Caught Between Worlds (The In-Betweens Book 3)

by Alison L. Perry

  “Do you know what his plans are?” My voice quivered, nerves crawling up my throat like ants.

  He shook his head. “Nobody’s telling me anything. But if the other night was any indication, he’ll hit hard and fast when he does.” His voice grew urgent. “Sadie, you have to be careful. Leave town and get as far away as possible. This is your life we’re talking about.”

  For a second, I wanted to do as he said. Run as fast as I could and disappear into nothing. The urge was overwhelming. I sucked in my breath and fought it, focusing my thoughts on Harper and Cam and Molly. On Maddie lying in the hospital and my family. I couldn’t leave them. There was no way.

  “I… I can’t do that. I will not do that. It would be selfish to save my own skin and leave my friends to fend for themselves.” Pausing, I thought about all the other test subjects who’d been victims of this experiment. I’d been so worried about my own world that I hadn’t stopped to wonder about theirs. Who were they? They had faces and names and lives. I might even know some of them without realizing it. They needed me, too.

  Kade’s voice broke through my reverie. “That’s noble of you, but not very practical.”

  A flicker of defiance steadied my tongue. “No, it’s human of me.”

  He stepped back from my passionate words. We stared at each other for a moment until he broke eye contact. His voice dropped a notch. “You’re right.”

  A glance at my watch told me I needed to check in with Molly and Harper soon. “I gotta get going.” I realized he’d put himself in a dangerous position by helping me. Another sliver of anger melted a bit. “Thank you for risking yourself to tell me what you can. You didn’t have to.”

  A muscle on the side of his jaw worked furiously. “Yes, I did.” He moved closer and his familiar scent filled the air again. “I never lied about caring for you. If you don’t believe anything else, please at least believe that. I… I hope your new guy appreciates you.”

  My breath hitched and a sudden urge to cry made my eyes water. Why was I suddenly sad? I chose Cam, loved Cam. So why did it feel like a part of me was mourning Kade? I sniffed, trying to make it sound like I needed to sneeze or something. “He does. He’s great.” I sniffed again, silently willing the tears forming in my eyes not to fall.

  As if he knew my struggle and wished to help me save face, he reached around me and opened my car door. “You should get home.”

  I looked at the sky and blinked rapidly. “Dang pollen got in my eye,” I muttered. I swiped a finger at it, making sure the tears were gone. The crisp air cooled my cheeks and uncluttered my mind. I was being silly. There was no reason to feel sad about our lost relationship. I gave him a smile as I got into the driver’s seat. “Thanks, Kade. Be careful getting home yourself. Okay?”

  With a nod, he shut my door. As he climbed into his own car, he flipped a half wave and smile at me. He pulled smoothly out of the parking lot and disappeared into the darkness. When I could no longer see the red glow of his brake lights, I started for home in the opposite direction.

  ***

  “So, he wouldn’t tell you who it is?”

  Molly’s question hung in the air. Harper and I were in her room, rehashing my conversation with Kade. Molly was lounging in a cream suede armchair in the corner, her legs kicked over the side and bare feet tapping against the brocade wallpaper. I was splayed out across her queen-size bed with Harper sitting cross-legged near the pillows. I stared up at the silver crystal chandelier dangling over the bed and pondered the meaning of it all.

  “He was scared to say. I guess he’s getting in trouble for helping as much as he has.”

  “Helping?” Molly raised her eyebrows. For some reason, I had an urge to defend him, but Harper’s snort of agreement with Molly stopped me. “If this is his idea of helping,” she continued, “I’d hate to see his version of damaging! Oh wait! I already have.” I cringed at the bitterness in her voice, but I couldn’t blame her. Kade had totally abandoned her when she needed his help during Jill’s onslaught of bullying. It had been a jerk move to let it happen.

  Harper’s sigh cut through the room. I turned my head to look at her. Her face was carved with frustration and tinged with fatigue.

  “Harp? How are you feeling?” I couldn’t keep the concern out of my voice. “Are you in pain?”

  “It’s not bad. Hardly noticeable. I’m nearly healed up, don’t worry.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “I’m worried. If it’s not Kade… if it’s a mystery person we don’t know anything about, it’ll be harder to defend ourselves.”

  “We know he’s hot.”

  “Molly,” I groaned. “Would you cut that out?” Even though I knew it was her way of coping with fear, the joke irritated me. “I don’t think you’ll care if he’s hot or not when he’s butchering us. Besides, neither of us got a good look at him. He could be ugly. Scars and stuff.” I played along with Molly’s joke a bit because she was so stressed. It may not have looked like it to Harper, but I could see it and that’s exactly why she was being flippant. Deep down she was freaking out, too

  She made a humming sound in the back of her throat. “I concede your point.” She clicked her shiny red nails together and pursed her lips. Harper shifted positions on the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. I copied her, watching the light glint in the bling above us. The room was quiet until Molly abruptly stood. “This is stupid. What are we going to do?”

  It was a good question. I didn’t want to panic, but I was doing exactly that. Things were getting more questionable by the day. Deciding I didn’t want to think about it right then, I swung my legs to the floor and joined Molly across the room.

  “Let’s talk about something else.” I opened her closet doors and walked into the large space. Poking through her clothes, I chose some skinny capri jeans and a black T-shirt that read “Queen Bee” across the front in rhinestones. I held the outfit up to myself in front of the ceiling-to-floor mirror and admired the look. “Hey, I could have used this when I was campaigning for Homecoming Queen. You holding out on me?”

  Distracted, she glanced at it for a moment. “What? Oh, sorry. It’s new. But you can borrow it if you want.”

  I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Molly. Come in, Molly. What’re you thinking about?”

  She examined a nail while we waited for her to answer. Harper and I exchanged confused looks, wondering what newest problem had her so bothered. Finally, she took a breath. “What if we go on the offensive?”

  I blinked. Offensive?

  Harper’s laugh made us turn toward her. “You’re not serious.”

  Molly’s back stiffened. “What if I am?”

  Harper’s amusement turned to a sigh. “It might be a good idea once we know who we’d actually be confronting. Right now, we don’t know squat.” She looked warmly at Molly. “I’m sorry for laughing like that. It caught me by surprise.”

  Molly relaxed, slumping back into her chair. She blew a breath out and clicked her nails faster. “Yeah, I know it sounds stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid.” My voice was firm. “Once we have more information, it’s a good idea.” An image of the three of us dead somewhere shifted through my head. “If we’re not gone by then,” I whispered.

  I went back to examining the shirt I was holding. Tapping nails and Harper’s breathing were the only sounds in the room. Sadness and fear swept over me. Why couldn’t we be three normal teenage girls hanging out, talking about boys and makeup and clothes? Or planning a girls’ night out together? I smiled sadly to myself. It wasn’t that long ago when those things didn’t interest me. Funny how much had changed in such a short time.

  “I’m borrowing this,” I announced. “We should go see Maddie. She’ll get a kick out of it when I show up in this.” I grinned at the thought, imagining Maddie’s bubbly laugh when she saw the shirt.

  My suggestion gave an immediate surge of energy to the room. Molly bounced out of her throne and Harper scrambled off the bed with n
o sign of pain. They were both smiling and I felt lighter at their happy faces.

  “That,” Harper said, “is an excellent idea.”

  ***

  “What room is Maddie Rosen in, please?” The receptionist behind the desk looked up at my question. She smiled at the three of us before looking at the computer screen in front of her. I shifted my weight back and forth on the heels of my shoes. The memory of waiting anxiously for news of Maddie played through my mind. Without knowing it, I tensed up my shoulders. My breathing grew agitated. That night was supposed to end differently. The four of us were supposed to be having a great time enjoying all the Homecoming activities the town had planned. The more I thought about Maddie lying in the hospital, the more aggressive I felt. Harper noticed and put a calming hand on my back.

  “Maddie Rosen, let’s see.” I waited impatiently as she mumbled to herself, clicking the mouse in what seemed to me an excessive amount of times. A few moments passed as she continued clicking and “hmming.” I glanced at Harper, and she shrugged. My stomach churned and a dull pounding started up in my temples. I squeezed my fingers together. What is taking so long?

  At long last, she looked up. “Room 203.” She glanced at the clock. “You have about thirty minutes before visiting hours are over. You just made it!” Her cheerfulness grated on my nerves and I gave her a tight smile before turning toward the elevators. Molly and Harper stood behind me as I jabbed the button several times.

  “Sadie, dear. No need to break the elevator. What did it ever do to you?” Molly’s joke only fueled my irritation and I poked it one more time in silent defiance. My anxiety curled into a tight ball in my stomach as we approached the room. But as soon as Harper swung open the door and I saw Maddie’s smiling face, it dissolved. She was sitting up, flipping through a magazine, dressed in camo pajama pants and a white tank top. A pink robe lay at her feet. Relief gushed over me like water and I couldn’t stop a sudden wave of tears.

  “You guys came! C’mon in!” Her voice was strong and I briefly chastised myself for ever thinking something like this could get her down. Maddie’s personality was an unstoppable force. In that instant, I think we all loved her a little bit more for it.

  “Oh my God, Maddie. How are you?” I wrapped my arms around her body and squeezed gently. She gave me a ferocious hug back.

  “I’m okay. Really. I got lucky and I’m feeling tons better.” Her radiant smile was sunshine. “Boone’s been by my side as much as they’ll let him.” She giggled and waved a hand toward the windows. Three enormous flower bouquets, a candy and soda bouquet, and at least a dozen balloons decorated that side of the room. “He’s showering me with gifts.”

  Molly nudged my foot and I knew we were both thinking we should have brought something. I’d been too intent on seeing her for myself to think about it.

  “You’re rockin’ the hospital look,” Molly said, respect in her voice. Anyone who could look as darling as Maddie did while enduring the hospital atmosphere obviously had her approval. “Any cute nurses?”

  Maddie laughed. “There’s a couple. But only one I think you’d be interested in. He has a flair I think only you could handle.”

  Molly arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Maybe I’ll hang around for a bit and see if he shows up.” She climbed onto the foot of the bed and arranged herself in a comfortable position. I guess she meant it.

  “Maddie…” Harper’s voice was subdued. “I’m so happy you’re okay. We’ve been worried.” She glided across the space between them and dropped a kiss on Maddie’s head. Maddie reached a hand up to grasp Harper’s fingers and held them to her cheek.

  “I know.” She was quiet now, all lightheartedness gone. “It was crazy and scary and I honestly thought in those first few seconds… minutes… that I might not ever see my family and friends again.” She paused to rearrange the blankets across her knees. “I don’t remember much besides the heat and a sharp pain. Then I woke up and I was here.” Her eyes were huge when she looked at us. “Boone filled me in on what they know.” Her voice caressed his name as she said it. “He’s been so good to me.”

  “You’re lucky to have him,” I said.

  Her eyes glittered with a fire I hadn’t seen on her before. “I’m lucky to have all of y’all.” Her gaze turned to Harper. “Boone told me you were hurt, too. And several others.”

  “I was, but it wasn’t bad. I’m healing great.” She made her voice airy and light. Maddie didn’t need to worry about anything but getting better.

  She wasn’t falling for it, though. “They said they don’t know what happened yet.”

  “Who is ‘they,’” I questioned.

  She waved a hand around. “The police who came to ask me stuff. The hospital staff. I keep asking, but nobody says anything.”

  Molly smoothly cut in. “Well, hun, maybe they don’t know.”

  There was the fire again. Maddie’s face twisted into a mask of determination. “I saw something.”

  A chill swept down my spine. Molly sucked in a breath. Harper’s mouth dropped open in shock. None of us moved as we tried to think of something to say. After a few seconds of silence, I struggled to form words.

  “What… um… kind of something?”

  Maddie fiddled with her blankets some more. “I was making my way to our seats after seeing Boone off to the field. I wasn’t looking at anything in particular, but I saw a guy… or girl… I couldn’t really tell in the dark… hanging out at the back door of the concession stand. I don’t know why, but something about it seemed off. It bothered me and I was still sorta creeped out by it when everything fell apart.”

  I listened with alarm bells going off in my ears so loud I thought I would go deaf. Maddie saw him.

  Molly brushed at a nonexistent piece of lint on her pants, quickly assuming the picture of unconcern. “I’m sure it was nothing. There’s no way somebody did this on purpose. It was probably just a delivery guy or something.” She patted Maddie on the knee and gave her a brilliant smile. “What’s important is you’re better and going home soon, right?”

  Maddie relaxed as she talked, Molly’s Persuasion soothing her back into her Maddie-esque bubbly charm. “Yeah, the doctor said I can go home in a few days as long as everything keeps improving. Honestly, though, I feel good enough to go home now. Sleeping in my own bed would be so good.”

  “I know, doll. We’ll hope they’re reasonable.”

  I saw a glint in Molly’s eyes and knew she was thinking about Persuading the doctor to let up on Maddie’s sentence. I shot her a warning look. Let the doctors handle it, it said. She stuck her tongue out at me in response.

  The hospital room, smells, and Maddie’s unexpected revelation were getting to me. The walls seemed to be caving in on us and suddenly I was eager to get out of there. “Maddie, we’re going to let you rest now. We definitely don’t want to do anything to cause them to make you stay any longer than you have to.” I shifted my feet as I tried to keep from bolting for the door. “We miss you and can’t wait for you to come back to school.” I edged backward a little, hoping she didn’t notice my sudden desire to flee.

  The other two did, though. Harper gave Maddie one last hug and whispered something that made her giggle. Molly bounced off the bed and blew her a kiss. “Get better, chicky. We need ya back with us.”

  “Thanks for stopping by. I needed it.” She beamed a smile at us. “Tell Boone I say hi if you see him before I do.”

  “Absolutely.” I was almost to the door, my hand reaching behind me to find the handle. I was nauseated, but thirsty, as an abrupt aroma of blood hit me. Somebody close must have had some blood drawn or something. I seriously needed to get out of there. Leaving the other two to finish the goodbyes, I ducked out the door and was nearly to the elevators when they caught up to me.

  “Damn, what’s wrong with you? You’re as white as a sheet, which is saying something.”

  Molly’s subtle dig irritated me. “Oh, shut up. You know I don’t like hospitals. The smells
were getting to me.”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper. “But I thought you like the taste of blood now.”

  Harper cut in. “I’m sure it’s all still new and overwhelming for her. For me, too. Cut her some slack.”

  Molly drew back a little, giving Harper a new look of respect. “Okay, okay. Backing off.”

  Once we made it outside, I drew in a lungful of fresh air. My stomach eased almost immediately. But the thirst was still there. Weird. It was like I craved and hated blood at the same time now. Great, that’s all I need. An even more complicated diet.

  Nobody said anything while we walked to the car. Once we were all settled and Molly was pulling out of the parking spot, she spoke. “So, are we going to talk about this?”

  My stomach clenched. “What’s there to talk about? We don’t know anything more than we already did. It’s a guy. And he’s out to kill us.”

  “And Maddie saw him, which means he might have seen her, and she may not have just been an innocent bystander and may still be in danger, too.”

  Trust Molly to say the stuff nobody else wanted to.

  Harper’s soft voice did nothing to ease my anxiety. “She’s right. From what Kade told you, this guy is ruthless. If he did notice that Maddie saw him, he’ll most certainly add her to the ones he’s meant to silence. We need to watch out for her.”

  I sank back into my seat. Dread and fear and helplessness mixed in my stomach like a bad meal. Things were getting worse by the minute. And somehow, I was supposed to stop this madness.

  Why me?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  School didn’t start again until Tuesday. I guess they needed time to clean up the stadium and for the police to finish collecting evidence. A report on the local news station said the initial findings blamed the incident on a faulty gas pipe leak at the concession stands near the bleachers. Kade’s mystery replacement had been smart enough to make it look like an accident, proving that not only was he as ruthless as Kade said, but he was careful. My stomach churned with worry. It had become a familiar feeling.