-1Seeker
Chapter Two
The soft, yet intrusive, noises of morning awoke Isabel. Damn birds, she thought absentmindedly. She opened her eyes and slowly adjusted to the morning, a new day. Golden sunlight streamed through the window and created a warm glow in the room. Dust motes lazily danced in the ribbons of light. The lavender scent she used on the bedding was refreshing, but there was another scent tickling her senses. So familiar…
She sat up with a gasp. Her eyes immediately sought out Jesse's form sprawled in a chair next to her. A tiny smile lit up her tired eyes as she watched her husband continue to sleep. He looked so cute to her, a slight furrow to his brows due to his less than comfortable position. Though she would never tell him, he had an adorable pout. The smile faded as another scent reached her: Alcohol.
Jesse had been drinking. Again. Almost every night since he had discovered her secret, he had gone out drinking. She no longer allowed alcohol in the house, so he always left. She turned away from his sleeping form and slid from the bed. She silently padded to the bathroom. She turned on the cold water and splashed the remnants of sleep from her face. She was vaguely disgusted by his lack of control. The only person she had ever been exposed to who drank with any regularity had been Hank, Michael's foster father. Ever since meeting that foul human, she had naturally assumed a dislike for alcoholic beverages.
She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. With a critical eye, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the lackluster quality of her eyes, the perpetually down-turned corners of her mouth. Why doesn't Jesse notice how unhappy I am? she thought. A part of her wondered what Alex would think, if he was alive. Alex would make sure I smiled. Alex would never let me fall into unhappiness. Her fond reverie of her dead love was cut short as she again saw herself in the mirror.
In amazement, she traced the outline of her features. For the first time in a long time, she saw something in her face she did not realize had been missing. Just the thought of Alex was enough to light up her eyes. Her smile was back, that smile he said captivated him. Though she could do nothing about those dark circles, the glow of her face subdued their intensity. Only Alex, she thought with love. What about Jesse? a small part of her guiltily whispered, but she quashed the thought ruthlessly. "Only Alex," she whispered fiercely to her reflection.
With a start, she realized she was literally glowing. A radiant, golden glow was emitting from her skin. It was spreading! At an alarming rate. The bathroom disappeared in the glow, and her mirrored eyes were the last thing she saw before she was completely blinded.
Vision slowly returned, but her surroundings were different, leaving her disoriented. Everything was whitewashed and blurred around the edges. She felt disconnected from her body, like she was dreamwalking. But I'm not asleep, she thought nervously. What is this?
As she looked around, she saw minimal furnishings. She was obviously in a room of some sort. There was a faint blur to her right she automatically labeled as a kitchenette. She did not know how she knew, but she did. Almost in front of her was a chair, a big, over-stuffed chair, next to a window. Had it been a color, she was certain in would have been blue. To her left she saw a bed, haphazardly made, the coverlet mussed. There were no colors, but she was positive that it, too, would have been blue. A darker medium blue, such as is seen in the early morning before even the predawn.
A studio apartment, she thought. Definitely a man's apartment. There was little to no decoration. Nothing laying about. The place seemed almost empty. Void. Except for the guitar behind the bed. If she had had a corporeal body in this state, she would have frozen. What guitar? But she already knew. There was definitely a guitar. She did not know how she knew, but she did. Nervously, she looked around again. There was something dimly familiar about this room.
Just as there were no colors, there was no sound. But she knew the moment a key was inserted in the door lock and the doorknob was turned. She "heard" as the new occupant dropped the keys onto the table next to the door.
No, she thought, puzzled. I'm not hearing it. I don't hear anything. The other occupant sighed heavily, tiredly - I feel it! But that was just odd. How could she feel someone sigh? But she could. That sigh reverberated throughout her body. She shivered slightly. The feeling was just so intimate. More intimate than anything she had felt with Jesse. It was intense, consuming. It was comforting, natural. It was… like a connection.
Shocked, the part of her mind that was in that strange hazy place brought her back to her body. She was still staring at herself in the mirror above the sink in her bathroom. She looked into the bedroom. The dust motes still danced their lazy dance in the sunlight. Jesse was still passed out in the chair. His pouty expression was no longer cute. Rather, it was annoying. She easily dismissed him from her mind as she turned back to the mirror.
There was something different. Something she could not quite place. She analyzed her reflection with the easy skill of the "Christmas Nazi," as Max and Michael had so fondly dubbed her. A warmth spread through her unexpectedly. Her brow furrowed in confusion. What is that? Concentrating on the source, she realized she was aware of another being. Knowing without knowing how, she knew it was the man from the studio apartment, the man from her vision.