17 May 1980
Spokane, Washington
The Davenport Hotel

.

Jackie awoke with the sensation that something wasn't quite right.

She blinked repeatedly to clear her eyes, her arms stretching over her head. With a grimace, her fingers curled into her knotted hair, and she became acutely aware that she was hungover. Her vision was blurry, her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, and she had one hell of a headache.

She untangled her fingers from her hair and tried to sit up, but the pain in her head cautioned her to take her time. After a few more dry, clicking blinks, she attempted to propel herself upright again and winced at the sound of gentle knocking on the adjoining door.

"Jackie, you decent?"

She made a whining noise, and the door creaked open. Hyde peeked his head inside, seeing that she was still in bed but awake and carefully stepped inside. When he saw that she was completely covered with the comforter, his shoulders relaxed and he entered the room more freely, holding out two cups of coffee.

"Mornin'." He had his aviators off for once, and his morning blue eyes winked in the morning light. "How're ya feeling?"

"Muh," she muttered, snaking a hand out from underneath the covers to rub at her tired eyes.

Why was it so bright in the room?

Hyde set her coffee on the nightstand and took a seat on the chair at the table. Jackie glanced up at him, and that was when she noticed Hyde's hair was wet and slicked back like he had just taken a shower.

She frowned.

He was already dressed and looked a hell of a lot more alert than she felt. What time was it anyway?

"You wanna get some breakfast before we check out?" he asked, taking a long sip from his coffee.

Jackie fell back down onto the mattress. "Buh."

"Does that mean yes or no?"

Jackie whined petulantly in answer, throwing a thin arm over her eyes. It was too damn bright. Her eyelids felt like sandpaper. It hurt to breathe.

Eventually, she sat up and glanced at the large alarm clock on the nightstand. It was twenty to eleven. They'd have to check out soon. Could she shower that quickly?

"Why—" she smacked her lips in distaste "—does the inside of my mouth taste like vomit?"

Hyde rolled his shoulder into his chin to hide his burgeoning grin. "Well, you did drink a lot of bourbon last night."

"Bourbon?" Jackie reached across her nightstand and unhooked the plastic tab on the lid of her coffee. She took a sip, washing the bitter taste of bile out of her mouth. "Ugh, right, I'm not supposed to drink."

"What's that?"

"Nothin'." She ignored his question and shook her head with a yawn, digging the sleep out of her eyes. "I just shouldn't drink that much, y'know, being as tiny as I am." She blinked wide brown eyes at him and lightly shook her cup. "Was I fed coffee or something as a child?"

"Huh?" He blinked at her, nonplussed.

"Coffee," she repeated, taking another languid sip. "I read somewhere that caffeine stunts your growth."

"Right," he drawled, holding up his own cup and frowning. "So, no to breakfast, then?"

"I could try some toast—" she grimaced as she set down her drink "—and half a bottle of Percocet."

"Cool." Hyde stood up with a grunt and walked back over to the adjoining door. "You wash up, and I'll grab us some food. Don't forget your stuff is in the other room. I'll leave the door open. Oh, and I extended our check-out time to 11:30."

"Cool, thanks."

He briefly left the room and returned with her duffel bag and his own. He set hers on the bed, from which she retrieved her Percocet bottle. He then went into the bathroom and emerged with a glass tumbler filled with tap water. He handed it to her, and she nodded her thanks before swallowing the pills.

"I'll be back in a bit," he said.

Once he left, Jackie got undressed and showered quickly—or as quickly as she could while still basking under the spray of hot water. She had just finished towelling herself dry and getting dressed when he returned to her room with breakfast.

Pulling her towel-dried hair into a messy bun, Jackie sat barefoot at the table across from Hyde. She curled a leg up and leaned back, taking nibbling bites of the buttered toast.

"I got you some gum," said Hyde, sliding a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit across the table.

She smiled. "Thanks."

The two continued to eat in silence.

Jackie could only finish the one slice of toast; her stomach was protesting violently. Once done, she pushed the plate away and excused herself, entering the other room to pack her things. Luckily, she hadn't been that messy. She was done packing in minutes.

When she returned to Hyde's room, she was surprised to find him standing before the window. He had put his aviators back on and was now looking out over the city, his lips pursing in a frown.

"I'm all ready," she announced.

She dragged in her two suitcases, setting them next to her duffel bag, which was still perched on the unmade bed. She fished the pack of gum Hyde had given her earlier out of her pocket and offered him a stick. He took one with thanks while she unwrapped her own piece. She popped it in her mouth and chewed with deliberation, sitting down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. She'd have to fill an empty Coke bottle or something with water for the trip.

"So what happened last night?" she asked, breaking the silence. "Things seem kinda awkward between us right now."

"Huh?" Hyde turned away from the window and dug his hands into his pockets. "Nah, not awkward, just..." He paused, tilting his head inquisitively at her. "Are you saying you don't remember last night?"

"I remember the beginning of it," she said with a shrug. "We checked in, got something to eat in the bar downstairs and then we, uhm, played poker, right?"

"Yup." A sly grin angled across his lips. "You cleaned house."

"Cool." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, feeling slightly annoyed. Yet another thing for her to forget. Just fantastic. "But everything after that is a little hazy."

A look of unease flitted across Hyde's face, and her brow wrinkled.

"We didn't do anything together, did we?" she asked, trying to read his face. "Like, together-together?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Oh, okay, cool," she said with a sigh, then backtracked when she realised how that sounded. "Not that I would have minded if we did something. I mean, you're cool and all. I just prefer being awake for that kind of stuff."

Hyde's brow immediately furrowed and his lips pursed in a frown. "Hey, you know I'd never do something like that to you."

"I know, I know." Jackie waved a hand at him with a breathy, nervous laugh. "Well, I don't really know, but I get that vibe from you—a good one." She smiled up at him. "I can trust you, I think."

And she could—she felt she could trust him, even though sometimes he scared the hell out of her in many ways. Ways she wasn't prepared to examine yet.

"Well, that's reassuring," he drawled sarcastically, although his body language had instantly relaxed.

He crossed his arms over his chest and his right eyebrow quirked over his aviators as he looked her over, as if he were waiting for her to burn him.

"Sorry," she said, smiling almost apologetically. "I'm just feeling weird today."

"No worries," he said with an unaffected shrug. He then picked up his own bag before grabbing Jackie's two suitcases. "You ready to hit the road?"

Jackie looped the strap of her duffel bag over her shoulder and jumped up to her feet. "I call shot-gun!"

He chuckled. "Well, you sure as hell ain't driving."

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆

A few hours later, a mid-afternoon thunderstorm had moved through the state of Idaho, leaving raindrops on the windows of the El Camino like strung crystal beads. Hyde had hooked a tarp to the bed of the Camino to keep it dry for their luggage.

Earlier, back in Spokane, they had taken a taxi to the garage to pick up the truck. With bills paid, they had set out on the road and had been driving ever since, stopping only once for lunch at a small rest stop off the I-90E highway.

The music on the radio was playing low, and Jackie rested her head against the window, slipping in and out of sleep. Random thoughts popped into her head; most she shook off, but a few lingered, plaguing her mind with self-doubt. She was beginning to suspect that Hyde was keeping something from her—nothing malicious, but she still couldn't shake the feeling.

Of course she had amnesia, so he was probably holding onto a lot of secrets. Some of them, she suspected, could be traumatic for her. It wasn't like she could judge him since she was keeping secrets of her own. However, she was almost positive that the awkward silence that had settled between them this morning resulted from something that had happened last night in the hotel room, something he was now keeping from her.

Did I make a pass at him?

You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.

Jackie stiffened in her seat. It was that damn voice again.

She side-eyed Hyde with her peripheral vision, but his attention was fixed on the road. He obviously hadn't heard the voice. After all, it was in her head, and it eerily sounded a lot like her.

Was she crazy?

Yeah, and the second sign is replying, Jackie answered inside her head, deciding to tempt fate. Might as well direct me to the nearest bedlam.

Bedlam? Stop making up words!

You… you seriously can't be this stupid, can you? I couldn't have been this stupid.

Stupid? I'm brilliant. You're the stupid one!

Wow, I felt the heat on that burn.

Why does my outer voice insist on being such a sarcastic, opinionated jerk?

Why does my inner voice insist on being such a loud, obnoxious brat?

Brat? You know, you may be pretty and all 'cause you're me, I guess, but I don't like you.

Feeling's mutual, doll.

Doll? Did you just call me doll? Oh God, you're becoming more and more like him every day. Soon, you'll start wearing dirty band tees and aviators.

Why wait? I'm gonna start right now!

I hate you!

"Yeah? I hate you, too!"

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and her hands were shaking so severely that she had to ball them into fists at her sides. Irrational anger coursed through her veins like a venom hellbent on destruction. She had no idea why she was so upset. But before she could even rationalise her anger, she saw that Hyde was blatantly staring at her with a look of concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah?" She blinked, nonplussed. Oh, wait—had she yelled that aloud? "Y-yeah, I think I was daydreaming, or I stroked off there for a minute."

"What was it about?" he pressed curiously.

"I don't really remember," she lied, then felt guilty about lying. She supposed she could tell him some half-truths. "It was really brief and weird, sorta like a daydream. I think I was talking to someone. Maybe it was a memory?"

Hyde frowned thoughtfully. "Well, whoever you were talking to, you clearly didn't like 'em."

"Yeah..." Jackie paused, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She really didn't want to discuss this anymore, lest she slip the fact that she was talking to herself like a bonafide mental patient. "I must have been chatting with Kelso," she said with a chuckle, and he looked at her funny. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged, keeping his gaze purposely fixed on the road. "Just weird hearing you call him Kelso."

"That's his name, isn't it?"

"Yeah—" he shrugged again, even more uncomfortably "—but I'm so used to you calling him Michael," he said with a high-pitched, screechy voice.

She scowled at him. "Did I really sound like that?"

"Yeah, well..." He trailed off with a cough. "Maybe you sounded a bit more feminine," he admitted with a slight smirk.

"Only a bit?" She folded her arms beneath her breasts with a scoff. "I have a feeling that's your voice for all women."

He nodded. "Pretty much."

"Whatever." She tried to shake off the grin inevitably creeping on her lips. "So, is it too weird that I call him Kelso? Should I call him Michael instead?"

"Nah—unless you want to," he added hastily.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully and shook her head. "I'd rather not."

"Cool."

A few minutes later, they pulled into a Mobil station hung with gaudy bunting. The signs out front read UNLEADED .79 and GOD BLESS AMERICA. Around back was a boarded-up chip wagon with the sign OLE MISS CHIPS.

While Hyde pumped gas, Jackie exited the truck to stretch her legs. A cool breeze wafted through the station, and she shivered. With no shelter from tall buildings or trees, the force of the wind almost bowled her over. She wished she had brought her jacket with her as she wrapped her thin arms around herself for warmth.

She considered returning to the truck when she spotted a payphone off the side of the building. Impulsively, she decided to call Penny and Chloe. She slipped between the blue divides and picked up the receiver. She placed her finger inside the rotary dial hole for zero and then had to stop. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Swallowing back her panic, Jackie cradled the receiver between her ear and shoulder, freeing both hands. She grasped her right wrist with her left hand to hold it as steady as possible. Using her forefinger, she fit it in the rotary hole again and dialled 0 with slow and horrible deliberation.

A female operator came on the line and asked Jackie what number she wished to dial. Jackie was about to give the name for Breitenbush when Hyde waved at her from the truck. She muttered a quick apology and turned her back to him so he couldn't see her hands shake as she hung up the phone.

Hyde was already waiting inside the El Camino, and Jackie brought her hands up to her face to inspect them. The trembling had subsided substantially, but her fingers still twitched. Frowning, she shoved them into her pockets and trotted over to the truck.

When she reached the El Camino, she wondered how she would open the door, but Hyde had already slid across the bench seat and opened it for her. She sat inside and mumbled a thanks before using both hands to shut the door. Thankfully, her hands had steadied enough to pull the door completely shut.

"All set?" he asked, turning over the ignition.

"Yup." She offered him a thin smile and threw on her jacket, stuffing her hands into the pockets.

Why did everything in her life always have to go wrong?

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆

By early evening, grey clouds had begun to build up in the west. Once it was dark, thunder and lightning commenced. The storm held off for another hour and a half. Thankfully, they had managed to locate a motel by then.

Jackie was already in bed asleep in the other room when Hyde stepped outside onto the balcony for a smoke. He watched the rain fall and listened to the wind talk. He tried not to think about last night, about what he and Jackie had almost done, but it played like a movie reel in his mind.

He had learnt long ago that if his mind insisted on returning to a topic, no matter how hard he tried to divert it, it was best to let it return and run its course. After all, only obsessives worried about obsession.

So Hyde let his mind wander, inevitably drifting back to thoughts of Jackie. A part of him was disgusted with himself for letting things almost get out of hand and for refusing to tell her about it the next day, but a more significant part of himself knew it was best to drop it.

Leave it alone.

Jackie didn't need to be reminded or embarrassed by a moment of drunken inhibition. Hyde was more worried about her impression of him when all things were said and done—or rather, what he hadn't said or done.

Hyde didn't like to lie; for one thing, he was horrible at it. Keeping silent was in his nature, but keeping truths wasn't. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to say to Jackie. What should he tell her about their relationship? She had told him not to bother, but the guilt of passing the buck gnawed at his conscience.

The doctors had said to reintroduce her to her past gradually but not to traumatise her, so that left out the last few months of their relationship, period. It wasn't like he wanted to reveal every sordid detail, but he didn't exactly feel right acting chummy with someone he had hurt so badly.

And he knew he had hurt her.

Oddly enough, Hyde had found himself wanting to become friends with Jackie. There was no set dynamic in their relationship anymore, yet he felt more or less at ease around her. Maybe it was because their shared history was no longer an obstacle—at least not for her. She had no expectations of him, and there was nothing for him to live up to or apologise for on his part. Being with Jackie no longer automatically reminded him of his past sins; seeing her didn't weigh down his conscience with guilt and shame.

No longer faced with Jackie's very much warranted scorn for him, Hyde was less likely to do or say something to her that he'd later regret. He was responding instead of reacting to her presence, no longer trying to anticipate hurt words or looks. Now, Hyde felt an undeserved sense of freedom around her, mixed with a sense of familiarity that drew him closer to her than it would've to anyone else.

In other words, it was complicated.

Hyde had always found it odd that despite their vast catalogue of differences, it was their similarities that first drew him and Jackie together. Both of them had been abandoned by their parents; both were prideful and stubborn, refusing to show any chinks in their armour. Yet they were vulnerable in their own ways. This vulnerability had always compelled Hyde to Jackie, ever playing her reluctant knight in shining armour.

But this new Jackie—or Ruby, as she called herself—didn't want or need a saviour. She could take care of herself. Hyde respected that. He had always felt that his Jackie had that kind of strength deep within her. He'd seen it more than once. After all, she couldn't have survived the abandonment of her parents without it.

Or his betrayals.

Yet Hyde couldn't seem to help playing the hero when it came to Jackie, whether he wanted to or not. Even with Ruby—he saw the stiffness in her smiles, the sharp edges of her stares and the hint of darkness lurking behind her eyes. She was alone and trying to be strong about it; however, unlike his Jackie, Ruby could very well lose herself to that darkness, and he couldn't have that.

Contrary to his original protests, Hyde didn't feel like quitting Jackie yet. What that meant, he wasn't entirely sure. What he did know was that she was hiding something from him. He had a feeling her little sojourn in Oregon wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Something had happened there. And though it wasn't his nature to pry, he figured she'd let something slip eventually.

But if and when that happened, would he actually be able to do anything to help her?

Hyde flicked his spent cigarette onto the wet pavement with a grimace. He didn't have the right to question what Jackie did or what she hid from him, but the niggling feeling at the back of his mind told him that something wasn't quite right. Whatever she was keeping to herself was big, and he felt a strong desire to protect and shelter her, not unlike the feelings that had always been there hidden beneath the surface.

But first thing was first: they would have to talk soon. Things couldn't go on the way they were—or at least they couldn't for him. Eventually, he'd have to come clean about their past together. He just didn't know where to start. How could he tell her about everything he had done to her? What could he say to make her understand when he didn't even know himself?

Have a talk?

Hyde palmed his face with a sigh. God, he sounded like a girl, or worse, Forman.

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆

It rained steadily for the rest of the trip home. The skies were a perpetual dismal grey as if a portent of things to come. The windshield was constantly shimmering with water drops despite the hard work the wipers put in.

Just before they had stopped for lunch, the radio news announced the eruption of Mount St Helens. Over twenty people were dead, and the death toll was still rising.

Jackie and Hyde initially received the news with shock and disbelief. They had almost gone there to visit, but Jackie had declined. She even had friends who lived and stayed in Portland, which wasn't that far from the mountain.

Jackie called the resort from a rest stop. Penny informed her that everyone was okay, and she gave her Mandy and Tiffany's hotel number in Portland. That was when the reality of the situation finally sank in.

Jackie didn't even know that Mount St Helens was still an active volcano or that it even was a volcano. Her mind had been officially blown. Having Hyde experience it with her had brought her a measure of comfort that neither one of them was willing to address.

The rest of the trip home was relatively quiet. They listened to the news until they were too depressed to hear anymore and had to find a station playing music. Hyde nodded his head to the beats while Jackie sang the lyrics to a few songs that had him staring at the tiny brunette in almost steered them off the road when she began singing Fool in the Rain.

She had asked him why the hell he was trying to kill them both, but he had only said he had swerved to miss a gopher.

Despite the weather and everything else, they made excellent time. They arrived in Point Place just after seven that evening.

Hyde pulled the El Camino into the Formans' driveway and parked it next to the Vista Cruiser. Jackie ran her damp palms up and down her jeaned thighs, swallowing back her anxiety. She shouldn't have been nervous. She had been here before, and she liked the Formans, but a part of her still wasn't ready for this reunion. She had become anti-social as of late. Maybe it was road-trip fatigue, or maybe she was just upset.

Hyde pulled the key out of the ignition and turned to look at her, giving her a brief nod of encouragement. "You ready?"

She nodded silently and got out of the truck.

Hyde was already out the door. He lifted the tarp off the Camino's bed, spilling water onto the driveway, and retrieved their luggage. He handed her the duffel bag while carrying her two suitcases and his bag. They had decided to enter through the basement first rather than lugging everything around the front or getting yelled at by Red for trekking dirt and mud through the kitchen.

Jackie descended the stairs first, holding the door open for Hyde. She had expected to see Donna and Eric, but the basement was empty and the TV was turned off. Hyde set her things on the floor and threw his bag on the sofa while she clutched at hers like it was her lifeline.

"They must be upstairs," he muttered, and that was when she heard voices coming from above as the basement door opened.

"What's with the wingtips?" Eric asked Fez as they came down the stairs. "You're welcoming Jackie home, not Nixon vacationing at the beach."

"I'll have you know that I have a date tonight!" the foreigner spat indignantly.

Donna snorted behind him. "Is the date with your hand?"

Eric's choked laughter was cut off when he saw Jackie and Hyde standing in front of the sofa. "Jackie? Hyde?"

"Jackie!" Fez and Donna cried in unison, pushing Eric aside as they scrambled down the rest of the stairs to greet the brunette.

"My goddess has returned!" Fez threw his arms around Jackie's neck, but Donna managed to shove him off and hugged the petite girl lightly.

"Jackie! We didn't expect you to be home until later. Someone didn't call." She shot Hyde a dirty look, and he just shrugged. "C'mon upstairs—but not through the basement."

"Why can't I go up through the basement?" asked Jackie.

Donna shared a look with Eric, who shrugged with a guilty tilt of his head.

"Mrs Forman has a surprise welcome-back party planned, doesn't she?" asked Hyde with a smirk angled across his lips.

"You know my mom," said Eric with a lift of his hands.

"A surprise party?" Jackie frowned.

"Don't worry," Donna reassured her. "It's just us, my dad and Eric's parents."

"Yeah, we figured you wouldn't want people here you haven't re-met yet," said Eric, placing a hand on Hyde's shoulder while he smiled at Jackie.

"Thanks, Kid," said Jackie, smiling gratefully at the considerate nerd, whose mouth broke out in a beaming smile.

"You're using it!" he squealed excitedly, looking back at Fez and Donna. "She's using it!"

Donna rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and looped an arm through Jackie's. "So you have to tell me all about your trip. What did you do? What's a holistic retreat like?"

Jackie tried to field what questions she could as the blonde led her back outside with Hyde reluctantly trailing behind. When the three entered through the front door, Jackie noticed a welcome-back banner and Red seated at his green chair, watching the news.

He glanced up at Hyde with a scowl. "You didn't call," he groused. "Kitty's been in a tizzy all day. She's baked enough food to feed an army."

"Sorry," said Hyde. "We were making good time and I didn't want to stop."

Red grunted in reply and cautiously looked at the kitchen door before pointing to Jackie and Hyde. "You two go wait outside. Kitty'll be upset for the rest of the night if you're not surprised."

Jackie and Hyde quickly followed orders and went back outside to wait. They could hear Red yell and Kitty whooping and hollering. After a minute, everything was a hushed quiet. When they saw the lights click off and what sounded like Red clearing his throat in an annoyed fashion, Hyde opened the door, and he and Jackie stepped inside.

"Surprise!" everyone yelled.

Donna turned on the lights with a grin.

Eric and Fez were upstairs now, and a big cake was set on the coffee table. Mrs Forman popped some confetti with a tittering laugh while Red remained seated in his green chair, scowling petulantly at the noise.

"Ah, wow, thanks," said Jackie, pointing at the banner. "Nice touch."

Kitty smiled and pulled the petite brunette into a hug. "We missed you, dear."

"Thanks, Mrs Forman." Jackie closed her eyes and allowed herself to briefly enjoy the hug before pulling back. "Oh, I got you something." She fished a box from her duffel bag and handed it to the older woman.

"You shouldn't have," said Kitty, opening the box to reveal a pair of gold loop earrings. She gasped. "Jackie, they're beautiful!" She held an earring up to her ear before folding the brunette into another hug. "Thank you, sweetie."

Jackie nodded shyly before pulling out another box and handing it to Red. "I got you something, too, Mr Forman."

"Is it a pair of earrings?" he asked, suspiciously eyeing the small box. "Men should never be given gifts in small boxes unless it's a key to a car."

"No, it's not earrings or the key to a car." Jackie grinned and then waved her hand. "It's really not that big of a deal. I found it at a flea market and I thought of you."

Red raised a sceptical eyebrow at this but opened the box, revealing a 1918 USCE Taylor Compass.

"Hey now," he said, sitting up with a little smile on his face. "My father had one of these. He brought it back with him after the war. Marty lost it when we were kids." Red fingered the compass almost lovingly before nodding. "Thank you, Jackie."

She fidgeted slightly but smiled. "You're welcome."

"What about me?" asked Fez eagerly. "Do I get a present, too?"

Eric and Donna both nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I got you all something, but the stuff's in one of my suitcases." She went to go downstairs to retrieve them, but Kitty stopped her.

"Wait! You need to have a slice of cake first."

Jackie relented, and they all sat down to have some cake. They were stuffing their faces when pictures of the eruption appeared on the news.

"Wow, that's so unreal," said Donna, licking some chocolate icing off her thumb. "I can't believe a volcano erupted on this continent."

"We almost went there before we left," Hyde commented casually, and the blonde's eyes bugged out.

"Really?"

Jackie nodded absently, transfixed by the television screen.

"Yeah," Hyde drawled hoarsely before clearing his throat. "Last we heard on the radio, it was thirty-six dead."

"Forty now," said Red gravely. "There was a crop-dusting plane that got hit."

"Was it close at all to where your retreat was?" Donna asked Jackie, and the brunette shook her head.

"No, but I have some friends who are staying in Portland," she said, "which is fairly close to the mountain."

"Do you want to call them and make sure they're okay?" asked Kitty, concern lacing her voice.

"Well, I..." Jackie paused, looking at Hyde briefly, before nodding. "Yeah, I should probably check in on them."

She got up and made her way into the kitchen, fishing the slip of paper out of her pocket with Mandy and Tiffany's hotel number. Hyde came in behind her, heading to the fridge for a soda. She ignored him and reached for the receiver when her hands started to shake.

Not again.

Jackie considered waiting until Hyde left to attempt to dial, but he still had his head in the refrigerator. Turning her back to him so he couldn't see, she tried to pick up the receiver, only to knock it out of its cradle. She cursed softly to herself and grabbed the dangling phone with both hands, carefully slipping it back into its cradle with violently trembling hands.

"I forgot the number in my bag," she muttered, crushing the slip of paper in her shaking hand.

She returned to the living room, feeling Hyde's eyes upon her as she left.

She had only been home a few minutes, and already nothing was going her way.

⋆ 𖤓 ⋆