Alternative

| Chapter Nine

"I can't stop thinking about you." Emery's message pops up on my phone's screen. With a smile, I look down at it as I stand in the hallway outside Elizabeth's apartment. My thumb opens the notification, just as Emery follows her words with a kissing emoji. And a heart. I can't help my grin.

"Is that weird?" her next message reads.

Keeping my bag steady between my legs, I hold my phone with two hands and giddily type a reply. Like an excited teen, I send her a winking emoji and sunglasses. "Why would that be weird, Em?"

There's a minute pause, long enough that the air outside pulls my attention. It blows against the window. Leaves ride the waves of the wind. The clouds, black with night, shimmer bright with a flash of lightning. Thunder follows and instantly, I am calm.

I love thunderstorms.

My phone buzzes in my hand. "We never did, you know, before." Em's message appears in place of her typing bubble and my smile starts to fade. "I liked it. A lot. I like you... a lot."

Like me? I love you, Emery.

I take in a deep breath and look up at the ceiling. The lights are dim, the ones down the hall flickering. For the first time, I'm too caught up in my own thoughts to worry about the murderous Shining twins or the endless blood-filled halls. The dead woman from room 237 can run out and grab me, but I wouldn't feel a thing.

Am I numb?

I want Em, and I want her to remember me. I want her to know every detail we ever shared, every minute we spent together. Looking back at the message she sent, I remind myself that I'm almost there. Just need a few more tweaks, a few more saves, and I'll have her back in my arms.

For real this time.

"We can talk about this later, okay?" I manage to type a response. When I see no text bubble pop up with a working reply, I pull my bottom lip up between my teeth and exhale sharply through my nose. My thumb slowly types, "I can't stop thinking about you, too."

Thunder booms across the raining sky as the lock to Elizabeth's door turns. Turning my head, I glance at it, just as my phone vibrates once more. I look down at the bright screen in time to see Emery's reply.

"I miss you more," it reads.

The apartment door opens just as I chuckle to myself, covering my mouth to try and hide my blush. Elizabeth leans against the wall and catches my expression. I can see her smile out the corner of my eye.

"You're here early again," she says as she opens the door wide and steps aside to allow me space. "You could've knocked, you know."

I push my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and grab my bag in one hand before I face her fully. Like the previous night, she wears red and black, but the look in her eyes catches me off guard. They're bright. Curious. When I inch closer to step into her living room, they widen as she pulls her red lips together, quietly oooo-ing at my arrival.

I purse my lips.

"I actually don't mind if you're early," she says as she shuts the door, locking it. "Maybe we can get more done that way."

This time I walk into an apartment flooded by light. I can see every crevice, every corner. The red-carpeted floors meet tall white walls that are free from pictures or décor. The vintage chandelier overhead sways with the sound of the roaring storm outside. Glancing up at it, I watch the bulbs, waiting for them to flicker like the ones in the hall.

They don't.

"I can always think of more memories to donate." Elizabeth's hand is on my back as she stands beside me, but I don't look at her. I look ahead, at her computer panel. The lights along its side seems to react to movement, bright and blue. The sound of her voice causes it to chirp. A confirmation? Of what?