Brightest Kind of Darkness

by P. T. Michelle

  The crushing sensation began to ease and I tightened my hold on Lainey.

  “Are you okay?” Ethan’s concerned gaze searched mine. It had all happened in milliseconds, but I nodded, appreciating his presence more than he would ever know. Taking a deep breath, I pried the keys from Lainey’s fingers. “You’re too drunk to drive. Get your stuff and I’ll drive you home.”

  Lainey let out a heavy sigh and her shoulders slumped as she walked over to the hall closet. While she shoved her arms in her coat, Ethan whispered in my ear, “I felt the cold and a charge in the air. The entire atmosphere around you changed, like a drop in barometric pressure.”

  “You felt all of it?” I started to ask, but had to immediately move toward Lainey the moment I saw Jared come up the stairs from the basement.

  Lainey had started screaming at Jared and I tucked my hand around her elbow. “Come on, Lainey. You’re too upset. Save it for later.” I looked at Ethan for help when she tried to shrug my hand off her arm.

  Stepping beside us, Ethan wrapped his arm around Lainey’s shoulders. “Let us take you home,” he said in a calm voice, then escorted her into the cool night air, shutting the door behind them.

  “It’s probably best if she goes home and sleeps it off.” Jared appeared a bit paler now that he’d scrubbed off the lipstick smears.

  I glared at him. “You’re not getting off that easy. I just want her to have a clear head when she tells you what a total self-serving jerk you are.”

  He actually looked upset. “Can you talk to her? It was a mistake. Sophia came on to me.”

  “You had a choice and you made it. Now you’ll have to deal with the fallout,” I said, then shut the door behind me.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ethan and Lainey were waiting by her car when I walked out of the house. Tossing my keys to Ethan, I said, “Can you follow us in my car?”

  As he headed down the driveway, I looked at Lainey. “Come on, hon. Let’s get you home.”

  Lainey crawled into the passenger seat and immediately slumped down in it. Leaning over, I snapped her seatbelt around her and pushed her hair out of her face. She was still pretty drunk. Her dad would be furious if he saw her like this. “Is there a way I can sneak you into your house without your parents seeing?”

  Lainey waved her hand, sounding sullen. “They went out on a date tonight. All wine and roses for them, while I get shit on. How freaking unfair is that?”

  “They’re out?”

  “Yes.”

  Relieved, I turned to back out of the driveway.

  “Why couldn’t he be like Ethan?” Lainey lamented in a half slur as I turned out of Jared’s neighborhood.

  I glanced at her in surprise. “You want Jared to be like Ethan?”

  She wiped her eyes with her coat sleeve. “Ethan treats you right. He might seem kind of strange, but his heart’s in the right place.”

  “I didn’t think you knew Ethan all that well,” I said, flicking on the blinker before taking a left onto the main road.

  “Did you know Ethan tried to save some kid in his neighborhood from being beaten by his dad?”

  I turned wide eyes her way. “No. How do you know about it?”

  “My dad told me Ethan called the police station to report the dude and now the kid’s in foster care.”

  That must’ve been where the split lip and bruised jaw came from. “Ethan’s a good person. He just doesn’t always share that with everyone.”

  When I stopped in her driveway and pushed the garage door button on her sun visor, Ethan pulled in behind us. Lainey unsnapped her seatbelt and wailed, “I’ve made a mess of things, haven’t I?”

  Grasping her shoulders, I turned her toward me. “This wasn’t your fault, Lainey. Sophia’s finally showing her true colors and Jared only cares about Jared. I guess tonight you finally saw that for yourself.”

  “I thought he loved me.” Tears welled once more and she began to cry again in deep, heart-wrenching moans. “I should…should’ve broken it off with him tonight,” she bawled.

  “Wait until tomorrow, then he’ll know it’s not just drunken anger talking.” I rubbed her back, feeling so bad for how much she was hurting. After she calmed down, I walked her into her quiet house and up the stairs to her bedroom.

  Lainey shrugged out of her coat and flopped onto her bed, throwing her arm over her eyes. I tugged off her shoes and sat down beside her. “Get some sleep and we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

  Lainey sniffed behind her arm.

  When I turned to leave, she said, “Nara?”

  “Yeah?” She’d lowered her arm to look at me.

  “Thanks for being my friend. I know I haven’t made it easy for you lately.”

  I smiled. “Friends look out for each other. I’ll come by in the morning to bring your keys.”

  Her trembling smile faltered. “You can leave my keys.”

  No way. I’d learned my lesson in my dream last night. I shook my head, but kept my expression upbeat. “I’ll be here bright and early. Your parents won’t know. Don’t worry.”

  Closing her bedroom door, I headed downstairs.

  Ethan had moved to the passenger side of my car by the time I locked Lainey’s front door and tucked her keys away in my jeans pocket. I hopped in my car quickly, thankful he’d started the engine and cranked up the heat.

  When I put the car in reverse, he asked, “Think she’ll be okay?”

  “Eventually. Right now she’s really hurt.” I drove off, pressing harder on the gas than I’d intended. “It probably would’ve been better if I’d prevented her from seeing them together in the first place.”

  Ethan shrugged. “Maybe after hooking up with Sophia, Jared never would have cheated again. Who knows? The point is, now Lainey knows the facts and can decide if she wants to continue dating him.”

  I sighed. “I know. You’re right.”

  After several seconds of silence, Ethan said, “I’ve been so tense about this, I haven’t eaten. Let’s get some food. I’m starving.”

  “There’s that new pizza place with the high-backed booths on the downtown mall.”

  He grinned. “Sounds great.”

  Forty minutes later, we were sitting across from each other, munching on the best California style pizza I’d ever tasted.

  “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Ethan said, taking another bite.

  “I don’t see how you can taste anything through the thick layer of hot pepper you just shook on that slice.”

  “Adding spice makes the flavors explode.”

  Picking up another piece of pizza, I laughed. “I have this mental image of flames coming out of your mouth.” I pointed my piece of pizza at him and gave him a skeptical look. “So, you’ve never seen yourself in my dreams, huh?”

  Ethan shook his head, then took another bite.

  “How do you explain when you first told me you had my dreams, you said, and I quote, ‘Unless you count the end of the day—when we kiss.’”

  “That’s because it was my dream,” he said with a look that could melt an iceberg.

  Laughing, I threw my napkin at him.

  After we’d staved off the hunger pains and were just picking at our pizza, Ethan looked contemplative. “About tonight. I’m glad things worked out with Lainey, but I keep thinking about the library and the accident in the parking lot. I’d dreamed your future, Nara. You said that your dreams had never been wrong, yet both those days felt skewed to me. Not just because I was determined to keep you safe, but truly off-kilter, almost like balance had shifted.”

  “What do you mean ‘balance’?”

  His brow furrowed. “The balance in Nature I mentioned to you before. I don’t know how, but I can sense a misalignment. When the air charged and the pressure changed tonight, I felt that all the way to my bones.”

  “Welcome to my world. It’s been like that since the day I called in the bombing.”

  “I knew you felt cold pressure, but the electric current�
�has that always been there, too?”

  “Unfortunately.” I started to push my hair over my shoulder, but the crackling static of my hair dragging across my sweater caused me to pause mid-swipe. I gaped at Ethan. “I can’t believe it. All this time I thought my crazy static issue was due to the fall weather and cheap dryer sheets, yet even the more expensive brands didn’t work. But what you’re asking made me think it might’ve been Fate’s constant presence.”

  “Like it’s stalking you.” Ethan said in a low tone, balling his hands into fists.

  Witchy Woman started playing on my cell. I sighed. “She’s checking on me since Mom’s out of town.” I slid my phone open. “Hey, Aunt Sage.”

  “Inara, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  My aunt sounded worried. I pressed the phone to my ear. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

  “There was a news flash just now about a car accident involving a student from your school.”

  I glanced at Ethan and my heart started to pound. “I’m fine, Aunt Sage, but thanks for telling me. I’ll find out who it was tomorrow.”

  “I got concerned when you didn’t answer the house phone. That’s why I called your cell.”

  “Ethan and I are out having pizza. I’ll be heading home soon.”

  “Okay, sweetie. Drive safe and call me tomorrow.”

  “What’s wrong?” Ethan asked as I immediately dialed Lainey’s cell.

  When her cell went to voicemail, I tensed. Hanging up, I dialed her parents’ house. My hand began to tremble when the phone rang and rang. “Someone from our school’s been in a car accident.”

  “It’s not Lainey, Nara.”

  “We don’t know anything about the rest of her night since I altered its course,” I said, punching the End button.

  “You kept Lainey’s keys, right?”

  Her keys were currently digging into my thigh in my jean pocket. Nodding, I slid my phone closed and relaxed.

  When my phone began to ring again, I jumped, then glanced at the Caller ID. It was Miranda. She never called me. My chest ached as I answered. “Hey, Miranda.”

  “Nara, ohmigod! Did you hear? Lainey’s been in a car accident.”

  I’d just walked into the Emergency Room entrance when Lainey’s dad jumped up from his chair and rushed over to us, his round face an angry, mottled mass of bulging veins. “You’re supposed to be her friend, Nara. How could you let her drive?”

  I shrank under her father’s tirade, tears trickling down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Mr. O’Neal.”

  Lainey’s petite mom was by her husband’s side, tugging on his thick arm, her brown eyes sad, but apologetic. “Joe, Nara didn’t make Lainey drink and drive.”

  Mr. O’Neal raked his hand though his graying short hair. “Still, she’s her friend.”

  Ethan stepped in front of me. “You’ve got it wrong, sir. I followed Nara in her car when she drove your daughter home over an hour ago. She made sure Lainey got home safely.”

  “Who are you?” Mr. O’Neal lost some of his bluster as he scowled at Ethan.

  “Ethan Harris. A friend of Nara and Lainey’s.”

  While fleeting recognition, then grudging respect cycled through Lainey’s dad’s face, Mrs. O’Neal put a trembling hand over her lips and focused on me. “You drove her home?”

  I pulled Lainey’s keys out of my pocket, then set them in her mother’s hand. “She must’ve used a spare key to drive herself back to Jared’s after I left her. I wish…I wish I’d stayed with her now.”

  Mr. O’Neal put his thick hand on my shoulder. “Julia’s right. It’s not your fault, Nara. I apologize for coming down on you. That’s just my baby girl in there, ya know?” he said, his eyes turning red.

  As Mrs. O’Neal walked her husband back over to the waiting room area, I followed them. “How bad is it?”

  Mrs. O’Neal shook her head, a piece of her strawberry blond hair falling from the clip holding the rest back. “We don’t know. She was unconscious when they brought her in.”

  Unconscious! I felt the color drain from my face. Please don’t let Lainey die.

  “Maybe we should go sit down,” Ethan suggested evenly.

  Forty minutes later, a doctor in a white coat came breezing out of the clinic double doors, his gaze scanning the waiting room crowd. “Mr. and Mrs. O’Neal?”

  Lainey’s dad approached the doctor. “How is she?”

  As we all stepped into place behind Mr. O’Neal, the dark-haired doctor flipped through the chart, then met Lainey’s parents’ expectant gazes. “Your daughter has a few contusions and her internal organs are fine, but she still hasn’t woken yet.”

  “What does that mean?” Mr. O’Neal asked, sounding gruff and incredulous.

  “We’ll be running a few more tests and I’ll fill you in as often as I can.”

  Once the doctor walked away, we all sank to our seats, lost in our own worries. After a half hour of waiting, Mrs. O’Neal turned to me. “Thank you for coming, Nara, but you’ve got school in the morning, so you should go home and get some sleep. We’ll give you an update on Lainey’s progress tomorrow.”

  Waves of guilt hammered at my chest, but I managed to rasp, “Please call me as soon as you know something.”

  The ride home from the hospital was a blur. My head throbbed by the time Ethan pulled into my driveway and pressed the button for the garage door.

  “Wait. I have to drive you home.”

  “I’ll walk home.”

  “It’s almost midnight. I’ll take you home.”

  Ethan climbed out of the car and closed the door, leaving me no choice but to follow.

  Closing the garage door, he used the only other key on my keychain to unlock the house. “I want to make sure you get inside safely, especially since you’re staying here by yourself.”

  I was too tired and emotionally beat to argue, so I followed him inside. Ethan led the way through the kitchen and I walked with him to the foyer. Gazing into his face, which was only partially lit from the light in the kitchen, I said, “Thank you for being there tonight. I know you wished I’d stayed out of it. Maybe you were right.”

  He started to speak, but I put my hand up, my chest tightening with emotion. “I don’t want to argue. Not tonight.”

  Ethan watched my hand shaking like a leaf, his expression full of frustration. “I can’t stand to watch you blame yourself for this.”

  “It might be nice to know my future…” I started to say. My lips trembled and my gaze pleaded for him to understand. “But I need you more right now—”

  Before I could finish, Ethan grabbed my hand and gathered me into his warm embrace.

  “You did everything you could,” he whispered into my hair.

  I sank into his warmth and reveled in his strong arms holding me close, bands of steel keeping me from falling. I’d missed his touch so much. “I can’t help how I feel,” I wept against his neck. “It all seems so fruitless now. Like Fate made sure it had the last say-so with Lainey.”

  Ethan grasped my face and made me look at him. “You made a difference, Nara. If Lainey had driven home from the party when she’d wanted to, at that hour the traffic was much heavier. She could’ve been killed and other people could’ve been hurt.”

  “What if she doesn’t wake up, Ethan? That’s worse than death.”

  His grip tightened around me. “Lainey will wake up.”

  I tried to smile, but failed miserably. “Maybe I should call you Sunshine for trying to cheer me up.”

  Ethan rolled his eyes, then kissed my forehead.

  Sniffing back tears, I closed my eyes and inhaled his wonderful smell. He was trying to make me feel better. Now would be a good time to tell him you love him, but the words jammed in my throat. They just wouldn’t come. So, I stood on my toes and kissed him.

  Ethan’s arms tightened around my waist and his lips pressed against mine for a long simmering second, then he quickly stepped back and exhaled. “I need to get home before my brother thi
nks now might be a good time to start enforcing a curfew.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you—”

  Ethan dropped another quick kiss on my lips, then opened the front door behind him. Before he stepped outside, he said, “This imbalance thing really bothers me. I think you should call your dad.”

  When I slowly nodded my agreement, he pointed to the deadbolt. “Lock this behind me.” Then he was gone, leaving me leaning against the door and missing him already.

  Twenty minutes later, I stepped into the shower and scrubbed myself clean, hoping the warm water would help me relax enough to fall asleep. Soaping my hair, I dunked my head under the spray until the suds were gone, then held my hands under the hot water for several minutes, waiting for my tense muscles to loosen.

  All I could think about was Lainey lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Closing my eyes briefly, I sent a silent prayer for her full recovery. Please let someone hear it. I watched the water trickle through my fingers, but I barely felt it. I was numb all over. And angry. Angry at Fate. It’s not fair. “She’d better wake up,” I hissed into the steam.

  Cold air brushed my exposed shoulders, making my skin pebble. Gasping, I glanced behind me, my heart knocking against my chest. Nothing but tufts of steam swirled in the empty space. It’s just your imagination, I told myself. As I turned to push my chilled shoulder under the warm water, something shoved me from behind. I slammed against the tile and pain exploded across my face.

  Gripping my bloody nose, I moaned as I jammed my back against the cold tile and slid into the corner to better protect myself from the unseen force that’d attacked me. I stood there, shivering, while water sluiced crimson blood down my wrist, streaking it to a lighter red along my bare skin until it turned pink at my feet. I’d never felt more vulnerable…and it knew it. “Screw you!” I tried to scream, but the words came out in a hoarse rasp.

  Movement along the bottom of the glass door drew my attention. A vertical line had formed at the base of the door, like an invisible finger was sliding through the fog. My legs wobbled, threatening to collapse as I followed its slow, meandering path upward. The line pointed to a message that had already been written on the glass.