When Lilly woke up the next morning, the weight of her vision lay thick, like a heavy blanket. The sun creeping through the gaps in her curtains did little to ease the exhaustion that had already settled deep within her bones. She had hoped for dreamless sleep, a break from the mysteries now dominating her thoughts; no such luck. Her mind continued to wander back to Silas, the dark figures of her vision, and the mysterious woman who seemed to know more than she had said.
She rubbed her face, groaning softly as she rummaged on the bedside table for her phone. It flipped open, revealing a series of missed messages from her study group.
Psych 202 Study Group - Reminder: Library at 4 pm for review session!
"Crap," she muttered under her breath. She had forgotten about the study group. Between working out in the cemetery, attempting to unravel Silas's past, and the weird vision that hijacked her mind, the school had become a very distant second priority. But she couldn't afford to let her grades slip, not when she was already walking a thin line with her professors.
Dragging herself out of bed, Lilly stretched, her muscles aching in protest. Her apartment was still freezing, and she reached quickly for her hoodie lying on the floor, tossing it on and zipping it up against the morning chill. The cold cereal she poured into a bowl tasted stale, but she barely noticed. Her mind was racing so far ahead, now, as it bounced between the vision of Silas and the real-world demands of her life. She knew that needed to change in a hurry. There was simply no getting around that—the school wasn't going to wait while she unraveled the mystery surrounding a ghost.
The looming psychology exam weighed heavily on her mind, and a paper was due in sociology that she hadn't even yet started. She couldn't afford to fall behind. Still, she sat down at her cluttered desk and opened her laptop, and her sociology notes might as well have been in a foreign language. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, but all she could think about was the scene she had just viewed: the dark room, the tension in Silas's voice, the warning of the woman—it was just too real.
Sighing, Lilly opened the document for her paper and glared at the blank page. The time on her screen reminded her that time was ticking, yet no matter how much she wanted to, she could not focus on anything other than Silas. Which again was weird because she could usually compartmentalize her life: school, jobs, and the weird ghost-seeing stuff.
Her phone buzzed on the desk, a text from Sarah—one of the girls in her study group.
"Hey, just making sure you're still on for 4 pm at the library?"
Lilly looked at the time; it was already past noon. She had scarcely started her day, and the weight of everything she needed to get done already lay heavy upon her.
One thing at a time, she told herself. Just make it through today.
She typed a quick response to confirm she was there for the study session. Still, even as she hit send, her mind was already elsewhere—back in the cemetery, standing in front of Silas's gravestone.
The library was quiet later that afternoon, the only other students there were scattered among the tables and encased in their separate worlds. Lilly's backpack was slung over one shoulder as she made her way toward the table where her study group awaited her. The others were there, their textbooks out in front of them, while one or two had their laptops open and notes scattered around them. Lilly smiled quickly and apologetically as she fitted into the empty chair. She dropped her bag at her feet.
"Hey—you made it," Sarah said with a grin, looking up from her notes. "Thought maybe you'd bailed on us."
Lilly forced a smile, feeling the weight of her distraction more than ever. "No, just… late start," she said, pulling out her textbook and flipping it open to the chapter they were supposed to be reviewing.
Sarah gave her a knowing look. "Tired, huh? I get it. This exam is gonna kill us all."
Lilly nodded absently, although her mind was already floating away. The others launched into a discussion about cognitive biases and how people are affected in terms of decision-making, but Lilly could barely focus on that. She stared down at her textbook, words blurred together on this page as her mind whirled around Silas's death and the weird vision she had seen.
The minutes ticked by, and Lilly knew she was drifting further and further out of focus. She wanted to be consumed with thoughts of the exam, with her schoolwork, but every time she tried to push the thoughts of Silas aside, they came back stronger, rushing at her like a tidal wave. Who was that woman in the vision? What kind of deal had Silas been involved in? Why more importantly was he still tied to this world?
"Lilly?" Sarah's voice snapped her out of her reverie, and she blinked, realizing that everyone at the table was staring at her.
"Huh?" Lilly said, startled.
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You've been staring at the same page for, like, ten minutes. You okay?"
"Yeah, sorry," Lilly muttered, her face flushing slightly. "Just... tired."
Sarah gave her a sympathetic smile, but Lilly could almost see the hint of concern in her friend's eyes.
"I get it. We're all fried. But hang in there, we got this."
Lilly just nodded and forced her attention as the group went back to discussing the study material. But her heart was very far from it. She couldn't get the vision off her mind, no matter how hard she tried—the feeling of dread overwhelmed her as she watched Silas confront those men in the clearing. It was as if she were standing in his shoes, living through his last moments.
As soon as the study session was finally over, Lilly hustled her bag and made for the door, grumbling a few goodbyes on her way from the library. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. The schoolwork could wait a little longer. Silas's warning felt more urgent by the hour.