by A. E. Davis
He barked out a bitter laugh and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Amber, what are you doing to me?”
“I’m not doing anything to you,” I defended, still feeling like a jerk.
He dropped his hands. “How did you hear about them? My saintly brother, tell you?”
“No. He didn’t tell me anything.”
“Then who?”
I noticed he wasn’t denying anything I said which made everything worse. “It doesn’t matter how I found out. What matters is if it’s true. Is it?”
“Does it matter?”
“Ah…” Did it? “Yes.”
“So you want me to tell you all the sordid details?” His brow rose.
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure why I said that. I didn’t really want to know. Thinking about him with other girls made me feel…I don’t know, gloomy and mad at the same time. “Never mind,” I blurted before he could answer. I yanked off the jacket and balled it up. I tossed it into the window. “Happy?”
“Yeah.” He gave me a smug look.
“Donkeyhole,” I muttered.
His lips twitched. Reaching out, he grabbed my shirt. “C’mere.”
Still tense, I stumbled forward. “What?”
He lifted his hand and slid it around my back. “I’m sorry.”
“For?” I stared at his shirt.
“For getting angry with you,” he said. “I have no right.”
“Yeah, well, I get it. I was pretty angry too when I found out about you and those…girls.”
“Why?” His smile grew. “You jealous?” He ran the tips of his fingers up my back, eliciting tingling sensations.
“A little,” I admitted, feeling vulnerable…stupid.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
“Ah….” I flustered.
He shook his head. “Let’s change the subject.”
“Fine,” I said relieved. “What would you like to talk about?” I tilted my head back and looked up at his face.
“Who said anything about talking?” He lifted his brows as a slow wicked smile sprang to his lips.
My mind blanked. Seeing Vincent smile was a lot like when Viktor smiled. It turned my mind to mush and made my knees weak.
“You know,” he said matter of factly. “I never did finish that dance with you.”
“Well, there’s no music…so…” I stared at his shirt, afraid to look at his face. Not of what I would see but of what he would see on my face, instead.
“Sure there is. Can’t you hear it?” His hand slid down to my lower back and the heat seeped through my thin t-shirt.
“I don’t hear anything.” That wasn’t true. I could hear my heart pounding erratically just fine.
“Listen,” he instructed, pulling me closer.
“I don’t…”
“Just listen.” He wrapped his other arm around my back and began to move slowly.
As though it was carried on the wind from some place in the distance, I could suddenly hear lilting music. “Where is that coming from?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s very pretty.”
“Yeah, it is.”
The haunting music wafted over us. He held me close, swaying in time. It was all a bit surreal and I couldn’t catch a breath. Just like every other time I was with him, everything began to blur and fade away. I was once again transported to the night we had danced at the Twilight Prom before Glinda interrupted us. His warm body pressed against my own—his strong arms holding me closely. The music enveloped us and I shivered as his fingers gently trailed down my back.
“See,” he said. “Isn’t this nice?”
“Yeah,” I agreed as another gush of warmth spread over me.
He dipped me and my breath whooshed from my chest. He leaned forward. “I won’t let you fall.”
“I wasn’t afraid of that.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
He stopped moving and the music faded away.
“Nothing.” I jerked my shirt down and stepped away from him.
His face became serious. “Amber… I need to tell you something.”
I tensed. It wasn’t from what he said exactly but how he said it that made my heart start beating out of control once more.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to look up at his face and my breath caught. His eyes were glowing in the darkness.
I shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. The smell of cinnamon hung heavily in the air and tickled my nose. I wasn’t on my balcony anymore—I was back in my room, in bed. The bright morning light streamed in through my open window as a cool breeze kicked out the sheer curtains, making them flutter. Viktor’s jacket was in a ball on the floor and Vincent was gone.
“Amber,” Mom yelled from downstairs.
My body jerked from the sound. “What?” I yelled back freaked.
“You’re going to be late,” she screeched, the sound setting my already jumpy nerves on edge.
“Okay. I’m up.”
“Don’t forget to bring your hamper downstairs. I’m doing laundry today.”
“All right,” I yelled back.
I looked at my clock. Angry red numbers glared at me. It was almost seven.
“Sh--!” I tossed off my comforter and Red Hots scattered across my room. “Am I going crazy?” I didn’t remember eating Red Hots. Feeling like I was in a daze, I climbed from bed, walked over to my window, and looked out onto my balcony. Obviously, no one was there. However, the question I was asking myself was any of what I remembered real or was I just dreaming.
I didn’t have any answers but I would. Or so I told myself repeatedly as I got ready for school.
thirty six
Since I was already running late, I hastily made my way to the back of class. Glinda gave me a weird look as I took my seat.
“What happened to you?” she whispered.
“I woke up late.”
“Yeah, I bet you did.” She gave me one of her looks I was getting used to. Like she knew I was lying. I guess I couldn’t blame her, because I was lying. What else was new? I found I was doing that a lot lately and not just to her but myself as well.
Class dragged. We had to read a chapter from the textbook and answer a bunch of questions on a worksheet.
“Heads up, Tiger,” Glinda said suddenly.
I looked over at her. She lifted her chin and looked towards the front of the room.
The teacher, Mr. Klein was talking in hushed tones to another one of the teachers at the front of the room. She said something else to him and then left.
He turned and walked down the aisle towards me with a resolute expression on his face.
“Ms. Davis,” he said solemnly.
“Yes.” I swallowed hard.
“You need to go to the office.”
“What for?”
”I don’t know.” His expression was just as solemn as his voice.
“Okay.” I started to get out of my seat.
“Bring your things.”
I grabbed my bag and looked at Glinda.
She widened her eyes at me. “Sorry, Amber.”
My brows creased. “What?”
“You better hurry,” she said.
All the way to the office, morbid thoughts assailed me. I raced inside the open door and skidded to a halt as my worst fears came to fruition. Ken was standing at the front desk with his back turned.
“Ken?”
He turned and looked at me with bloodshot eyes. “Amber…there’s been a …”
He was talking but my heart was pounding so loudly, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I tried to move but my feet wouldn’t work and then my legs gave out and everything went black.
It took three cups of water from the lady in the office and an icepack on the back of my neck from the nurse to stop me from having a major meltdown. Ken was unusually silent as he drove me to the hospital. Mom fell down the stairs and they were x-raying her leg to see if she broke it or not. “How d
id she fall?”
Ken glanced over at me. “She was trying to carry your clothes hamper downstairs.”
“Oh.” Now I felt even worse. “Why was she doing that? I told her I would do it when I got home.”
“Yeah, so did I,” he said as he turned on his blinker to make the turn into the hospital. He parked in the space out front with a sign that read: Reserved for Dr. Cullen. A hysterical bubble of laughter threatened to spill from my mouth at the absurdity of that sign but I somehow swallowed it back.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine,” I lied. Truth was—I was barely keeping it together. “I’m just worried about Mom.”
“Yeah, me too, Kiddo,” he agreed.
“How did you find out she fell? Did Mom call you?”
“No. I forgot something at the house and went back to get it. When I walked in, she was on the floor.”
All I could think about was my poor mother lying helplessly on the floor because of my stinky clothes. I felt horrible. “Good thing you came back.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” He put the car in park and turned off the ignition. “She has a few bumps and bruises too, so don’t get upset when you see her, okay?”
“Bumps and bruises?”
“She fell from the second landing, so she’s pretty beat up.”
“That far?” I asked, feeling sick again.
“She was lucky. It could have been much worse.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, knowing how steep the stairs were.
“I think they are going to keep her overnight to keep an eye on her.”
“But you said she just hurt her leg.” I sounded hysterical.
“Now Amber, don’t go getting yourself all worked up. Just take a breath and calm down,” Ken instructed using his official police officer voice.
“But…”
“They just want to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion.”
“But…”
“Before you go jumping the gun, let’s wait and see what the doctor says, all right?”
“Okay.” I blew out a slow stream of air, trying to keep myself from having a meltdown. “Can we go inside now?”
“Sure.” He opened his door.
I opened mine and followed him inside the hospital. Once again the smell of disinfectant and sickness lingered in the air making me want to turn back around and leave again.
Ken walked up to the window in the waiting room. A girl with white blonde hair was sitting behind the glass partition with a hot pink highlighter sticking out of her messy bun. I recognized her from the night I visited Glinda with Viktor.
The bored look on her face evaporated as soon as she saw Ken. Her bright red glossy lipstick shimmered under the lights as she smiled warmly up at him. Ken leaned forward and spoke to her in hushed tones.
The waiting room looked the same as it did before with the exception of the missing plastic yellow tee-pee where someone had puked. A few magazines were scattered across the burnt orange chairs and if possible, the brown carpet looked even nastier than the last time I was here.
A second later the dingy doors to my left made a buzzing sound and creaked open.
“Come on.” Ken waved for me to follow him.
Forcing my feet to move, I glanced at the girl. Her eyes glittered strangely under the florescent lights as she watched me pass. I hurried after Ken and walked into the same dreary hallway I had with Viktor. The doors swung shut with a soft creaking thud. The smell of disinfectant and sickness overwhelmed the air, making it hard for me to take a breath.
“It’s down here.” Ken’s polished shoes made a sharp squeaking noise on the floor.
Luckily, Mom’s room was only three doors down. Ken pushed open the gray door and sunlight streamed in through the window giving the room a warm feeling.
A flowered curtain was pulled over to the side and Mom was propped up in bed. Her eyes were shut but as soon as the door closed, they popped open and she looked right at me. “Oh, honey,” she sighed. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” I made my way over to the bed. She was wearing a powdered blue hospital gown and a little yellow plastic pitcher with a cup was sitting on a tray at her side. Her phone was lying beside it and Candy Crush was popping around on the screen.
“Ken.” Mom gave him a reprimanding look. “I told you not to get her out of school.”
“I’m glad he did.” I straightened the white blanket, tucking it around her better. A pillow was propped under her right leg and a tan bandage was wrapped around her ankle. The bright red nail polish on her toes peeked out the top.
“You aren’t missing a test or anything are you?”
“It wouldn’t matter if I was. I can always make it up.”
“Well,” she sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
“How did you fall?”
“It was the strangest thing,” she said. “I was carrying your hamper. It’s big, so I thought I was being extra careful but then I felt a shove on my back like someone pushed me. I tried to grab hold of the railing but obviously, I missed.” She made a face. “Ow.” She lifted her hand and touched the corner of her mouth. Her bottom lip was swollen and there was a big purplish black bruise on her left cheek.
“Someone pushed you?”
“Oh,” she laughed. “I doubt that.” She waved her hand in the air dismissively.
I looked over at Ken.
He shook his head.
“I hit my head pretty hard. I was seeing stars for a minute and then everything seemed to blur together. Thank goodness my Knight in Shining Armor came home early and saved me.”
“Now Eileen,” Ken chided. “I told you not to call me that in public. What will Amber think?”
“That I’m one lucky girl. Isn’t that right, honey?” She patted my arm affectionately.
“Yes. Totally,” I agreed wholeheartedly, and put my hand over hers. Her fingers felt cold and clammy.
“I guess I’ll be sleeping on the couch for a while,” she mused.
“Nonsense,” Ken said. “I will carry you to bed.”
“See, honey,” she said smiling warmly at Ken. “He is a Knight in Shining Armor.”
“He certainly sounds like one,” I agreed.
“When are you springing me out of here?” she asked Ken.
“I think you may have to stay the night…”
Mom’s eyes filled with tears.
“Now, Eileen,” he soothed. “Don’t cry. I will stay with you.”
Her tears evaporated as quickly as they showed up. “You will?”
“Of course I will.”
“Oh, Ken,” she gushed. “You are too good to me.”
“I doubt that.” Ken sat on the edge of the bed and took her other hand in his.
Feeling like a third wheel, I moved out of the way so Mom could have a moment with Ken. I walked over and looked out the window. The sun was still shining brightly and over at the end of the building a few people in scrubs were talking and smoking cigarettes. I saw the receptionist out there too. She was talking on her phone.
“Amber, sweetheart,” Mom called.
“Yeah?” I turned.
“Will you be all right staying at home alone?”
“Don’t you want me to stay here to?”
“No you don’t have to.” She patted Ken’s hand affectionately. “Ken said he’d stay with me.”
“I can stay too, if you want.”
“There’s no reason for us both to be stuck in here.” She looked up at Ken. “She hates hospitals even more than I do.”
Ken turned and looked at me. “Will you be all right alone?”
“Sure. Why not.” Fine. That was a lie. I didn’t want to stay home alone but I wasn’t going to tell Mom or Ken that.
“I’m feeling sleepy.” Mom yawned and then winced.
“It’s the pain meds,” Ken told me when I gave him a questioning look.
“Isn’t she supposed to stay aw
ake?”
“They are monitoring her closely. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Oh. Okay.” I gave Mom a worried look. Since when did they let you sleep if they thought you had a concussion?
“It’s going to be fine, honey,” Mom assured me as though she knew what I was thinking.
“I’ll be right back,” Ken said, glancing at his phone. He gave Mom’s hand a squeeze and stood.
“Okay.” Mom yawned again and closed her eyes.
Ken glanced over at me on his way out and I gave him a tentative smile. He smiled back but it didn’t reach his eyes. Trying to keep as quiet as possible, I lifted a magazine that was on the table across the room and sat down in a chair by the window.
I couldn’t help glancing at Mom every few pages, just to make sure she was still breathing. She looked frail and a lot older than she usually did which made me feel even sicker. Her eyes were shut but even from this distance, I could see the bright bruising on her cheek and the swelling on her lip.
At some point, I must have dosed off because when the door swept open, the sound startled me.
Ken walked back inside the room, his expression grim.
“What’s wrong?” I said quietly so I didn’t wake Mom.
“Nothing.” He walked over to the edge of the bed.
I didn’t believe him. Something was wrong. I could tell.
“You ready for me to take you back to your car?”
“Um…” I glanced at the clock. It was almost five. “I guess.”
Mom’s eyes popped open so quickly, I had to wonder if she was really asleep at all. “You’re leaving?”
“Eileen, I’ll be back before you know it.” Ken leaned over and kissed her forehead. It was really sweet. “I’ll even try to smuggle you in some real food.”
I got up from the chair and set the magazine down on the table. Making my way over to the opposite side of the bed, I leaned down to give her a quick hug. “Bye Mom.” She held onto me for a minute. “Lock the doors and don’t forget to set your alarm for school.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“Of course.”
“I should be home before you get back from school,” she said.