Ever woke up. He elbowed himself up into a sitting position, patting the soft whiteness around him. It covered him from his toes all the way up to his torso. Thankfully, it was warm.

  The room swam in a veil of semi-darkness. There were two sources of light: a crack in the curtains to his right, and the door to the room in front, slightly ajar. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and waited for his brain to do the same thing. Slowly, the events of the previous night started materialising in his mind, like film developing in a dark room.

  Truth or Dare. Mulled wine. Fresh air. Freezing, fresh air. Nyx. Mother. Son.

  Then… nothing. He remembered the feeling of his heart throbbing against the side of his skull, courtesy of the festive drink and how strangely, he had liked it. As much as he did, it gave him a new-found appreciation of the lucidity he currently had.

  The covers were crumpled and used, immediately to his left. He placed his hand on the sheet. Still warm, but not his own heat. He lay his head down on the adjacent pillow face down, breathed in–and smiled. Zoe. It wasn’t something as sharp as his FemFresh deodorant, but it was definitely her.

  Had she stumbled back into the room? Had Ever taken her in, or had she woken up, wondering where he was and found him outside?

  He threw the blanket off, swinging his legs off the bed. The floor wasn’t carpeted like it was at Mimi’s house. Here, polished floorboards greeted his feet. The ducted heating was on, floor vents exhaling warm air. He padded quietly around the bed towards the foot of the door. The house was still quiet, which meant that at least Carol was still asleep.

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  He could hear two people speaking in low tones, voices hushed. Ever grasped the rounded door knob. Through the gap, he could see the backs of Zoe and Roman. They leaned on the kitchen bench, both still dressed in their pajamas.

  “How did you sleep?” Roman asked.

  Zoe grunted. Took a sip of something from a mug that she held in two hands.

  Roman looked to the side, shifting the weight from one hip to the other.

  “Looks like lots of snow fell overnight, should be good for skiing,” Zoe said.

  Roman looked sharply back towards Zoe; Ever shied back towards the darkness. “Do you really think you should be skiing?”

  “Now or never.” Zoe raised the mug to her lips before putting it back down without taking a sip. “I’m going to get my meds.” She spun around, heading right for the bedroom.

  Ever took another step back, the floorboard creaking. Instinctively, he went into reaper mode, floating back towards the bed. But wait, if she can’t see me, she’ll think that I was eavesdropping on her. He drew parallel to the bed, inhabiting his human shell a foot off the bed.

  —--

  The door opened; Zoe walked in. She tiptoed towards her side of the bed and opened the bedside drawer, where she took out the small, white box from the glove compartment of the car. She looked across at Ever where he lay, on top of crumpled blankets. Was it that hot? She smiled faintly before walking quickly out of the bedroom, closing the door with a click.