Richelle felt like she had barely closed her eyes for second, and all of a sudden she heard a scream that jolted her awake.
Sean was shouting at somebody to... "shut up?"
But obviously, it was only the two of them in the backseat of the car. The driver's seat, was separated with barrier that gave them privacy, so who? Who could he be screaming at?
She began to fear that the genetic enhancement, might have affected his brain. It was a large, and not just large, but also a blind leap to conclusion. But when one put into account his earlier change in attitude, like a sudden assertiveness and arrogance that wasn't there before...
Not to say Sean had been timid and weak willed, infact, his willpower was terrifying. But the Sean of before, wouldn't have known how to handle the young researcher, and even if he did, might not have spoken, letting her handle it.
There was also the hunger for blood, which she found weird, reminding her of the vampires that lived in Elysium. Plus the flash of anger and aggression that appeared in his eyes, when she had slapped him out of frustration and overwhelming emotion in the pit... a flash that had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, like it was forcefully suppressed.
When taking all these into account, it did not seem so blind of a leap anymore... At least to her.
She had postponed thinking of these changes in behavior for when she had enough rest, but seeing him now, she couldn't help but do a double take on whether she had made the right choice.
Maybe she should have compromised, and allowed Devon, the young researcher, to examine him for any injuries... Of course without drowning Sean in questions.
However, all her thoughts which had been running like the data and information processing of a supercomputer, flew out of her mind, when she saw he was...
"Sean?" She called, and his head suddenly jerked up.
While it seemed like a lot of time had passed since Sean shouted and her mind began to run from one thought to another, it was at the most, just a second.
"Ugh?" He groaned, but I came out a more like a confused sound, than anything else.
She frowned.
"Who are you shouting at? And... Why are you crying?"
"Huh?" Sean asked, his mind seeming to swim up from a deep ocean of sleep, dreams and confusion.
"Why are you crying?" She asked softly.
"Crying?" His voice came out soft like a murmur, and he raised his fingers to touch his face, feeling the water than ran down from his eyes, between them.
He looked so much like a confused child, so innocent, so vulnerable. And this wasn't talking about the fact that he physically looked fifteen, but that his actions, were very childlike. There was a certain delicate touch to it, that was attributed to children.
Richelle felt her heart break seeing him like this, and moved in to pull him up and into a comforting hug.
Just as she had that thought, the haze in his eyes seemed to vanish abruptly.
"I'm fine." He stated, wiping his tears with the back of his hand... his expression, quickly falling back to its matured and composed setting.
Richelle froze for a second, her chest constricting, and her brows furrowed pensively at his abrupt change.
"Sean?"
"I'm okay, just a bad dream I guess." He said reassuringly, giving her a smile, that contrasted with how red his eyes were from sleep, and crying.
"You..." Richelle opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, finding herself lost for what to say.
Although Sean would have really not wanted to act the way he was acting now, just so she didn't become suspicious of him, or something along the lines, but he was very far from the right mental state right now.
With nothing else to say, Richelle just pulled him up and into a hug, her fingers, running up and down his back that was drenched in sweat, and disgusting greasy blood.
Though not being the kind that liked being touched, especially with those he was unfamiliar with, Sean didn't resist the hug. For one, he didn't know if the previous Sean was a hugger or not, nor did he want to know how she would respond should he push her away.
He also didn't have the mental space to begin calculate the gravity of the fallout should he actually push her away.
Most importantly though, this one was something that even he, found himself surprised by... he found the hug comforting and enjoyable. She didn't care he was dirty nor did she care about the stench wafting off him, only radiating pure affection, it almost reminded him of his...
He quickly pushed that thought away, melting into her comfort.
They remained like that for a few seconds, before Sean began feel slightly uncomfortable, but did his best not to make it known.
He could hear the thumping of her heart beat against his, and her chest rose and fell rhythmically against his, as though she was asleep.
Sean had just had that thought, when she asked softly surprising him.
"Do you remember anything?"
"Huh?" He replied confused, only for his brain to suddenly click into place, and all the mental and emotional exhaustion clouding his mind from his dream or trance, or whatever it was, to be cleared in an instant.
Did she know he was not the original Sean? Because he didn't remember anything about the original Sean. Were his mannerisms so different that she picked up on it?
He however forced himself to stay calm, using the opportunity, to push himself out of her embrace.
"You were crying. Your dream... Did it tell you anything? Is there anything you recall from it?" She asked again softly.
Sean's mind raced at her question, quickly coming at two conclusions.
First of all, it seems he was cleared, and she hadn't picked up on anything that would make her think he was not Sean. Although she didn't overtly say it, that question seemed to be something meant for the original Sean, and not him.
Secondly, it seemed this Sean's identity, was deeper than it seemed, or there was something strange about him.
Had he lost his memory once? No, if she was asking such questions, then that means he did.
What was bugging him now, was if the memories she was asking if he recalled, involved her, or didn't. Was it trauma, or something else?
Or maybe worse.
A wild thought suddenly entered his head.
Or was Sean's background deeper than just Richelle?