The door burst open almost as soon as Marina's fist hit it. Out popped a small, slightly pudgy woman clothed in a whirlwind of colorful scarves and glittering beads.

"Miss Marina!" she exclaimed, pulling Marina into a fierce embrace. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from my favorite niece?" She suddenly let out a small gasp. "Oh! Are you here for classes again? Did I miss your message? And who is this handsome young man?" Auntie Lena peered around Marina's shoulder at Connor while Marina slowly extracted herself from Lena's grasp.

"No, Auntie, I'm not here for classes this time. You didn't miss any messages," she said. "And this is Co – ah, Tim. He's – he's my..." Marina's voice trailed off, and she glanced back at Connor, who was now shifting his weight uncomfortably under Lena's gaze.

It had been one thing to make up a story for total strangers – almost enjoyable, really. For a brief time, Marina had been able to inhabit an identity that was not facing an impending flood of bloodrot or the nightmare of a missing, desperately ill, and badly injured sister.

Auntie Lena, however, was not a stranger. Auntie Lena knew Marina, and she knew her quite well in fact. Marina took a deep breath. Her aunt might seem a bit scatterbrained at first, but underneath that lay a wit sharper than a knife's edge.

"Auntie, may we come in?" she asked. "This may take some time to explain."

~

The inside of Auntie Lena's apartment was just as cluttered as Marina remembered. Scarves and skirts hung at haphazard angles off the furniture. A half-washed pile of dishes lined the sink. Stacks upon stacks of palm-sized datacards – thin strips of metal used for storing information outside of datalogs – littered the floor, table, and every other spare inch of space. The occasional rare book lay nestled among them. Normally, Marina would wrinkle her nose at such a mess, but there was something familiar and comforting about Auntie Lena's chaos. The smell of almonds and cinnamon filled the air. Marina smiled. Her aunt's home always smelled of almonds and cinnamon.

"Come in, come in both of you. Sit down," said Auntie Lena, ushering Marina and Connor into her living room. Marina pushed aside a few of the blankets on the couch until there was just enough room for her and Connor to perch awkwardly among the nest of fabrics.

Auntie Lena hurried behind a low wall that separated her kitchen from the living room. "Tea?" she asked, and Marina heard her filling the kettle with water.

"Yes," said Marina, "Black, please." It was the only kind that Lena ever had on hand. Marina knew that quite well by now. Auntie Lena set about muttering happily to herself about her niece finally bringing home a handsome young man, and within minutes, the kettle was beeping to announce freshly boiled water.

From his seat beside Marina, Connor raised an eyebrow at the messy home and Auntie Lena's antics. Marina simply gave him a warning look and shook her head.

"Now," said Auntie Lena when she finally emerged from the kitchen. She shuffled over to Connor and Marina, carrying two mismatched mugs of tea, which she promptly set on top of two piles of datacards that lay at their feet. "Tell me everything."

Marina eyed the mugs cautiously. The floor would have been a much more stable spot to place them. A table was out of the question with the way that Lena kept her place. A moment passed, and nothing happened. Satisfied that the mugs weren't in immediate danger of toppling over, Marina weighed her answer. Lena likely didn't know about Tess's disappearance yet – she wasn't acting odd or upset. Marina would have thought it strange that her father hadn't contacted Auntie Lena just yet, but she knew just how distracted her family had been these past few days. Marina's stomach twisted. It would not be possible for Auntie Lena to believe Connor's and Tess's story from outside of Heart. A half-truth would be best.

"I – we need to be away from Flores Greens for a bit," she began. Auntie Lena sat down on a pile of pillows across from Marina and arched a curious brow. "Tim and I..." continued Marina, "we may have acted rashly." She let her hand drift shyly to Connor's. Over the course of the past day, she had become rather comfortable with taking his hand, but now was the first time that their fingers intertwined. His hand was warm. Connor stared at her. Hewouldn't look away. Marina tried to avoid meeting his gaze. Her face flushed. She had intended to tell this story partly through body-language, but it was becoming more than just a simple half-truth.

Auntie Lena's face lit up. "You're pregnant?"

"No, Auntie, I'm not –" started Marina, but Auntie Lena had already leapt to her feet, pacing excitedly.

"Oh, my dear sweet Miss Marina, this is marvelous news! Yes, I understand completely, and you are both welcome to stay as long as you please. Just because your father is a bit of a prude – and don't take this the wrong way dear, but I had thought you were too – "

"I am not pregnant!" shouted Marina.

"Nope, just eloped," coughed Connor quietly.

"Oh," said Auntie Lena, and she stopped pacing, clearly disappointed.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Marina had lost control of her story. She took a deep breath and squeezed Connor's hand for comfort.

"Tess is missing," she said. Marina hadn't planned to tell her aunt like this, but she was flustered, and Lena needed to know about Tess. Her aunt was bound to learn of this eventually. Marina released Connor's hand and looked up to find Auntie Lena frozen halfway through a sip of tea.

"Tess is missing," Marina repeated, "and there is nothing I can do, and our timing is..." She glanced back at Connor, and her heart fluttered. Not ideal, she wanted to say. That was a truth. "I'm suffocating there, Auntie."

Lena put down her tea very slowly. "What do you mean by 'missing?'" she asked.

"I mean that Tess is missing. Gone. Like smoke." Marina's voice hitched, and she bit the inside of her cheek, fighting the urge to gnaw on her nails. She felt her lip quiver in fear and frustration. This wasn't an act anymore, and it had stopped being one for quite some time.

Auntie Lena's eyes widened, and she hopped up, hoisting Marina out of her seat and enveloping her in a tight, comforting hug. Marina, for her part, grabbed the edge of her skirt just in time to keep it from knocking over her mug of tea, which still sat on its precarious perch.

"Oh, Marina," said Auntie Lena, soothingly. "Oh no, no, no dear. You are tired, and it is late. We will talk about this in the morning. Tim, be a dear and grab the spare sheets hanging off that chair, will you? Yes, those ones. They're clean. Now, head to the guest room – it's the one in the back – and get things set up, will you? That's a good lad."

Connor raised his eyebrows at Marina, but did as he was asked with a light, uncertain smile. Lena turned back to Marina and brushed hair out of her niece's face.

"Does your family know you're here?" she asked, and Marina nodded.

"Yes, I left them a message. But Auntie," she added, slowly getting a grip on herself again, "I'd appreciate a bit of time before we talk with them about any of this right now."

Lena smiled a sweet smile, but her eyes flashed. "Of course," she said, "So long as you promise to tell me everything."

~

"What was that back there?"

Marina glanced up at Connor. "Pardon?" she asked. She had just gotten away from her aunt andnow stood at the entrance to the guest room. Auntie Lena knew that she was keeping secrets, and that left Marina feeling slightly ill. Connor was leaning against the guest room's far wall with his arms across his chest and one leg crossed over the other. He'd made the bed already, and on the floor, he'd laid out some spare blankets and a pillow. It appeared that he had thought ahead farther than Marina had.

"All of that back there, what was that?" he repeated.

Marina frowned. "You will need to be more specific," she said.

Connor took a step towards her. For a moment, he looked as if he were going to come closer, but he stopped himself.

"Everything before you started talking about Tess," he said. "You've always said that you didn't date pharmacy clients. Either you're a first-rate actress or – "

"Or what?" interrupted Marina. His unspoken thought was not wrong, but this was rather poor timing. Tess was still missing. To entertain any thoughts beyond those related to finding her sister seemed improper. Besides, there had been plenty of chances over the years for Connor to have chosen a different pharmacist, and yet he had always kept coming back to her.

Connor looked at her, about to speak, but Marina interrupted him yet again.

"Tess is still missing, and I doubt that this hairbrained trip will get us any closer to finding her – even if it is the only thing that I can do right now. I am not myself. I cannot think. And you," she said, "are the one who decided to play pretend couple in the first place, Tim. What, was this some strange and twisted way for you to express interest in me?"

"No," came Connor's quiet reply.

Marina's throat tightened. "Take your medication and go to sleep, please."