Sleep was fitful that morning. No matter how little or how much time passed between stirring, Ada felt no better for it. Hollow, fragile. She kept hoping that sleep would mend it. It did not. When at last she dragged herself out of bed it was to take a hot shower. She had merely wiped the grime from her arms and ankles with a face cloth before throwing herself into bed as the sun rose.

As she got out and examined herself in the mirror, she located bruise after bruise. Her throat was banded with imprinted fingers in rich berry hues. Ada hadn't felt it at the time, but along her left shin was a deep bruise where the door had struck her on her way out of the vehicle.

Paz had given her a salve before, something herbal, that helped with bruising, but for the life of her she couldn't recall the name of the plant. It was late enough that she could safely text Paz and not risk waking them. Right away, she got her answer: arnica; followed by, 'What did you do this time?'

Ada grinned and wrote, 'Rough night in bed.'

She was given an eye-roll emoji and she knew she was in the clear. Though she hadn't planned on ever returning, it looked like she had to visit Luna's Oddities again. She got the heebs even thinking about it. That place was weird—not because of what it was, but because of that girl. Maggie.

It's not like she had another choice, though. She didn't have special werewolf healing. The last thing she wanted was to try explaining clear handprints around her throat to Sam when she got back in a few days. It wouldn't clear them completely, but it would help a lot.

Fuck, what would Ada even say to her? She paused in the middle of the room, half dressed, jeans slung over her arm. How the hell could she possibly explain that? Should she lie or tell the truth? If she didn't tell her something, Sam would probably think she cheated on her.

Ada had a few days to think about that. She finished dressing and borrowed one of Sam's lighter scarves to cover the evidence. No sense getting the town talking, especially if someone reported that guy missing. Ada had to take the bus since her bike was still in the bush. She sure hoped it wouldn't rain before she could pick it up. Perhaps Noah would let her borrow the car. She sent him a text to see.

Though the rain had stopped sometime during her fitful sleep, the clouds were heavy and remained low as though waiting for the perfect opportunity to open up again. Ada hurried into the shop before it could start. This time, she was slightly more prepared for the overpowering incense upon entry.

Ada just wanted to grab the salve and get home. It felt wrong to be out like this. She felt like everyone was staring at her. Like everyone knew what she had done, but that was absurd. She had felt the same way after she stole her first car. She just had to breathe through it. The anxiety would pass. The guilt, on the other hand ...

"Wow, I never thought I'd see you here again." Maggie's amusement was a thin mask to how pleased she was. "Change your mind about my reading?"

Ada's lips a line, she shook her head. "Not even close. I'm just looking for some arnica."

"Dried or salve?" She scooted off her stool, booties clacking on the floor. "Did your friend like the gifts?"

Ada squinted at her, frozen in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

She raised her brows, head wagging as though she couldn't believe her ears. "Last time? The salt lamp? The numerology book?"

"I never said they were for someone." Her spine crawled uncomfortably. She was about to walk out and just deal with the bruises.

"Arnica is over here." Shrugging, she strode off toward the back of the store, glancing back for only a moment. "So? What kind? And how much do you need?"

Ada sucked in a deep breath. "Salve; whatever is smallest."

As Maggie approached on light feet, her perfume hit Ada in the face. It was layered, so much so she couldn't place everything in it, but she caught notes of cinnamon, bergamot, and cloves. It was intense, whatever it was. Ada went back to breathing through her mouth and followed her to the counter. She never took her eyes off Maggie for more than a second. After that weird question, she never would again. She regretted coming here in the first place and had no intention of ever returning again.

If Maggie knew that without telling her, what else could she know?

What the hell kind of question was that? Of course she didn't know anything. She assumed. If Ada wasn't into tarot readings, was it likely those things were for her? That was all.

"What's got you so rattled?" asked Maggie, interrupting her thoughts.

"What do you think?"

"Not just me, that's for sure." She smirked. "I'm not blind, okay?"

Ada made a sound in her throat and handed her a bill. She had nothing to say to that. What she was implying was unreasonable, and Ada certainly wasn't about to start opening up to her. She was just there for some salve. If there was anywhere else in town that she could get this sort of thing, she would have gone there.

Change in hand, she pocketed the jar and dipped for the door with a casual peace sign thrown over her shoulder. A breathy laugh followed and stuck with her for a long while after. Ada fished her phone out for a distraction. Noah had responded, and Ada said she would come by later that night. She just wanted to go back to bed for a while, and then she would deal with the next step in this nightmare.

After a long nap, Ada made a healthy dinner and applied another coat of salve to her tender throat. It was thick and tacky, like the vapour rubs her mom gave her whenever she got a bad head cold. The scent was pleasant, though, and no where near as strong. Like last time, she felt the gentle ebb in pain as the arnica took effect.

Dressed in her usual amount of dark clothing, she walked the distance to pick up the car. Exhausted though she was, it felt good to move. When she moved she wasn't so focused on her physical tension. She was at their place sooner than she expected; she must have been walking faster than usual.

"You look like shit," noted Noah before letting her in.

Ada rolled her eyes. "Thanks, what a nice thing to say."

"Whatever, you know what I mean." He snorted and climbed carefully onto the armchair, which she didn't know reclined until then. "How are you going to hide those?"

Ada reached for the bruises, but stopped short at her collar. There had been no point in concealing them from him, as they had been blooming from the moment she got them. "I have no idea." The keys were in the bowl, and she took them. "Mind if we talk when I'm done? I just want this to be over with."

"I can go with you if you want."

The offer seemed genuine. Ada bit her lip, hand on the doorknob; her instinct was to say no, but if she was being honest, company would be nice. She agreed.

The rain still hadn't come. It was hard to see how close the clouds were in the dark, but the absence of stars and the moon told her that the clouds were still present. Ada drove cautiously, still on edge. She just couldn't shake the feeling that people knew she had done something wrong.

"How are you?" asked Noah as the town faded behind them.

Ada spared a glance. "Not great. I think I should feel worse, though."

"You can't choose your trauma response. The best you can do is learn how to cope and try to move on." He was watching the trees pass out the window, fist propped lightly against his jaw.

"Speaking from experience?" she wondered aloud.

He sighed. "Yeah." A long pause followed, punctuated by a gulp. "You did what you had to, okay? It's not the same thing."

In the brief instant she caught his eye, he revealed his deep self-resentment. With his gaze out the window once more, it was nearly impossible to detect. Ada had to be honest, it did make her feel a little better—not about the night prior, but him—that he took his actions seriously. His words, on the other hand, did little for her mood.

There was a hard question she had to ask herself, though. Repentance was important, necessary, but at what point should it be declared enough? He had a good point, it's not like they could stick him in prison with a sentence to serve. It didn't work for humans, and it would be detrimental to him. There was nothing about it designed to rehabilitate. Not to mention, beating yourself up and being looked down on by your family and peers eternally would be no more helpful in the long run. Necessary, yes, in order to impart the lesson, but not as a permanent state of being.

It wasn't her question to answer, but it was worth thinking about. Ada would bring it up with Sam when she got back to get her opinion. She knew the most about Noah's past, beyond himself, and could maybe give Ada some answers. She didn't feel right asking him and dragging up those memories unnecessarily.

"Hey, want to drive back?" Somehow Ada managed a light tone. On their right, Sam's rest stop rolled by. They were close.

It got his attention. "Really?"

Ada shrugged. "Sure, you have to learn sometime. Besides, the road is pretty smooth out here."

He cheered up a little. The radio had been on for a while, but when the news came on and reported on the burned down mining headquarters—go figure there were so many offices, they must have conducted all their business from there in its prime—Ada turned to another station. She caught just enough to learn the investigation was ongoing because the fire appeared intentional, despite there being no trace of accelerants.

Noah cleared his throat. "I hear them mention the building burned far hotter than it should. That it shouldn't have burned so quick."

Ada shot him a glare, a little betrayed; she had turned the radio off for a reason. "I don't know."

"What I'm talking about or what caused it?"

"Either." Her scowl deepened. She didn't want to think about this. She had avoided thinking about it thus far to good effect.

"You're really going to shut me out again?" He sighed and shook his head, fist moving to his mouth. When he spoke again, it was somewhat muffled. "You'll trust me with a dead body but not some stupid, weird fire?"

Biting her lip, Ada held a sigh. He had a point, even if she didn't like it. She was spared answering right away by the appearance of the tiny road entrance. Ada parked a dozen metres down the road where it straightened out again, so as not to get hit, and put on the hazards.

"Be back in a few minutes. If anyone asks where I am, just tell them I saw a kitten or something."

Ada got out, chilly air biting her cheeks and fingers. With her flashlight on she proceeded at a light jog, too nervous to walk, too afraid of being heard to run. She wasn't sure if there was anyone out there, but the thought crossed her mind more than once. What if there were police out there right then, investigating? How could I explain away being out there? She couldn't think of a single thing that would justify being down an unmarked road leading only to the facility which had burned in suspicious circumstances only the night prior. Each crunch of stones into dirt gave her a jolt. She was beginning to think she had missed the stump and would come upon the facility at any moment. At the same time, each dark mass on her left appeared to be the trunk she was looking for. It was an agonizing search.

When at last she found it, she dashed at a slight angle for the woods, heart kicking madly. She was eager to have found it again, eager to be out of there. A small distance from where she broke into the trees, the chunk of quartz rested haphazardly with a clump of grassy dirt stuck to the pointier end. Ten steps into the brush sat her moss-green mountain bike speckled with debris from the trees above.

It was a fight to drag the bike to the edge of the trees. Vines seemed to have grown through the spokes in the day it had been out there. Ada paused before emerging completely, listening for cars or footsteps. When she heard nothing more than an owl somewhere behind her, she stepped out and wrenched the greenery from her mountain bike's mechanics. The familiar, soft clicks as she let herself coast with the momentum soothed her nerves. The further the facility became, the better she felt.

A car was just passing on the highway as she reached the end. Without her lights, she doubted they saw her at all. They were driving below the speed limit, still accelerating as they went by. To her right, orange hazards blinked steadily and a faint glow inside stilled her worry.

As she approached the driver's side, Ada patted the trunk to let Noah know she was there. "Everything okay?"

"No problems. That car stopped to see if I was all right, but they didn't seem to mean it. I think they only stopped out of obligation." He shrugged lightly as she straightened.

"Can't say I blame them, it's pretty risky. One sec'."

The bike in the trunk, Ada got in and turned back toward town. There was nothing left to bring her back to this place, nothing but guilt to draw her worries to those charred remains. Ada was eager to leave it behind her for good. She couldn't change what she had done, but Noah was right; she had acted out of necessity. She certainly didn't enjoy what she had done. Even if her lack of remorse was a little concerning, she reminded herself that it could be a whole lot worse.

All she could do was hope no one would find out what she had done. What they had done. If they did, Ada wouldn't be the only one in jeopardy.

"Oh, that's right ..." Ada murmured to herself and immediately pulled over. "You were going to drive."

Though driving was a nice distraction from her frazzled nerves, she had made a promise. She climbed the console as Noah rounded the front of the vehicle. Ada had to adjust his seat, and he was already doing the same.

"So, do you need a rundown, or ...?"

He reluctantly said yes, and Ada explained how to work the clutch and change gears. Noah listened hard, never interrupting. It took a few tries, but he did get them going. Ada tried to keep her cringes inward as the gears ground and was grateful beyond belief that this wasn't her car. Yeah, she definitely owed Aidan an engine check after this, if they didn't crash.

Noah stuck to a cautious sixty in an eighty zone. This would be concerning, but no one was ever out so late on the highway. If anyone was, they would see their lights long before they came upon them. Ada was nervous at first as Noah got the hang of maintaining a steady course, but once he did, she was able to sit back and almost zone out.

"Want me to drop you at home?" he asked, forcing nonchalance. Ada got the feeling he was all too eager for her to agree.

Ada half-grinned. "Best not risk it, I'll bike home."

He hid his disappointment well. The long drive was longer at this crawl, but they made it undisturbed. No lights were on in the surrounding apartments as Noah inched into the parking space. It ended nearly flush with the window, so he was good to be so cautious. Ada bit her cheek to keep from giggling.

Her hand on the handle, she paused. She hadn't forgotten his question. "You're right, by the way." She let out a long breath, glancing at the dark window to the living room. She felt his eyes on her profile. "I should talk about the fire. I will. Just, not tonight, okay?"

She simply wasn't ready. It was too fresh. If she shut her eyes, she could feel the searing heat on her back as though it was right there still. She just needed some time to breathe now that she had tied up the loose ends.

"Fair enough." There was no trace of discontent in his voice. They didn't say a thing as she got her bike and swung her leg over the bar. When she was settled and ready to leave, he said, "Look, I'm not going to judge, whatever it is. I'm in no place." He gave her a quick, bittersweet grin. "Seriously, how bad could it possibly be?"

Ada waited until he was inside before leaving, the whole time asking herself the same question. As much as she didn't want to think about it, what could possibly have done that to her lighter? What logical explanation was there?