Chapter 10 - Haunted hotel memories

Joanna turned away, "I better check this text." She backed away from George and turned on her phone.

George tried to hide his sulking as Joanna read her text.

Text from Mina: We should talk about last night. You're okay, right?

Joanna sighed and rubbed a spot on her forehead with her fingers. She looked up at George her eyes slightly wider than usual, George observed. "I better respond to this right away."

George brought his eyebrows closer to each other, wondering if this was something he should interfere in.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding like he genuinely cared. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Don't worry about it, just a friend needing some advice. Won't take long."

"Anyone, I know?" George asked kindly as he politely turned away slightly, so Joanna knew he wasn't sneaking a peek at her text messages.

"I shouldn't think so. It would be an odd coincidence if you did." Joanna smiled, even though she still didn't look up from her phone.

"Odd? How so?" George asked, thinking he could perhaps get her attention again.

Joanna's fingers moved with the speed of light over her phone screen keyboard, but she pressed the delete button more than the rest. "She's not in the science faction," she answered.

"But we do socialize with the other factions." George argued.

Joanna stopped texting and looked up briefly. "Yes, but for you and me to know the same person from another faction... that would be odd, or at least unlikely." She smiled and looked down.

"I cannot provide you with the odds for that, but I don't think it as unlikely as it seems you do," George said and sat down on a piece of beach grass, to wait for Joanna to finish her texting.

Joanna smiled and shook her head, still with her head bowed over her phone. "It seems not." She finished up answering the text quickly and figured she would do something about it when George left.

George stood up, "Should we return to our study session."

Joanna agreed and they walked back to finish working on what they could prepare for the following week.

The sun was at its highest in the sky, gleaming in the water of the ocean, as they walked across the sand. Joanna was finding it difficult to argue to herself that this did not in the slightest resemble a date. She had to stop meeting people for events that resembled dates more than she was comfortable with.

Hours later they finished their study session and George left for his house downtown. "I will see you tomorrow – we have assignment calculation together you might remember."

"I do remember. See you tomorrow," Joanna said and bid him politely farewell.

As soon as George left, Joanna turned on her phone to text Mina.

Text to Mina: I agree, we should talk, when are you available?

Mina answered immediately: Whenever you want – I'm available now if it suits you?

Joanna considered it for a moment before she replied: Okay, where should we meet?

Mina: "Uni park?"

"Okay. 30 min?"

Mina: "I will be there."

Mina was already there when Joanna drove into the park on her bike. She jumped off the bike and parked it against a bench.

"I'm so happy to see you," Mina said and walked over to hug Joanna, who didn't protest it. "How are you doing, I was so nervous about what happened after I… left."

Joanna thought she saw Mina's lips tremble, but it could have been an illusion.

"Actually," Joanna said as she scratched the back of her head. "I do need your help to fill out some of the details…"

"What do you mean?" Mina asked and blinked rapidly.

"I'm a bit embarrassed – though I don't know how it happened, but… I don't remember anything from when I got into the car."

"Oh… You don't remember anything?" Mina asked with a troubled, but firm look on her face. Her arms were crossed, and her shoulders pulled up. "I'm gonna kill him," she whispered to herself and shook her head.

"Now please," Joanna held her arms out towards Mina as she began her argument, "we can't blame anyone before we're absolutely sure what happened." She touched Mina gently on the shoulders, holding her steady, but more for the purpose of calming herself than Mina.

"He skipped town," Mina lifted her eyebrows, "doesn't exactly appear as the acts of someone who has done nothing wrong."

"He's a busy man." Joanna turned Mina's face by her cheek so that she looked right at her,

But Mina still wasn't convinced, and Joanna's eyes only reminded her of what she was protecting and had already failed to protect once, "The play hasn't finished yet. His understudy had to take over."

"I admit that is a peculiar coincidence." Joanna paused. "Will you tell me, what else you know, then?" Joanna hoped that this would force Mina to tell her the details of that night, but she was disappointed.

"I'm afraid there's not much to tell..." Mina took a deep breath and hid her face with her hand. "You were alone with him most of the night."

"I was what?!" Joanna started to panic. She could feel her body sending her all the signs. "So the only way to find out what happened that night...?"

"…Is to ask him and hope he is willing to answer honestly." Mina took a deep breath and lifted her shoulders.

"I will remain hopeful then," Joanna said and tried to smile. But it was one thing to pretend a happy smile and a whole other thing to pretend a smile when one feared to find something terrible.

"You trust him too much." Mina shook her head and moved closer to Joanna, standing at her full height, looking down at her, "why don't you trust me instead?" Mina placed a hand on her head, mildly grabbed her hair and pulled back her head.

"I do trust you," Joanna said, her heart beating, but not because she feared Mina, because she desired her trust and respect. After all, she desired her too.

"Tell me you want me then." Mina pushed Joanna so she took a couple of steps backwards and stopped with her back against the wall.

"I trust you," Joanna said and closed her eyes.