since Noel had banned her from Lucas?s presence, and Helen was
still waiting to feel something?but all she felt was numb. She
heard Ariadne stir and then scoot over to the edge of the bed to
look down at her where she lay on the air mattress.
?Morning,? Ariadne said with a wan smile. ?How?d you sleep??
Helen answered by throwing the covers off to reveal the untouched
jingle bells still wrapped around her ankles. They were exactly
as they?d been when the two girls went to bed, but under the
bells, Helen?s feet were dirty, swollen, and red from what looked
like weeks of walking.
?Again?? Ariadne asked, dismayed. ?You have to be floating out
of the window, because I swear I didn?t hear a thing, and I barely
shut my eyes last night!?
?It?s not your fault,? Helen said, shaking her head and unstrapping
the useless bells. For a moment, Helen considered telling Ariadne
about her vivid nightmares. They all knew she had them, but
Helen hadn?t shared what her dreams were about with anyone
since she?d told them to Kate. Helen took a breath, intending to
confide in Ariadne, and then stopped herself. Would Ari think she
was going crazy like Cassandra? Helen decided she should keep
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her mouth shut. ?You know, I really don?t see the point in you
spending every night here if I?m wafting out the window as soon as
you nod off.?
?Don?t even start with that, because it isn?t going to happen,? Ariadne
said peevishly. She threw her covers off and stood. ?Lucas is
probably gonna kill me dead enough as it is,? she mumbled nonsensically
as she headed to the bathroom.
?Oh, hey! Sorry!? Jerry said with surprise as he ran into a scantily
clad Ariadne in the hallway.