Out of the Darkness

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She raised her head and looked at me, sheepishly. "Oops," she replied, biting her lip. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I just got so excited!" I shook my head. "No, I'm okay. It doesn't hurt anymore." "At all?" Sam asked, kicking back on the other bed. "Nope, not at all," I replied. Anna leaned her face down and pressed her lips to mine, just for a moment. "I'm so happy that you're going to be okay," she said, laying her head across my chest. I played with the ends of her hair, and just enjoyed the feeling of her being so close to me, for a while. Sam was on his phone, probably texting Kat. Christine looked like she was on her phone too. "I think it's time for me to go, you guys," she said, standing up. Anna's head popped up. "What? No, don't go, Hols. We were having so much fun!" Christine smiled at her, sadly. "We were, Stacia. But I have a family that I have to get home too. I'll come see you tomorrow. And you can text me." Anna's face scrunched up. "Text you? I don't know how to do that." I laughed, and her cheeks pinkened. "Don't laugh! Cellphones weren't that big of a thing when I was alive. The ones that were, were big enough to see from space and were only used for talking!" She rolled off of me and stood next to Christine. I sat up and faced them. "Texting is easy. You can use my phone. It's just like, um, a typewriter, I guess? I'll show you." She smiled at me, gratefully. "So, you'll text me tonight then?" Christine asked her. Anna nodded, and threw her arms around her. "I'm going to miss you every second that you're gone," she sobbed. I could see tears glistening in Christine's eyes too, then she sniffed. "I'll be back tomorrow, Stacia. I promise. We have a lot of time to make up for." Anna pulled back and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Okay. I'll text you," she said, with a watery grin. They hugged again, and then Christine left with more promises of seeing Anna tomorrow. That would be good. I planned on being busy tomorrow and didn't want Anna to know where I was going. After we all got settled back in the beds, Sam in one and Anna and I in the other, I ran my fingers through her hair. I was propped up against the headboard, with her lying over my chest. "So, how was your day with your family?" I asked. She was quiet for a moment, then sighed heavily. "It was okay. At first, it was so great to see them again. Then, it got kind of overwhelming, so I went outside." I waited for her to continue but she seemed hesitant. "Did you go back in after a while?" I urged her on. She cleared her throat. "Yea...after a while. It was okay, after that. I listened to them relive memories of me. It was really hard not being able to chime in, or to hug them. My sister is older than me, with a son around my age. My mom...she looked so old and frail. I could still see her though. The mother that I grew up with. She was there, in her eyes and her laugh. I still can't get over the fact that I've missed all of this time with them." She sniffed and I knew she was close to tears, so I fell silent. "Thank you for this," she whispered, rolling over so that her head was in my lap, and she was looking up at me. "For what?" I whispered back, smiling at her. "For being here. For setting this up. For helping me remember who I am, and where I came from. It would've never happened, if not for you. And for Sam." I brushed her hair back from her forehead. "It was my pleasure. I'll always be here for you, Anna. Especially, now that I'm not dying." She smiled softly, and looked away. "Can you do me a favor?" she asked, looking back and biting her lip. "Anything," I replied. "Can you call me Stacia? I know that you're used to calling me Anna, but that's what my teachers and people who didn't really know me called me. Everyone else called me Stacia. Except my parents. They called me Anastacia." She made a face when she said that, making me laugh. "Why the face?" I asked. "I don't really like my name. I never have," she replied. "I think it's a beautiful name. Like it's beautiful owner," I said. She blushed a little and rolled her eyes. "It sounds like an old lady name." "Whatever you say, Anastacia," I joked. She groaned and covered her eyes with her hands. "Noooo, don't call me that. Just call me Anna, but don't call me that." I laughed again, enjoying the feeling of being with her, just for a little while longer. I didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow. Maybe the Shaman had healed me today for no reason. Maybe I was going to die anyway. I was going to that apartment tomorrow, though. No matter what. I was going to try and sneak out before anyone else was awake, including Sam. I just didn't want to put him in more danger. We all called it a night, a little later, and I snuggled under the stiff hotel blankets, with my arms wrapped around Anna. I mean, Stacia. That was going to take some getting used too. We were lying on our sides, and I had her pulled up against my chest. I knew that she didn't need to sleep, but I was glad that she could. I waited to hear her breathing slow and become deeper, but that time didn't come. I fell asleep first. I wasn't really sure how long I slept, but I was pulled out of my deep sleep, by Anna's lying fitfully in my arms. "No," she whimpered. "Please, don't hurt them." I pulled her close against me, and started whispering in her ear. "It's okay. You're okay. No one is going to get hurt. I'm here. I'm right here." She eventually quieted and lay still. I could see that it was still dark outside, but I was wide awake. I reached over to the table and grabbed my phone to check the time. 5:00 AM. I still had another hour before I planned to wake up, but this worked too. I gently eased Anna off of me, and slid out of bed. It was time to get ready to go. I moved around the room, as silently as possible, putting on my clothes and getting the things that I thought I might need out of Sam's bag, like a flashlight, etc.