CHAPTER 5
“Celeste, can you hear me?”
Fabric ripped, water sloshed, then dampness touched a spot on my forehead that sent darts of pain shooting through raw nerves.
My heavy eyes struggled open. “Alec?” I croaked.
“There you are.” For reasons unbeknownst to me his voice was riddled with urgency. “Can you tell me what happened to you?”
“I…was… taking…a nap.” My tongue felt thick, causing my words to come out slow and slurred.
“You were taking a nap in the middle of the woods?”
I focused enough to make out the silhouette of trees above me. When had night fallen? I turned my head and nausea rolled my stomach. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it would stop the forest from spinning.
“Easy, now. No sudden moves. You may have a concussion. Do you know how you hit your head?” He dabbed at my forehead again, which sent fresh shock waves through it.
“Don’t know. Had a weird dream…” I trailed off, unable to recall what it had been about.
“We need to get you out of here and have someone look you over. I’m going to pick you up. Will you be okay to move?”
The idea of motion angered my upset belly. “No…think I’m going to be sick.”
“I know you feel like crap, but the gash on your head is bad. You’re going to need stitches. Did you drive here?”
I tried to nod, but even that slight move caused another groan to escape me.
“Good. We’re gonna head back to your car, okay?”
“Kay.”
“Do me a favor,” Alec said as he slid one arm under my knees and one under my shoulders. “Warn me before you puke. Here we go. Ready?”
“Mmm-hmm,” was all I could muster.
As gently as he could, Alec lifted me up. My head rolled against his chest. The night breeze brushed over my skin and cooled my sore head. He did his best not to jostle me as he walked, but my stomach still gurgled in protest of the motion. As a frequent sufferer of motion sickness, I knew it would help to open my eyes. Alec’s face was close enough to mine for me to notice a light dusting of freckles across his nose and the tops of his cheeks. I liked them. Almost as much as his pretty eyes.
“What were you doing out here?” I knew I sounded drunk but could do nothing to correct it.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been home.” Alec tossed me up a little bit to get a better grip. “I really missed hiking in the mountains. So, I decided to take advantage of the situation. I didn’t even realize how far I’d gone until the sun started to set. I brought water but no flashlight. If you hadn’t been in the clearing, I never would’ve seen you.”
His mention of the clearing brought the flutter of a memory. A light so bright I had to shield my eyes. Then…nothing.
“Do you want me to try and walk?”
He gave me a half-grin despite the beads of sweat that dotted his forehead. “You weigh all of what, a buck-five? I think I can handle it.”
When we arrived in the parking lot, Alec carefully lowered my feet to the ground. I was thankful for the arm he kept around my waist. My wobbly legs were threatening to give. “Where are your keys?”
My head still throbbed, but my case of cloudy brain had lessened. “In my satchel.”
“Where’s your satchel?”
I looked at the trail, then back to Alec.
“Crap.”
“There’s a spare key in the glove compartment. Doors are unlocked.”
“Not safe, but helpful in this situation,” Alec muttered as he opened the passenger side door and helped me in. He rolled my window down before shutting the door. I didn’t mind. It might shake off the remaining fog in my brain. Alec climbed in and started the truck. I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes as he drove.
“The changes will start now, Celeste. Not just for you but for Gabe and Kendall as well.”
My eyes snapped open. Those words! I remembered those words. Where had I heard them? Fear coiled in my stomach. I glanced around to see how close to Grams’ we were.
“Where are you going!” I yelled over the whipping wind.
“To the ER to get your head stitched up.”
I shook my head as adamantly as my current state would allow, “No. Take me home, please. Grams is a nurse. She’ll take care of me.”
“She’s not going to put stitches in. And what if you have a concussion?”
“Please?” I have a slight fear of hospitals because there are needles there. And I’m overwhelmingly, irrationally petrified of needles. “If she thinks I need to go, then I will. Okay?”
Alec frowned but did as I asked. He U-turned us back toward Grams’. The truck no sooner parked in the driveway than the front door flew open and Grams ran out. Gabe and Kendall trailed her.
Grams’ face was a tight, stern mask of barely contained anger. The sight of me changed that.
“Sakes alive, Celeste! What happened to you?” She gripped my elbow and did a quick assessment of my visible injuries.
“I fell on the path and hit my head. Alec found me,” I said.
Alec wasted no time. “I wanted to take her to the hospital and get her checked out. But she refused to go.”
“Let’s get her inside; I’ll take a look at her. If she needs to go to the hospital, she will.” Her tone left no room for argument. “I heard you were back in town, Alec. Thank you for coming to my granddaughter’s rescue.”
They hustled me inside to the downstairs bathroom. I avoided the mirror altogether. I wasn’t ready for that train wreck yet. Kendall put the lid down on the toilet so I could sit. Grams grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and held it under the running water.
“This may sting,” she warned. I concentrated on the mauve and burgundy swirls in the wallpaper to distract myself.
She dabbed at my head. To my surprise, it didn’t hurt. Again she wiped and patted. Then she stopped. Her brow creased. She rinsed the washcloth and came at me once more. This time she swiped the cloth across my entire forehead.
Grams took a step back, her head cocked. “I don’t understand where all the blood came from. Your scratch is already closed up.”
“What? When I found her, her forehead was ripped open clear to the bone!” Alec pushed his way in to get a better look. I grimaced at his colorful choice of words.
Grams took a step back so Alec could see for himself. Crouched down in front of me, he grabbed my chin between his thumb and index finger. Confusion filled his face as he turned my head from side to side.
“That’s not possible. It’s just a scratch.”
“Head wounds bleed like no other. It must’ve looked worse than it was,” Grams explained.
Curiosity got the best of me. I pushed Alec’s hand away and stood up to see for myself. I tried to keep my focus on only my forehead. Smack dab in the middle of my head was a small pink scratch. I ran my finger across it. The pain was gone. Even my headache had vanished. Alec was right. That didn’t seem possible.
My eyes wandered to the rest of my appearance. I didn’t know who the chick in the mirror with the crazed eyes was, but she was downright frightening. Trails of blood streaked my face and peppered the front of my shirt. The only clean part of me was where Grams tended to my scratch. Leaves, dirt, and pine needles covered me. I had a bird’s nest for hair. Pretty. I reached for the faucet to wash away the grime. My extended hand stopped me short. It was filthy. Both of my hands were. Dirt was packed under my fingernails as if I’d been digging.
Or clawing at the ground.
The room shrunk around me. I remembered. I remembered everything. My breath came short and fast as panic bubbled through me. I could feel the concerned eyes of my family and friend burning into my skin. On the verge of losing it, I bolted from the room.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I stated and ran up the stairs to our bathroom.
I didn’t risk another look in the mirror but stripped off my soiled clothes and stepped into the shower. I t
urned the water as hot as I could stand it and scrubbed my skin raw with my loofah. I couldn’t have seen what I thought I did. It was fodder for sci-fi movies, not real life. There had to be a rational explanation. There had to be. What did I know? I knew I hit my head, and I knew I was a chronic klutz. Maybe, just maybe, I confused the order of things. I could’ve fallen, in typical Celeste fashion, then dreamed the bird-woman.
I sighed and let the tension leave my body. Of course that was what happened. It made sense. I climbed out of the shower and toweled off. Then pulled on my pajamas and went straight to bed. After I flicked off the light, I pulled the covers up to my ear. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened other than a wickedly vivid dream. And if I told myself that enough, maybe it would remove that lingering doubt that tugged at the back of my mind.
Worried I may have a concussion, Grams came to check on me frequently throughout the night. Each time she found me awake, staring into the darkness. I couldn’t fool myself no matter how hard I tried. I knew what I saw.
The Conduit Page 6
