Muted Trilogy: Mute Part 16

Jack sent hesitation. "I know we could avoid Talking, but I think it's gotten to be a bit of a habit to Talk during the day, for both of us."

Jemma nodded, trying to remember the last time they'd completely closed their connection. Had it only been a few days?. He was right that they could do it, but it would be difficult.

"We could pretend we're dating," she sent. "Then there's reason for us to be able to Talk when we've only recently been seen together other than brief library exchanges." She fiddled with the seam at her knee.

Jack watched her. "It wouldn't be just casual dating; you were right when you said it hasn't been long. Kids, even teenagers can connect more quickly, but for adults to starting Talking in the time we have? People will a.s.sume we're intimate, in every sense of the word."

"What does that... I mean..." Jemma exhaled through her nose and stopped to collect her thoughts. "I've never been in that sort of relations.h.i.+p. What would we do differently in public? I don't care whether people a.s.sume more than is going on, especially if we've done something to lead them to that conclusion, but I'm not sure how to act."

"I don't know that much has to be different," he sent. "I tend to get fairly tactile, but people only see us physically together when you're at work, so it would make sense for me to hold back. The balcony is within normal Talking range of the circulation desk, at least if I sit at one of the closer tables. We wouldn't have to advertise anything, though it would make sense for at least Cecily to know."

Jemma was quiet again. "We have to act as if the sounds we've been hearing, the doors opening, the person in the parking lot, they all mean someone is watching us. It could be that all of these things are coincidence, but in case they're not, we need to make sure we really look like we're that close. We need to avoid giving anyone reason to think we're anything out of the ordinary, that our Talking is anything special. I just hope we haven't already tipped someone off by not pretending earlier."

Jack nodded. "I'd prefer to stick with the idea of this just being theoretical, preventative," he sent, "but you're right. There have been enough signs telling us that it wouldn't hurt to be extra cautious."

She ran a hand through her hair. "I don't think I'd be very affectionate in public, regardless of the type of relations.h.i.+p. And if anyone's watching us in private, at home, I haven't seen any signs of it, have you?"

He shook his head. "I haven't noticed anything strange at home."

"So then," she sent, "we'd have to pretend if it came up at the library, if another patron noticed us Talking. It'd also be good to tell Cecily, since I would be upfront about that, dating someone I met as a library patron."

"Fair enough. Dad already knows we're Talking, so we don't really need to tell him anything. He wouldn't talk to anyone about us and I don't think he'd react if someone told him we were together." He paused. "I know you're not comfortable being dishonest. Will you be okay with this? I'd have suggested it earlier or gone along when you brought it up before, but since we didn't have as much reason..."

She took another deep breath, releasing it slowly. "I think with the patrons, I won't have any problem. I can be vague enough to avoid an outright lie, at least. Cecily is pretty old fas.h.i.+oned, so even if I said you and I had spent an evening on the couch together, she would a.s.sume we were dating." She rested her head back against the cus.h.i.+ons. "My parents, though. I'll need to tell them, and they're not just going to accept it. They'll have questions and need to meet you, and I don't want this ending up like one of those silly romantic comedies with the lead characters pretending to date."

"Those movies do tend to get a bit ridiculous," he sent. Jemma looked over at Jack, who was still watching her, a lopsided grin on his face. "But based on what you've said, you probably wouldn't put off telling your parents you were dating once you knew it was serious."

"I'll figure out something. It won't be the first time I've refused to keep talking about a relations.h.i.+p," she sent. "And it isn't like they'll think I'm making up a boyfriend. I'd rather lie to them, if I have to, about something that won't hurt anyone, than go missing, or whatever exactly is going on with the others."

"If you're sure?" he sent with a wave of something that felt vaguely like curiosity. She nodded. "I guess we're doing this, then."

"It does sound like the best option," Jemma agreed. She looked down at her lap, trying to figure out what she might be able to tell her parents to keep them from making a big deal out of their relations.h.i.+p, but she failed to find immediate answers.

"Can I ask a personal question?" Jack broke into her thoughts.

She nodded. "You can always ask. I can't promise I'll always answer."

He smirked, but then he took on a more serious look and seemed to be searching for words. "You said you hadn't been in an intimate relations.h.i.+p. It isn't really necessarily relevant, but does that mean you've never..."

It was Jemma's turn to smirk. "Surely you can at least say the word. I'm sure you have."

His cheeks were red, and he rubbed his neck again. "I have, but when I don't know whether... I mean..."

Jemma sent a wave of understanding and mild apology. "I have, but not as part of a real relations.h.i.+p. Infrequently, but I have. One of my weaknesses, and also one of my strengths, is that if I don't know something and have a way of finding out, I usually have to try."

He smiled. "Research."

"Exactly," she sent, returning his grin. "Speaking of, I thought we could see whether we have anything in common other than the library."

"Okay," he sent. "Why's that?"

"Well, the noises started around the time we started Talking, before we were Talking during the day, and we've established that we don't feel we're being watched at home."

"Okay. I'm following," he sent.

"So, if we a.s.sume we're being watched because of the possibility that we might have advanced telepathy," she sent, "then that means whomever is watching knew that it was a possibility before we did."

"Which means they had reason to suspect, for at least you," he sent. "The library's the only public place I go that's quiet enough to notice, so I don't know whether or not anyone was watching me, too."

"We can see whether it's possible to find that out. I'll get as many cameras as I can for the library in case something happens again. In the meantime, I think we should look into whether we had anything else connecting us, anywhere else we went, anything we did. Separately, I'll try to figure out why they might have suspected just me."

He nodded. "I can help with anything that's recorded electronically. I'm pretty good at tracking things down."

"Okay." She yawned, fighting the sudden urge to rest her eyes. "I can't believe I'm this tired. My heart was racing, and now I feel like I need to sleep."

"Cras.h.i.+ng from the adrenaline high," he sent. "Are you gonna be okay to get home? Should you even go home alone when we're not sure what's going on?"

"I should be okay since we feel safe at home," she sent, pausing out of habit rather than necessity when she yawned again. "And it's just a ten minute drive," she added, though she lost some of her confidence as she took stock of just how exhausted she felt.

Jack hesitated. "My house is right next door, and empty. I could go over and show you around, then come back so I'm here if Dad needs anything. I've got clean sheets for the guest bed."

Jemma fiddled with the seam at her knee again. She didn't typically sleep well in strange places, but she didn't like driving once she was actively tired, either. She didn't generally trust other drivers and liked to be sure her reaction time was fast enough to compensate if anyone did anything unexpected. She could always drive home later if she woke up more rather than falling asleep.

"All right," she said finally. "I'll stay at your place."

"Here's the kitchen," sent Jack, walking her through the house that looked almost identical to his father's, "in case you want breakfast in the morning. Help yourself to whatever you want."

Jemma sent acknowledgment. "I might leave early, or even later tonight if I wake back up. If it doesn't feel like you're awake, I'll leave a note on the counter."

Jack nodded. "Okay. Just be aware of what's going on around you," he sent. "Not that you're not!" he added quickly. "Just, what with the worrying and talking about what could happen..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

"As long as n.o.body figures out we can Talk in the ways we can," sent Jemma, "we should be safe. I'm not worried about going home, not yet." She stifled another yawn. "I'm just too tired to get there."

"Okay." Jack led her to a bedroom and retrieved a set of sheets from the closet, placing them atop the bed, which was covered by a simple, blue comforter. "I don't know whether you want to make the bed yourself, or if you'd like me to make it."

"I can make it."

He watched her a moment, s.h.i.+fting his weight from one foot to the other. "Okay," he sent again. "I'll head out so you can get some sleep. Just let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks, Jack," she sent.

He nodded once and moved past her, and she heard the front door shut.

"I locked the front door. If you leave before I'm up in the morning, just lock the k.n.o.b before you shut the door," he sent.

"Will do," she answered. She made the bed, then got as comfortable as she could in her jeans. She pulled away from their mental connection, needing some time to think without someone else in her head, even in that limited way.

She wasn't sure she was scared as much as just being cautious. She didn't really think anything bad was going to happen.

Then again, she hadn't thought the whole world would stop talking. She hadn't thought she'd suddenly be handed the reins of her favorite library. She hadn't thought she'd find herself making good friends with a patron, especially not one she'd found herself able to talk to telepathically. She sighed, blinking at the silence now that she wasn't Talking to Jack, and she realized the bedroom light was still on.

She got up to turn it off, missing her own light switch she could reach from her bed, and then sat back down.

Like the rest of the house, the guest room seemed to be decorated in a rather no-nonsense way, with relaxing colors and sensible shapes, all tied together with bits of flair that didn't quite seem to fit. Now that the light was off, she saw this bedroom sported a night light in the shape of a lightsaber. She laughed soundlessly and got comfortable again, sinking into the mattress beneath the sheets.

Comfortable. Her life had been comfortable before everything started changing, but now, instead, many things felt right. She'd skipped at least five years and reached her goals. If it weren't for worry over being caught using stronger telepathy, she thought she might even be genuinely happy.

She closed her eyes, imagining how her family was going to react to her bringing home Jack as her boyfriend, if that was what they were going to call him, if that was still the term to use when you were twenty-three and "intimate" with someone.

Her mother would be thrilled she'd brought anybody home for her to meet. She'd probably insist on cooking something special, and depending on when Jemma told her, she knew her mother's students might all be aware of Jack by the end of the day.

Her father had always been a bit less pushy when it came to the boys, then men, in Jemma's life. He would be happy as long as she was happy, as long as he decided Jack was a good guy.

Jilly would probably spend the evening raising her eyebrows at Jemma or making faces at her, depending what she thought of Jack.

She sighed again. She didn't really want to do this, the pretending to date. It felt much too cliche, too forced, too dishonest. She knew that if she told Jack she wasn't comfortable with it, he wouldn't push her, even if he didn't have a better alternate in mind. It really did seem to be the best option, though, the best way to keep them both safe, to avoid questions they didn't feel they could answer.

To help her stay in this new life where she felt like she belonged.

She rolled to one side, taking a deep breath in and letting it go. The bed was soft, and she was tired, her mind slowing.

She would have to get comfortable with pretending to date Jack, Jemma told herself. It sounded like little-to-nothing would need to change, and the only difficulty should be in the get-together with her family, which she would try to arrange for the upcoming Friday. Getting it out of the way and having less to worry about sounded like a good idea.

She let her mind connect with Jack's again, the link forming more quickly than she'd been able to dismiss it. He didn't speak, but he did send a gentle curiosity through their connection. In return, she sent something like rea.s.surance and affection, the feeling she got when she squeezed someone's hand in comfort.

After a momentary thought about how many different emotions there were and how lacking most language was in words to describe them, she drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY:.

Security Is Jessica in? Jemma typed when she reached the circulation desk in the larger library the next morning.

Roger, working at the desk, read the message she'd muted, then looked up and nodded, gesturing over his shoulder at his supervisor's office. Jemma nodded back and walked to the office, knocking lightly on the open door. Jessica looked up and gestured for Jemma to come in. She did, shutting the door behind her.

Jessica pulled a tablet from a desk drawer and set it up in front of one of the chairs, as she had the last time. Jemma sat, powering on the tablet and signing in to the messenger, which chimed almost immediately.

JessicaTLibrary1: h.e.l.lo, Jemma. What brings you here this morning?

Jemma typed a response.

LibraryLibrarian012: h.e.l.lo, Jessica. I was hoping I could talk to you about the security budget, since that needs your approval.

Jessica paused a moment and then nodded.

JessicaTLibrary1: Okay. What about it, specifically?

LibraryLibrarian012: There have been some odd things happening around closing time. Noises, sounds, like people might be watching the parking lot. The employee entrance was open one night at closing, and last night I saw someone running around the side of the building.

Jemma rubbed her arm, a bit less comfortable with the situation having seen it typed out.

JessicaTLibrary1: Cecily told me about the incident with the door. Have the police found anything out of the ordinary?

LibraryLibrarian012: No, nothing unusual. But I was hoping I could get at least one camera, preferably two? One to put at the employee entrance and one to put where I keep hearing things. Maybe one that can be removed if it turns out to be just an animal outside?

Jessica seemed to read the message a couple times before nodding decisively.

JessicaTLibrary1: I'll make sure that happens. Do you have time to swing by the city building before you work today?

Jemma glanced at the clock.

LibraryLibrarian012: I can do that as long as it doesn't take more than twenty minutes or so once I'm there.

JessicaTLibrary1: They usually keep at least one spare in case one of the cameras goes down in a place they can't go without security, and with things happening with you working there alone at night, the city won't risk telling you that you can't have one.

They should be able to send that with you and get one of the technicians out to set it up. I'll make sure you get a second camera as soon as they can manage it. You know delivery speeds haven't quite recovered.

Jessica scowled, and Jemma nodded.

LibraryLibrarian012: That all sounds great. Thanks, Jessica.

JessicaTLibrary1: Not a problem. I'm sorry I didn't suggest it sooner, but I didn't realize there'd been more than the one isolated incident.

LibraryLibrarian012: I thought I might just be imagining things or exaggerating sounds until last night. I didn't want to make a fuss.

JessicaTLibrary1: There would be a lot more fuss if something happened to you. Tell us sooner next time, okay?

Now, do you know where to go once you're at the city building?

LibraryLibrarian012: Not a clue. Sorry.

JessicaTLibrary1: Second floor, take a right, go all the way down to the end. It's the only office at that end with an open door frame. Ask for Lauren; I'll let her know you're coming and why.

LibraryLibrarian012: Okay. Thank you, Jessica.

Jemma stood, and Jessica did as well, reaching her hand out to shake Jemma's. Jessica gave her a stern parting look as if to drive home the direction to ask for help sooner, and Jemma nodded, then left for the city building just a few blocks away.

Jemma arrived at the library only a few minutes later than she'd meant to. She was still early for her s.h.i.+ft, but she'd been hoping to talk to Cecily without the other woman having to stay late. The library seemed as busy as Jemma had gotten used to for late morning, with most tables occupied by at least one person, patrons browsing various sections, but plenty room to move, nothing feeling crowded. She put her purse in the staff room and then joined Cecily behind the desk, putting the box holding the camera out of sight of the patrons.

When Cecily finished checking out a woman's books, Jemma made sure n.o.body else was waiting, put up the kickstand on the tablet, turned it to face herself and Cecily, and muted the sound.