She turns slightly, talking to the girl beside her.
I suddenly remember standing outside in the cold air after a party. The girl with blonde hair and a quick smile who had slipped away before I could ask her name. The Harley Quinn girl laughs again and starts toward the hallway that leads outside. I’m nearly sure it’s her.
Without thinking, I push away from the bar.
“Where are you going?” Mercer calls.
“Back in a minute.”
I move through the crowd quickly now, trying not to lose sight of her.
By the time I reach the hallway she’s already pushed open the door leading outside.
Cold night air rushes in.
I follow.
The music dulls instantly behind me as the door swings shut.
Strings of lights glow over the courtyard, and clusters of people stand around the edges of the space talking and smoking.
For a second I don’t see her.
Then I spot the red-and-blue jacket near the far railing.
She’s standing alone now, looking out toward the dark edge of campus.
I walk toward her.
She hears my footsteps and turns.
Up close the costume is even more convincing.
Heavy makeup. Glitter. The bright blonde wig.
But it helps that this situation is a mirror of the last time I saw her. A slow grin spreads across my face.
I stop a few steps in front of her. For a moment neither of us says anything. The music pulses faintly from inside the building behind us. Wind moves lightly through the courtyard.
She’s watching me carefully.
Now that I’m looking properly, the feeling is unmistakable.
The same energy.
The same presence I noticed weeks ago outside that first party.
I tilt my head slightly, studying her. “It’s you.”
LEONORA
“It’s you.”
The words hit like a puck to the ribs.
Does he know?
Did he recognize something from the ice? The way I move? My voice? Did he somehow put Lee Shaw and Leonora together already?
