The Moon Between us

Someone New

By Friday, Elena had finally stopped checking the clock every thirty minutes.

The internship was beginning to feel less like a test she was trying to pass and more like a place where she might actually stay.

She still made mistakes.

She still occasionally forgot where certain files belonged, and Rachel had already caught her drinking coffee instead of eating lunch twice.

But nobody seemed to expect her to know everything.

That helped.

At five-thirty, Elena shut down her computer and stretched.

Her shoulders ached.

She had spent most of the afternoon staring at spreadsheets, and her eyes were beginning to feel dry.

Outside the windows, the sky had turned gray.

Rain again.

She packed her bag and checked her phone.

Three messages from Noah.

I'm coming to get you.

Don't argue.

And don't tell me you're capable of taking a bus. I know. That's not the point.

Elena smiled.

She typed back.

You're becoming annoying.

His reply came almost immediately.

Becoming?

She shook her head and slipped the phone into her bag.

When she reached the lobby, rain was already falling heavily.

She stopped beneath the entrance and watched people rush toward their cars.

Her phone buzzed again.

Two minutes.

Elena sighed.

"Of course."

She stepped farther beneath the awning.

There were only a few other people waiting there.

One of them was a young woman standing near the edge of the entrance, watching the rain with an expression that suggested she was personally offended by it.

Elena glanced at her.

The woman noticed.

"You'd think the weather had something against us."

Elena smiled.

"Maybe it does."

"I wouldn't blame it."

She laughed softly.

Elena looked at her more closely.

She was probably around twenty-one or twenty-two. Dark hair, sharp eyes and a black jacket that looked far too thin for the weather.

"You don't have an umbrella?" Elena asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"I didn't think it would rain."

Elena looked at the sky.

"It has been raining almost every evening this week."

"I was hoping today would be different."

"That's optimistic."

"I prefer hopeful."

Elena smiled.

A few seconds later, the woman looked toward the road.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"My friend."

"Boyfriend?"

"No."

The answer came quickly enough to make the woman laugh.

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

"I'm Liana."

"Elena."

They shook hands.

Liana's smile widened slightly.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

A car passed through a puddle, sending water across the curb.

Both women stepped backward at the same time.

Liana stared at the road.

"I hate this city."

Elena laughed.

"You've lived here long?"

"On and off."

"That sounds complicated."

"It is."

Elena didn't ask.

Liana seemed to appreciate that.

Instead, she glanced at Elena's work badge.

"You work here?"

"Intern."

"How is it?"

"Better than I expected."

"That's good."

"What about you?"

Liana looked down at herself.

"Do I look like someone who works here?"

Elena smiled.

"No."

"Good."

"Why good?"

"Because I don't."

That made Elena laugh again.

Liana smiled.

For some reason, Elena felt as though they'd known each other longer than five minutes.

A car horn sounded from the road.

Elena looked up.

Noah.

"There he is."

She turned back toward Liana.

"It was nice meeting you."

"Same."

Elena took a step toward the curb.

Then Liana called after her.

"Elena."

She turned.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I'll see you again."

Elena smiled.

"Maybe."

She hurried toward Noah's car.

Liana watched her go.

She didn't know why she'd bothered to ask.

She normally didn't.

Most people came and went without leaving much of an impression.

But there had been something about Elena.

Something she couldn't put into words.

She dismissed the thought.

Maybe she was simply bored.

Or maybe she was tired of being alone.

Either way, it wasn't important.

Not yet.

---

Noah glanced at Elena as she climbed into the car.

"You made a friend."

She looked at him.

"How do you know?"

"I watched you talking to her."

"You were spying on me?"

"I was observing."

"That's spying."

"I prefer observing."

Elena laughed.

"Her name is Liana."

"Did she seem normal?"

Elena turned toward him.

"What kind of question is that?"

Noah shrugged.

"You've been meeting new people all week."

"And?"

"And I'm curious."

"You're nosy."

"That too."

Elena fastened her seat belt.

"She's nice."

"Good."

Noah pulled into traffic.

After a moment, he glanced at her again.

"You're smiling."

"No, I'm not."

"You are."

Elena looked out the window.

"I met someone interesting."

Noah smiled.

"That's dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because now I'll have to compete for your attention."

She laughed.

"You already complain when I answer emails."

"Exactly."

She shook her head.

Rain tapped against the windows as they drove.

Elena rested her head against the seat.

For the first time in days, she wasn't thinking about the strange headaches or the moments when her senses seemed too sharp.

She was thinking about a girl she'd met beneath an awning.

Someone she'd probably never see again.

Or so she thought.

Across the city, Liana was walking through a small shopping district she'd discovered months earlier.

She liked coming there alone.

Nobody knew her.

Nobody cared who her father had been.

Nobody asked questions she didn't want to answer.

She stopped outside a bookstore and looked through the window.

Then she smiled.

Maybe she'd come back tomorrow.

She had nowhere else she needed to be.

For now, that was enough.