Chapter Nine

Steam clouded the bathroom as Kate shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, letting the glass door slam behind her. She wrapped herself in a towel and walked over to the counter, careful not to slip on the marble floors.

Wiping a spot on the mirror, she took a good look at herself for the first time in almost a week. Rubbing her hands over her eyes and down her cheeks, her fingers stilled over the bright pink scar on her neck. The mark stood out, harsh against the contrast of her skin. She winced, forcing herself to stop looking at it by covering the blemish with her hand. Ignoring that, she still didn't look any better. Dark circles were painfully apparent under her eyes, standing out even more by her pale skin. One week of no sunlight was enough to make her look like she was anemic. Kate leaned in closer and felt a pang of sadness when she noticed her freckles had faded along with her tan.

Looking around the counter top, she noticed a new toothbrush and an unopened tube of toothpaste, a comb, and a few hair elastics. Saying a little prayer of thanks, she wrapped one of the ties around her wrist and started to pull the comb through her tangle of curls; a tedious task seeing how long her hair was getting. When she was finished, she pulled her hair up into a loose bun at the crown of her head and brushed her teeth.

A few minutes later, Kate made her way into the walk-in closet, dragging her eyes from the window to the clothes they had left for her. They were all pastel dresses and cardigans and she scoffed at the idea of having to wear them, but decided it was better than a towel or her old dirty clothes. Settling on a yellow sundress, she slid her feet into the sandals and walked back out into the bedroom.

When she noticed the bookshelf, she was shocked at first that she hadn't noticed it sooner. It was filled completely with books, all except one shelf. A relatively new CD player sat on the middle shelf, a few CDs were scattered next to it, and as Kate stepped closer, she had a funny feeling she'd know them all.

Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits and Joni Mitchell's Blue were sitting on top of the player while some more recent looking CDs were piled up beside the speakers. Kate flipped through them, a sick feeling passing over her when she realised they were all her favourites. Just how much did these people know about her?

She chose not to dwell on it much and concentrated on just having something to listen to, take her mind off of things. She put in an older U2 album, she abandoned the bookshelf, knowing that she would probably find among other familiar novels, The Wizard of Oz and The Talented Mr. Ripley. She didn't need to see them right now to know they were there.

Exploring the rest of the suite, she found it relatively void of any other personality bedsides hers. To her disappointment, she didn't find a television or a computer, but she did manage to find a pen and notebook, three votive candles with matches, cherry Blistex and a deck of cards.

The half-eaten platter of fruit was still there, sitting on the coffee table, along with the carafe and mug. She pushed them aside and sat down on the sofa, setting up a game of Solitaire, deciding she had nothing better to do anyway.

Four games won, eight lost and an hour later, Kate was absently shuffling the cards in her hands, staring into space when a knock came at the door. A second later, it opened and Alex poked her head into the room, smiling when she saw Kate.

"Oh good! You're awake. I thought you might be sleeping," She stepped into the room when Kate smiled. "You sleep a lot."

"I do, don't I?" Kate tilted her head, finding herself happy to see Alex. "How are you?"

Alex nodded and Kate noticed that the younger girl was holding something behind her back. "I'm good. You?" She asked, not stopping to let Kate answer. "Oh! I brought you something!" She held up a bag and set it down on the table. "Dinner. I figured you'd be hungry."

Kate went for the bag, opening it and peering inside. A small, pink Tupperware container had been tossed in, along with a bottle of water, a fork and more strawberries. "It's just rice and chicken and some... vegetables of the green variety. I'm not too sure which. Juliet made it." Alex shrugged and sat down next to Kate on the sofa, landing with all but an ounce of grace.

Kate started to unpack the bag. "Juliet does everything around here huh?"

"Not really, no." Alex shook her head, not hearing the teasing tone in Kate's voice.

Opening the container, Kate looked up at Alex. "Did you eat yet?" The teen shook her head slowly. "You don't mind if I...?" She trailed off, looking down at her dinner.

Alex jumped up off the couch. "Oh, I'm sorry! Yeah, no, go ahead. I'll just... go." She turned to leave but Kate stopped her.

"No, Alex, stay. Please? Here," she grabbed the bag of strawberries and handed them to Alex when the girl reluctantly sat down again. "We can share."

Alex looked at the berries a long moment before taking them. "Thanks. I didn't mean to..."

Kate waved, shaking her head. "Don't worry. I like the company." She smiled and took a bite of the chicken. "Well, just yours actually."

Alex sounded a bit relieved. "And your boyfriend's, right?"

Kate choked on a mouthful of rice. "What?"

Alex handed her the bottle of water, opening the lid for her. "Your boyfriend, Jack. He is your... right?"

Kate shook her head. "Uh... I guess." She said after a long pause. "I just never thought of him... that way..."

Alex nodded, understanding. "I have a boyfriend. Kinda..."

Kate brought a forkful of bok-choy to her lips and tried not to notice that Alex was now giving her a funny look.

"I like your dress..." The younger girl said suddenly changing the topic, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice.

"Thanks..." Kate smiled; unsure of what she was getting at.

Alex nodded before focussing her attention on the strawberries. "It was mine."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Alex raised a hand. "No, no. It's okay. It looks better on you anyway." She grinned and took a bite of strawberry.

Kate cleared her throat, deciding to bring the conversation back to familiar, less uncomfortable ground. "So you have a boyfriend?"

"Kinda." Alex shrugged.

"Kinda." Kate repeated, trying to prompt the teen.

"His name is Karl... He was on your plane. He's cute," She smiled, staring into her hand. "I bring him fruit." She told Kate matter-of-fact.

"Karl?" Kate asked, taking a sip of water. She shook her head. "I don't remember him-"

"He was in the back end of the plane." Alex explained, still smiling. "He's really cute."

Kate set aside the empty container, leaving the fork inside. "Are you dating him?" She queried, picking up a berry and popping it into her mouth.

Alex frowned. "Ben doesn't really like him..."

"Ben?" Kate repeated the name, still confused as to who Ben was. She didn't get a chance to ask before Alex switched subjects again.

"Do you miss him?" She asked earnestly. Her blue eyes were wide with curiosity. Relationships with boys seemed to be a new thing for Alex, as did relationships in general and Kate wondered what could be the harm in indulging the poor girl.

"Jack? Yeah." Kate bit her lip, thinking about how fast their relationship had progressed over the last few days. She always had a feeling about Jack, like she knew something would eventually happen between them. She just didn't think it would happen so soon.

Alex sat back in the sofa, making her more comfortable. "And James? You miss him too?"

"James?" Kate echoed. "Who's that now?" She asked, her brow furrowed in thought. All these people with new names. She didn't think she could keep up.

"Oh!" Alex snapped her fingers. "The blondish one. Your friend. Long hair? Funny accent like Tom's? I always forget his other name."

Kate's mouth made an 'O' shape as she caught on. "You mean Sawyer? Where'd you get James from?"

"That's his name." Alex raised an eyebrow at Kate. "James Ford. I dunno why you guys call him Sawyer."

Suddenly everything clicked, and Kate remembered the letter and Mr. Sawyer. She chuckled, amused by the fact that Sawyer didn't even tell her that his real name was James. James Ford. She tested the name on her tongue as Alex watched her, a look of uneasiness on her face. "You didn't know his name?"

Kate shrugged. "Never really came up. I've only known him for three months," she reminded not only Alex, but herself as well.

Silence settled over the pair, and albeit a comfortable silence, Kate still felt the need to keep talking. "You see them? My friends?"

Alex nodded. "Why?"

"Well, how are they?"

"Good. Sawyer's doing good... since yesterday. Better anyway. They brought him back looking pretty wrecked. They didn't tell me what happened." Alex frowned and Kate kept silent, knowing the reason why. "And Jack's still the same. I brought him dinner before I came up here. He's good. Missing you, I bet."

Kate smiled at the last part. Alex was trying her best to comfort her. Suddenly, Kate had an idea.

"You see him? Jack? Deliver his food." Kate jumped up off the couch, rushing over to the bedroom to get the pen off the night table.

Alex was nodding when she came back into the room. "Why?"

"Can you give him something for me?" She asked, grabbing a napkin off of the fruit platter.

Alex's eyes widened and she bit down on her lip. "I dunno about that Kate... If I get caught..."

"You won't," Kate assured her, scribbling a note down on the napkin. "Just slip this to him with his food. No one will notice. And if they do, who cares? It's just a note. Blame it on me." She shrugged, finishing off her little message. She paused at the last line, not knowing how to sign it. She settled for a simple 'K' and left it at that.

Alex was looking into her hands again when Kate dropped the paper into her lap.

"Please?" She asked the younger girl, a hopeful, pleading look on her face. She didn't know what Alex was so worried about now, when a few days ago she was practically corning Kate in the bathroom with her escape plan.

Alex sighed. "Okay... but I can't get caught with this." She waved the napkin in front of Kate's face. "Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you." Kate moved to hug the girl and paused before deciding it would be okay. Alex was caught off guard and made a small squeak as Kate wrapped her up in a hug.

Alex stood up abruptly after Kate let go, pocketing the note. She picked up all the leftovers from their dinner, piling it as well as the carafe and the mug on the fruit platter. Kate tried to help, but Alex was too quick and before she knew it, she was already by the door, balancing the plate on her hip and turning the knob.

"Thanks for the strawberries, Kate. See you tomorrow." She waved with her free hand before closing the door behind her.

"Bye." Kate smiled at the closed door. Frowning, she glanced up to the ceiling and took a quick look around. There were no cameras, not like she thought there would be, like in her old room. So why was Alex so afraid of someone finding out?

Jack had been dozing when the lock on the door slid clicked on the other side. The heavy weight of the door made it creak in its frame as it was being pushed open and the noise startled him awake. Stifling a yawn, he stood up and blinked a few times to see who it was. Alex was holding the door open with her foot, a small grin on her face as she held out her hands.

"Breakfast," She offered as he took the brown paper bag out of her hands. "I'll be back in a while to get the garbage." She spun on her heels and all but slammed the door behind her, leaving Jack to shake his head at her, confused but her weird behaviour. She did emphasise those last few words on purpose, didn't she?

Jack sighed and sat down against the wall where he had been sleeping before. He didn't really care much what went on now anyway, he couldn't find the energy to care. The last day had seemed to drag on without Kate there and he could only imagine it would get worse the longer and longer she was away.

Putting down his breakfast, Jack sat down the rest of the way, his back hitting the wall behind him. Reaching his hand into the bag he grabbed the muffin inside, his hand brushing against what felt like a pen. Frowning, he tipped the bag upside down. Sure enough, a pen fell out onto his lap followed by a small, square napkin. Looking more closely, he felt himself smile when he saw what was written in hasty yet distinctly feminine handwriting.

I'm okay.

They moved me to my own room. Don't worry.

Miss you.

-K

When Alex returned just like she said she would a twenty minutes later, Jack handed her back the paper bag folded up in a neat square.

"Thanks... uhm... Alex?" He asked, testing her name.

"Yeah?" She turned back to him before got to the door.

With a smile, Jack rubbed his jaw and laughed a bit, not believing what he was about to ask. "Could you do me a favour?"