After the Timeloop. (for Xander)
Nothing had changed.
On the island, she stood right where she had been before, leaning toward the mirror with a tube of lipstick pressed to her bottom lip. It happened so quickly, the world ripping out from under her only to be shoved right back again, she hadn't even smudged. The tube slipped from her fingers, streaking garish red across the clean, white sink basin, and she dragged in a breath, wiping a single tear from the corner of her eye and standing perfectly still until she stopped shaking.
It had happened. She knew it had happened, but there was no proof of it. Only a lingering sickness, an itching burn on his skin and the sweet smell of baking bread and rotting meat clinging inside her nose. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring at herself in the mirror, but when she went outside, the sky was ominously dark, rain falling heavily around her, but she hardly seemed to notice.
By the time she made it to his hut, she was soaked through, teeth chattering and make-up running down her pale face. She walked in without knocking, kicking off her shoes in the doorway and swallowing down a sob.
On the island, she stood right where she had been before, leaning toward the mirror with a tube of lipstick pressed to her bottom lip. It happened so quickly, the world ripping out from under her only to be shoved right back again, she hadn't even smudged. The tube slipped from her fingers, streaking garish red across the clean, white sink basin, and she dragged in a breath, wiping a single tear from the corner of her eye and standing perfectly still until she stopped shaking.
It had happened. She knew it had happened, but there was no proof of it. Only a lingering sickness, an itching burn on his skin and the sweet smell of baking bread and rotting meat clinging inside her nose. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring at herself in the mirror, but when she went outside, the sky was ominously dark, rain falling heavily around her, but she hardly seemed to notice.
By the time she made it to his hut, she was soaked through, teeth chattering and make-up running down her pale face. She walked in without knocking, kicking off her shoes in the doorway and swallowing down a sob.