Cassie’s morning was rather uneventful compared to all the commotion that took place the night before. She’d come home and found her mother asleep on their couch. Her mom often fell asleep in front of the TV. Said it was like a white noise machine.
Cassie crept upstairs to change into a fresh pair of clothes and get some sleep. But like Eric, she found herself staring at her ceiling, thinking about recent events. She was mentally kicking herself for showing so much interest in Eric, right after his girlfriend had her… moment (for lack of a better adjective).
“God he must think I’m some kind of slut, making such obvious come ons.” Cassie thought. She rolled over onto her chest, and groaned into her pillow.
“Cassie?” her mother’s voice came from the other side of her bedroom door.
“Yes?”
“Everything alright in there?” Anna asked.
“I guess.” Cassie grumbled. Which told her mother than things certainly were NOT alright. Anna opened the door, and sat at the end of Cassie’s bed.
“Bad night huh?”
“That’s an understatement.” Cassie said. She was about to tell her mother what happened, when her mother spoke first.
“You don’t have to tell me, I already know. Christina called earlier.” Anna explained.
“Thank god for that. I don’t think I could even begin to describe last night,” Cassie thought, extremely relieved.
“So, aside from the incident with Julie Stovall, things went well?”
“Ya, Eric and I had a good time.” Cassie said, before she realized how that sounded. She blushed furiously after.
“Don’t worry sweetheart, I get it. I’ve turned my fair share of men over the years. You father included.” Anna said.
“Really? Where you… I mean after did you find yourself attracted to them?”
“Well, sort of. Your father was the last normal I turned. The others… we just went our separate ways afterwards. Why?”
“I don’t know. I just got the feeling that Eric and I enjoyed last night more than we should have. Especially since he’s got a girlfriend. or had a girlfriend.” Cassie said, unsure if anything had happened between Julie and Eric in the past few hours.
“Don’t got beating yourself up over it. Get some rest, and then try to sort out your feelings and thoughts. You’ve all had a long night.” Anna leaned forward to kiss her daughter’s cheek. She got up and let Cassie sleep. Or try to sleep.
Because, despite her body screaming at her to rest, her mind was still running nonstop. And the only thing she could focus on was Eric’s face, and the look he’d given her after she said he was “dashing” as a werewolf.
----------------------------------------------------
At the hospital, Dr. Tachibana and Francis were going over treatment possibilities in a private space. Martin and Melissa were still with the very confused Julie. The two professionals didn’t want to scare any of them by discussing the many explanations for Julie’s apparent amnesia and delusions.
“I’d like to run some more tests, brain scans and such. But I fear Julie won’t react well, or will resist unless we tell her why.” Tachibana said.
“Right now I think we should tread lightly. Physically, she’s weak. And mentally and emotionally, Julie’s on very thin ice. One wrong word and she could be sent spiraling.” Francis said.
“I’m going to keep Julie here overnight. We can decide if she should stay longer than that tomorrow. But, again, my main concern is how she’ll react when she realizes the world around her doesn’t match whatever fantasy she’s dreamed up.”
“I’m not much of an expert in that field. I’ll call a colleague, maybe they can help work out a treatment plan for Julie. For now, the only thing I can do is talk to her, try to keep her calm and rational.”
“That’s more than I can do. But I wonder how long that can last. At some point she’ll have to return home, and then to school. There are a few things bound to be out of order there.” Tachibana said.
“And how,” Francis thought. Julie’s panic over the “missing” pearl necklace was only the tip of the iceberg. After being assured it was home, Julie calmed down. But at some point, she’d realize it wasn’t. And then she’d see the rest of her life wasn’t as she was imagining it.
“I never knew the ‘love at first sight’ thing in merfolk was so strong.” Francis mused.
“It’s similar to the bond werefoxes have for their mates. But I now gather it might be even stronger. Strong enough to give an otherwise perfectly healthy girl reason to stop living.” Tachibana commented.
He left to attend to another patient, leaving Francis alone with her thoughts.
“What to do now?” she wondered.
First things first, she wanted to get some more information from Martin about the “love at first sight”. He experienced it first hand. And the object of his affections had also been normal at the time of their meeting.
But Francis knew better than to start asking questions now. Instead, she got up and went to check on the Stovalls. The small window in the door provided Francis with a glimpse into the room.
Julie was sitting upright, sill a bit confused, but enjoying whatever she was talking to her mother about. Melissa was obviously putting on a face for Julie, who was so wrapped up in whatever she was talking about. Martin caught Francis’ eye, and excused himself.
“She seems to be doing well.” Francis commented, as Martin exited the room.
“Is she? She keeps talking about her first time with Eric, and his first transformation.” Martin sighed. He collapsed into a chair in the hall, his head in his hands. Francis thought the man was going to cry.
“What a mess this is. In less than twelve hours, Julie’s entire world has seemingly crumbled around her.”
“Not entirely. I’m sure she can turn things around.” Francis said.
“I’m not so sure.” Martin thought. Though from the bleak expression on his face, he didn’t need to say it for Francis to know what his response was.