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When half your daily routine is spent away just resting and recuperating, eventually you’d start to feel like you’re time traveling in a way, just cruising past the days... days that felt like hours, hours that felt like minutes, and minutes that felt like no time at all.

And sprinkle between here and there every fast forward were semblances of normalcy growing more prominent as things began to gradually die down.

My room became a sort of daily commute for all sorts of visitors just casually dropping by. Amanda on video call just to check in, Sammy barging in on the door having nothing better to do, even Mom, up to some mischief, would chime in with her quips if nothing more than just to amuse herself.

Ash especially... every waking moment by my side from dawn till dusk, every one of my needs tended to, always grateful and eager to.

The rare few times she’s not tending to me, I would see her on the phone I got her... both hands maintaining an awkward grip on both sides, a constant white light accentuating the sparkling luster of her emerald eyes.

“What are you doing on there anyway?” I asked one time, upon rousing before the same scene again like so many other times.

.....

“Inquiring with this... Google entity here,” She answered without tearing her gaze away. “Every new day is brimming with unprecedented events. I believe it is only wise to scour about every now and then to find any in relevance to us... and this Google, why its knowledge extends far and wide, rivaling even the most revered Chronicler there ever was.”

Well, what do you know, Ash had mastered the fundamentals of web browsing all on her own. Ah, they grow up so fast...

“Well?” I leaned over, trying to take a peek but ultimately failing. “Find anything of relevance so far?”

Momentarily, Ash swiped and flicked about, selecting one of many dozen tabs open, before beginning to narrate the words on the web page.

“Cyberware Game Studios has announced a brand new installment in the Chronicles of Asteria series... with more details to be revealed at a later date.”

New game already? Todd did let it slip during our first and only visit to the studio... but I didn’t really think he was that anxious to milk that cow so badly. What did he say it was about? A prequel, right? Diving deep into side-characters histories, including Ash’s...

Well, well... I wonder...

Well, at any rate, Amanda must be over the moon right now. I can almost hear the excited squealing in my ears already.

“Anything else important?” I asked, leaning in eager a bit further.

Another swish and a flick, and Ash’s eyes sparkled brightly.

“There is a substantial discount on Frosted Flakes among various outlets.”

Shit, best news I heard all week.

“Welp, keep at it then,” I said, plopping my head back onto my pillow. “See if cat food’s on sale, we’re running out.”

“At once, Master.”

So much diligence, ahh... sometimes I feel bad, y’know?

Sometimes I just stare at the ceiling and wonder how I could ever compensate for her troubles... that was until I caught her one quiet night, her sleeping face blissfully snoozing away right beside me as I woke up... and then realized she’s probably compensating herself enough already.

“Li...ar...” spoke Adalia in a faint whisper “Ash is... a liar...”

I was so bemused by her I even overlooked the fact she was standing over the foot of the bed like a bloody ghost again.

Even after repeated attempts at lecturing on the risks of a heart attack... it’s like she just can’t help but induce one in me every other night.

“Why is Ash a liar?” I whispered back, not wanting to wake Ash who had right then begun coiling herself around my arm.

“Not enough room... she told me... couldn’t sleep with you...” Adalia slowly said, continuing to stare at Ash’s contented expression, blinking empty blinks. “Liar...”

“You wanted to sleep with me?”

Her silent nod to confirm just confused me even more.

“Don’t you sleep enough already in the day? You’re nocturnal, right?”

“No...”

“No? What? You aren’t?” I’m learning so much so fast. “Aren’t you weaker in the day?”

“Wea..ker...” She reaffirmed. “Not... sleepier...”

My ignorance of vampire lore is really showing here, ain’t it? I should brush up more... wouldn’t want to risk offending the wrong vampire next time.

“How long do vampires sleep for, then?”

“We sleep... when we want to...” She answered.

“So you’re just sleepy all the time in general?”

“Yes...”

And there lies the root of my misconception.

“And right now?”

“Right... now...” Adalia tilted her head, her distant stare, at another angle, suddenly turning something more... personal. “I want to... sleep with you...”

Sleepy as I was, I won’t deny feeling my heart go all fluffy hearing her say that the way she said that. But alas...

“Well, I’ll say this, and I won’t lie to you,” I sighed. “But the bed definitely won’t fit all three, sadly.”

Adalia made a whimper, a little meek sound of acceptance, and my heart ached so bad.

“Next time,” I told her. “I’ll be sure to make plenty of space for you.”

No reaction, apart from some slight movement, and a little shift in her glance, now directly meeting mine.

“Next... time...” She whispered back, blinking once. “Pro...mise...?”

Oh, there’s that word, that little P-word there. Me and that stupid word have been on a little rival match of sorts, and I’ve been keeping score... so far, I’m sitting at a strong zero here.

But not for long, not this time.

“I promise,” I said to her, my smile filled with tenacious resolve.

“Not... lying...?”

“Not lying,” I shook my head. “In fact, I’m looking forward to it too.”

Suddenly upon hearing that, her look of doubt quickly disappeared. “Okay...”

And as the days shifted in and out, with time I was getting better, and the better I got, to my delight, the less moody Sammy got.

I could even physically see the shifts in her temperament every instance she’d visit... to the point where she was even styling her hair like Mom’s again, and dressing back in her usual light blues and whites... even the dark rings around her eyes were now fading, which left me slightly wondering.

“Are you still having those visions of yours by the way?”

Sammy dropped her gaze from her phone to look at me, the smile from a funny text slowly disappearing from her expression.

“Not since you nearly dropped dead that night,” She answered. “Or maybe I just stopped bothering to remember them in my sleep or something.”

I had another theory, however.

“Or maybe you going off on Mom did something, maybe it was just a mind over matter thing.”

She shrugged halfheartedly. “Maybe...”

“Think about it, you’re uncomfortable around her, you dream of her,” I said. “The power of suggestion. All these pent-up feelings simply manifested as your dreams, and when you finally said what you wanted, they stopped. Can’t just be coincidence, right?”

“Mmm...”

“So I was right – you just needed to talk to her, open up. I told you so.”

Again, so half-hearted. “If you say so, big bro.”

“But you haven’t really patched things up with her, have you?” I eyed her with a squint. “You still giving Mom the cold shoulder?”

“Mmm...”

“C’mon, Sammy...”

“None of your business,” She said, throwing her phone back up and returning to smiles and chuckles as her thumbs hastily typed away.

So, in other words – it’s complicated.

But hey, what isn’t with a world-ender and fallen hero for mother and father? I’m sure given time, her true feelings would eventually come to the surface.

I’m sure of it.

“Mom said you made up those visions you have about me, by the way...” I said. “Did you really have to lie to garner my sympathy?”

She stopped typing. “Made up?”

“Yeah...” I looked her in the eye, she didn’t look as halfhearted now. “You did make them up, didn’t you? Because... you didn’t wanna talk about Mom with me or something?”

“I’d have come up with a far better lie than that if I wanted to lie, you know?” She said resuming typing again, except now with a tension present in her eyes. “Those visions about you aren’t a lie. I didn’t make them up. I saw them.”

“Sammy...”

“Look, believe what you want, then,” She said, a little annoyed now. “I know what I dreamt.”

.....

That didn’t make any sense.

“So what do those visions mean, then?” I asked.

“Hell if I know,” Sammy responded, springing off from the bed and leaving the room, seemingly having enough of me. “But like you said, Big Bro – they’re just dreams, aren’t they?”