptically. "Are you trying to tell me you're a nymph?"
The brunette made a face of confusion before shaking her hands in the air and open a grin. "Hum what? No. No that's crazy I mean...they're just a myth." Delphine gave her a small chuckle, relieved. "The Hesperides Garden thing is just a metaphor, I suppose." The woman went on. "I'm a clone."
The chuckle died in her throat. "You are...a clone?"
"Yeah."
She sighed in frustration getting up from the couch. "Look." Delphine stared at her before snapping. "I said before, I want to help you, I really do, but you can not lie to me or make fantastic stories about all this. Whatever THIS is."
The girl stood up as well, watching dazed, as the blondee began to pace around the living room.
"I'm not lying, I swear."
"Why were those men after you?" Delphine asked harshly not even bothering to acknowledge her words.
"They were chasing me because I managed to escape. Their job is to take me back or to kill me. She warned me about them, she told me I was to dangerous to be out here."
"Escape from where? Who is this SHE you are talking about?"
"She's another clone who helped me escape from the Hesperides Garden, from the ins..."
She laughed in disbelieve.
"I do not have time or energy to keep playing this game of yours!"
Finally looking back at the woman, she saw her clinging to the blanket as if it could protect her from Delphine's sudden outburst. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself, controling her voice tone. "You really want me to believe that you are a clone? The result of an impossible, and illegal, scientific experimente?" The answer was a small nod. "And that there are other like you in living in a...garden somewhere."
"It's not a real garden it's just a metaph..." She raised a finger, but Delphine didn't let her finish.
"Not only that, but that one of them helped you escape?" Another nod. "For what?"
"So I can find the doctor?"
"Yes, you definitely need a doctor." The blondee muttered to herself.
"No. Not A doctor. THE doctor." The stranger took a step towards her. "She thinks that if I find her we'll be able to..."
"That is enough!" She scolded the girl as if she was a little child caught up lying to her teachers. "I've tried to give you the benefit of doubt. I truly wanted to assist you, but I am not a fool you can manipulate into your little delusion."
"Please you have to believ..."
Delphine groaned. She didn't knew what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't someone trying to play games with her. The least the woman could have done, was to have some consideration towards her and refused to say anything, instead of telling her all that foolishness.
"I am going to get dressed. You can go away while I am in there, I'll leave the door open, or you can stay here. But if you decide to stay, I will go to the police to tell them about you."
She turned her back on the woman and marched her way into the bedroom before the brunette had a chance to reply. Delphine wasn't sure if she was more angry at the girl, for thinking of her as a fool, or at herself, for putting herself in this situation.
Despite everything, though, part of her wished that the girl didn't left.
Everything she had told Delphine had been lie, a joke, but those men chasing her, had been very much real. She still feared for the brunette's safety. If she could bring the police back with her, then the woman would be safe, they could keep her safe from whatever situation she had been facing.
After a few minutes, she stepped out of the bedroom noticing that the blanket, the sheet and the pillow that she had borrowed the girl in the night before had been folded and left in a pile over the couch. Turning her gaze back at the window, she spotted the girl once again.
"You are still here."
At the sound of her voice the woman hurried towards her, pushing the yellow folder in her direction with pleading eyes.
"Please just...just look at the files, just let me..."
"I told you I do not have time for this." She interupted with frustrated sigh.
As much as she wished to know what was on those papers, she feared it would serve to infuriate her more. "You made your decision. I made mine."