“Conner! Geez, put me down. You gave me a heart attack!”
Looking pleased by my fright, Conner placed me back on the ground. But his round blue eyes sobered quickly when he saw how messed up I was. “Sorry Michaela. Seriously. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I was just glad to see you.”
Trying to force my lips into a smile, I mumbled that it was okay, that I was glad to see him too. He’s my friend, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. But I couldn’t stop shaking. I felt as though I was going to break apart, crumble into gravel.
Gage was suddenly standing beside me, his warm brown eyes full of concern. He put his hand on my arm, making me look up at him. “Michaela what is it?”
My heart was pounding. I missed Gage so much I suddenly ached. It was like I hadn’t seen him in a thousand years. Beth wouldn’t let me have company the whole time I’d been sick. Mono is really contagious, I guess. But seeing Gage now, it was crazy, I almost started bawling.
Being sick, it makes you vulnerable. You’re all week and emotional. And Gage had died. The last time I saw him, he’d been blue and bleeding, lifeless. Dead. Drowned at the bottom of the river. Frantic and crying, I’d saved him. I think that’s how I got so sick, using my powers. It wiped me out.
Gage was gazing at me now—saying something. I’m not sure what. But he was worried, I could tell. He wanted to know what’s the matter. I bit my lip. How could I tell him I’d just seen the boogieman from my nightmares? He’d think my fever fried my brain, caused long-term damage. He’d think I was nuts.
“Hey.” Gage brushed his hand along my arm. “Michaela?”
I was shaking really bad. It was weird, but I couldn’t make myself stop, my body was out of control.
“Michaela?”
Kind of awkward like, Gage put his arms around me, rubbing my shoulders as though I was cold. It was as though he’s trying to warm me. It was nice.
“Are you okay?” he asked in my ear. “Should I go get the nurse?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want him to leave. I just wanted him to hold me like he was.
I started to calm down a little, my shivering started to subside, but then Gage’s psychotic girlfriend, Addison, showed up. I could feel her anger at seeing Gage and me together. Her eyes were narrowed into slits and teeth were clenched. More than anything, I wanted to zap her away—send her anywhere, as long as it was far. And horrible. I probably would have tried it too if I was feeling stronger. Maybe. But as it was, I was sick and weak, pathetic. I just wanted to get away from her. Away from her hate.
“Michaela, what’s the matter?” Addison feigned concern, but I could still feel the hate raging inside her, throbbing.
“I think I’m still sick,” I mumbled. “I’m going to go back home.”
Gage’s arms tightened around me, defying the wrath of Addison. “Okay,” he said, sounding as though he thought it was a good idea. “I’ll drive you.”
“No, that’s okay. I’m okay.”
I tried to pull away from him, tried to get away. But he held me tight.
“I’ll just drive you,” he said firmly.
“No, don’t.” I pulled away. “I want to be alone.”
That’s not really what I wanted. It’s not what I wanted at all. I wanted him to come home with me, take care of me. Protect me. But he couldn’t do those things. Any of them.
Besides, there was a big crowd watching, everyone staring. If Gage walked me home, Addison would make a big scene. I wasn’t up for that.
Gage looked into my eyes. “Are you sure? Michaela, you seem really sick. I don’t think you should be alone.”
“I’ll be okay,” I told him and practically ran to get away from him.
His words “I’ll call you later,” followed me down the hall, but it hurt to know that he was already holding hands with Addison, assuring her that he and I were only friends.
As I staggered through the crowded halls, I remembered Summer gave me a ride this morning because my car wouldn’t start.
“Faaa,” I muttered, not really saying anything, just frustrated. And sick. And scared.
My thoughts were all jumbled: I have no car. Doesn’t matter. I can’t drive anyway, not like this, all shaky. Where’s Izzie? No, she’s probably in the art room, across campus, upstairs. Too far. Okay, the library. No, not the library. Logan will find me. He’ll get me while I’m sleeping, drag me to hell. I’ll walk. It’s easier. Definitely quieter, all the shoving in the halls. Logan’s here? Really here? Maybe not, maybe not, maybe not.
He is. I know he is. They’re all coming, all the cloaked people. Because I saved Gage. I used my powers and somehow that helped them find me. They’re coming, they’re coming, they’re coming.
Or I’m just sick. Am I just sick? Delusional?
I headed out of the school doors, breathing in the crisp, almost autumn air. It didn’t make me feel better though, or maybe it did. It was hard to tell. I was relieved to be out of the throng of student traffic, relieved to no longer be jostled and inadvertently shoved. But the snap in the air felt too cold on my feverish skin. It made me shake even more. Plus, the outdoors was too open, too void of people. I felt vulnerable.
I wanted to turn around and go back inside. But the thought of all the noise, the pushing—I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My head couldn’t take it.
I started walking, sometimes taking deep breaths, sometimes shallow, trying to find a mix that would sooth my queasy stomach.
As I hobbled along, making it out of the parking lot, out the school entrance and finally on to the throughway, I started to feel like I was being followed. I didn’t look around, I couldn’t bring myself to do it—just the thought of seeing someone behind me had my heart thundering. It was going to explode. But I couldn’t shake the feeling, no matter how hard I tried. I could sense the presence. I knew who it had to be. That guy Logan. It made me quicken my pace, but I couldn’t run. My legs felt wobbly and unhinged, as though they are going to fall off.
Halfway home, I started seeing red and purple spots zooming before my eyes. I’d fainted before, this was exactly what it was like. There was no question—I was going down. I just wanted to make it home before I did.
What the …?
I swear, it had been dead calm when I left for school this morning, but now the wind was howling around me, picking up with every step I took. Gusts grabbed at my hair, yanking and pulling, plastering it against my face.
“Michaellllla!” My whole being shook from the sound—my whole, entire being—my knees buckled, my heart hammered, my pulse raced. Still, I didn’t turn around, didn’t look. I kept walking straight ahead.
“Michaellllla!” The noise had started like a whisper—a hissing from the wind. But as I walked, it grew louder, until I couldn’t ignore it, or pretend it wasn’t there. It grew stronger and stronger, screaming, moaning my name over and over. “Michaellllla! Michaellllla!”
Where the cacophony was coming from, I couldn’t be sure. My ears or head? So nightmarish and gruesome, it seemed to be coming from both: inside my mind, yet carried through the biting wind.
“This can’t be real,” I told myself. “It can’t. It’s only a dream, It’s only a dream, It’s only a dream.”
Yet suddenly I was running with everything I had. Real or not, I wanted to get home. As I reached my yard my vision started to darken. With every ounce of strength left in me, I focused my mind towards the front door, throwing it open. Practically blind, I stumbled towards it, reaching the open threshold just as everything turned black.
CHAPTER 19
I woke in my bed, sopping with sweat, an unvoiced scream caught in my throat. Whoa, just another dream. Relief! I laid back in my pillow, filled with relief, but still shaking.
Since I’d been sick my nightmares had gotten worse—or maybe it was from saving Gage. They both happened at the same time. So, I wasn’t exactly sure. Either way, my nightmares had intensified big time. But still, even now that I had nightmares every
night, I just woke with images. Dark, and twisted, and haunting. Images of symbols, and blood, and Cloaked People. They haunted me.
Waking now, my first instinct was to jump into the shower before Summer, the bathroom hog, had a chance to take over. But, then I started to notice stuff. Like, it was sort of dark outside. And I could smell something cooking, not breakfast. Spaghetti. Mmmm. The aroma itself warmed my shivering body.
I rolled over, glad I didn’t have to get up after all. It wasn’t morning, it was evening. Time just blended into meaningless oblivion since I’d been sick. Morning, evening, it was all the same—me sleeping.
I tried not to think about my dream, ‘cause for once, I sort of remembered it—a little bit. It was scary as anything, but it didn’t involve the caves or cloaks or blood this time. It was a about a demon from my nightmares, the one always howling, “Michaellllla, your miiinnnne!” He had come to my school and chased me home, wanting to drag me back to hell. I tried to shove the memory of the dream out of my mind. Instead, I focused on the cheerful chatter that floated up the stairs, Beth and Summer. They were talking like best friends, gabbing about a boy Summer met. I couldn’t hear most of what they were saying, but the sound of their voices mingled with the clatter of dinner preparations was soothing.
I almost drifted back to sleep but Beth knocked softly on my door, wanting to know if I felt well enough to come down for dinner.
“I’ll be right there,” I said.
With unsteady legs, I made my way down to the kitchen. The world kind of twirled as I walked—probably ‘cause I’d been lying around too much. At the dinner table, I crashed into the nearest chair with a thud, but hey, I made it.
“You alright?” Beth asked.
I yawned and nodded at the same time. But the room was too bright, everything was spinning. I had to close my eyes really quick, resting my head on the table.
“Sweetie,” Beth touched my arm, sounding concerned.
I sprang up. “I’m fine.” I tried to smile, but the room was still spinning. “I’m just hungry.” I started heaping spaghetti onto my plate, so Beth wouldn’t look so worried. It worked; she murmured she forgot the parmesan cheese and headed for the pantry.
Summer was on the phone, totally not unusual. But there was a rosy hue to her cheeks. That was new. It made me curious about the guy she met. It was good to see her so happy. Her ex-boyfriend, Justin, treated her like garbage and made her cry all the time. It wasn’t like Summer and I were best buds or anything, we weren’t, but still, it sucked to see her treated so bad, to see her take it and still pine for the jerk.
Summer straddled the chair as she gushed happily into the phone, “I know! Out of the whole class to be partners with, he chose me!” She smiled, showing her teeth and everything, her life-is-perfect smile. “He’s so gorgeous!”
Beth and I went ahead and started eating without Summer as Summer would rather starve to death than miss a phone call. I, on the other hand, was famished. And Beth’s spaghetti was awesome, my favorite.
Beth kept saying how good it was to see me eating. It felt good too. I felt as though I hadn’t eaten in weeks. Actually, come to think of it, I hadn’t. Not really. I’d been too sick to keep anything down.
Once Summer was finally off the phone, she turned to me and smiled as though life couldn’t possibly be any sweeter, but what she said to me was: “You look horrible.”
I just grimaced at her. But the truth was, I felt better than I had in a long time. I’d never been sick before, ever; not even for a day. I had no idea it was such a long and grueling process.
While Summer chattered on and on about her gorgeous new Biology partner, I ate a whole heaping plate of spaghetti, and then went back for seconds. When I was about done, I glanced up at Summer. She wasn’t talking anymore. She was staring at me instead. The way she was doing it, it was as though I accidentally ate our cat or something.
“What?”
“I thought you were sick,” Summer said. “But the way you’re eating—it’s making me sick.”
Beth laughed. “It’s good she’s eating,” she said. “It means she’s starting to feel better.”
The way they were talking about me, it made me self-conscious. It made me slow down and take small, dainty bites. Or try to anyway. But it was kind of hard. It was spaghetti.
“Gage’s been calling for you,” Beth informed me.
“Like, constantly,” Summer added. “He can’t possibly call Addison half as much as he calls you.”
With a yawn, I tried changing the subject before the two of them could get started again about Gage and me—they were always speculating, thinking we were more than just friends. I was going to ask “So, who’s the guy, Summer?”—knowing the question would instantly make her forget any thoughts of Gage or my pathetic love life. But before I could ask her, she said something that made my heart stop, made it totally freeze. “I guess you really scared Gage today,” she said as she reached for more garlic bread. “He said you were shaking and wouldn’t stop.”
I choked on my food.
“Are you alright?” Beth handed me my milk and made me gulp it down.
“Gage said that?” I gasped, when I was finally able to talk. “He said I went to school?”
“I told you not to,” Beth said.
“But...I did?”
Summer looked at me as though I was nuts. “Yeah. I gave you a ride, remember?” The way she said it, it was as though she was speaking to a small child with a learning problem. Well, not even that, an idiot.
I was shaking again. I couldn’t even hold my fork. I hid my hands under the table so Beth wouldn’t notice. But I felt sick and frozen, just like I did this morning...only I thought this morning didn’t happen. I thought it was a dream.
I tried to remember being at school, but it was all kind of fuzzy. Logan. Something about a boy named Logan. Oh! He was the demon from my nightmares...but he was there, at my school! No! That couldn’t have happened. That had to be a dream. It had to.
I looked at Beth, then at Summer. What they were telling me—it couldn’t be true. It couldn’t! I couldn’t have gone to school today. The way I remembered things, I fainted before I even got to the front door. If everything really, truly happened—how did I get in the house?
“But...when I woke up,” I said. “I was in bed.”
Summer and Beth both looked at each other, like: “So what?”
Finally Summer just came out and asked it, “So?”
“So, how—how’d I get in bed?”
Summer shrugged. “You were there when I came home—sweating like a pig.” She eyed me closely. “You really don’t remember going to school today?”
A shiver ran through me. “I remember. I just...I thought it was a dream.”
“Geez, you really are sick,” Summer said.
I swallowed, saying nothing.
The thing was, if this morning really happened the way I remembered it, then life really was the spooky place I’d always feared it was. The realization made me want to crawl back under my covers and never come out.
CHAPTER 20
Up in my room, I laid curled up in a tight ball, still trembling. Scary thoughts whirled around in my brain, making my heart pound in my ears. Today really happened. I met Logan Ryan, the demon from my nightmares.
I pulled the comforter up around me, trying to get warm. But it couldn’t happen. I’d never be warm again.
Summer barged into our room, making me jump. She looked at herself in the mirror a while, then sat beside my curled up body on the bed, probably assuming I was still sick, having no clue I was dying of fright. “Listen, Michaela,” she said, rummaging through the CDs I had scattered around me. “I’ve been thinking. We should trade lockers.”
“Hmm?” I curled up tighter, not really listening to her. I do that all the time. She never notices.
“Well,” Summer flipped her hair, “Since Logan and I are going to be science partners . . .”
I stopped
breathing, stopped functioning. The only part of my body that could move was my heart. It started beating like crazy. “Did you say you’re science partners with Logan?”
Summer looked bugged, mad that I interrupted her story. “Yeah. So?”
I couldn’t talk. I was probably turning purple from not breathing. The boy Summer had been talking about non-stop—it was Logan? Demon Logan.
Summer furrowed her brow, watching me shake. “What’s the matter with you? You’re scarring me, Michaela.” She got off my bed. “I’m going to call mom.”
I grabbed her arm, pulling her back to the bed. “No, don’t. I’m okay.”
She studied me, not looking convinced. “Then what’s going on? I told you I’m science partners with Logan. I talked about him all through dinner.”
“I know. I just, I wasn’t listening.”
“Thanks a lot.” She headed for the door, but turned back to me before leaving. “So, can we trade lockers?”
I didn’t say anything. I was still too stunned. But Summer was waiting for an answer, looking annoyed.
“He’s so not your type,” she said, as if I was contemplating trying to keep him all too myself, which was, you know, insane. But then, she didn’t know he was a demon from hell. So she was all huffy, “Give it up.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing she wasn’t going to leave the room until I gave her what she wanted. And as much as I didn’t want to be alone, I didn’t want to be stuck here with Summer even more. Besides, did it really matter? I mean, did a demon really need a locker? I waved her away. “Whatever.”
Summer smiled, smug and happy. “Thanks!” she chirped as she headed out the door. I watched her go, knowing I should warn her. But what could I say? No matter what, she wouldn’t believe me. And really, the truth was, I couldn’t talk about it—Logan—out loud. It would make him too real. That was too scary.
A Demon's Kiss (Young Adult Romance) Page 11
