“You’ll need cash.”
I sigh and move to the jar. I take everything out of it because I don’t know how much this is going to cost, and stuff it into my bag.
“Can you pay cash? Going to a hospital isn’t like going to the grocery store.”
“I don’t know. Call Mom?”
“NO!” I blurt and the noise makes my head hurt. “Don’t bug her with this. She’ll panic and then ask questions and then we’ll leave again, and I really don’t want to leave yet.”
“Good point.” She worries her lip. “Maybe I should take you.”
“And risk a seizure, or worse? Plus you’re way doped up right now.”
She blows a raspberry until her attention is diverted. “Your phone.”
I answer the number I don’t recognize and put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“It’s me, Loki. You asked me to call?”
I blow out a breath and smile at my sister who looks as relieved as I feel. “Can you take me to the hospital? It’s kind of an emergency.”
* * *
Loki came and drove me to the hospital in near silence. He asked me what happened, but I didn’t tell him, I almost feel ashamed to admit that I slashed Nok’s tires last night. Also, I’m worried he’ll throw me out of his car and never talk to me again.
He did tell me how bad my head looks though. So nice of him. He made it a point to tell me I look like a zombie.
“Can she pay cash?” Loki asks the receptionist as I sit in the corner and rest my eyes. “She doesn’t have health insurance and her mom has gone away.”
“I’d have to speak to the doctor,” the receptionist replies, and I drift away for a bit, listening to the radio in the background.
“Another victim has been found but sources can’t confirm if this death is linked in any way to the deaths of the three young men from surrounding states.”
“It’s terrifying, Cheryl, could this be the work of the person in question? If we can call them a person… Will the police ever notify us if it is?”
“Probably not, though I’ll be telling my loved ones to stay safe and avoid strangers at all costs.”
I shut off and fight the urge to vomit.
“Miss Deville?”
“Come on,” Loki takes my arm and helps me to my feet.
I walk unsteadily towards the kind-looking male doctor.
“That’s a nasty bump you’ve had there,” he comments softly and sits me on the bed in the sterile room. He presses it with two fingers and shines a light in my eyes. We go through my symptoms and he clucks with displeasure. “You should have called an ambulance and come in immediately.”
“Is it bad?” Loki asks, looking more concerned than I feel.
“I suspect it’s just a concussion, nothing too major but if you’d tell me how it occurred and on what object I might get a better idea.”
Sighing, I finally admit, “I was in the back of a friend’s truck last night when he decided to take me on a bumpy ride. I hit my head against the inside of the truck bed.”
“Nok?” Loki grits and shakes his head. “I told you he was dangerous.”
“I slashed his tires, it’s all good,” I reply and look at the doctor who only raises his brows at my admission of guilt. “What drugs will I need?”
“I’d like to send you for a CT scan, just to rule out any brain bleeds. I’m sure you’re fine, you’re responsive and your eyes look great, but it would make me feel more comfortable.”
I pinch my lips together. “How much are they? I only have cash.”
“We’ll worry about that later.”
I nod and rest back, feeling woozy. “I feel sick.”
“You’ve got a definite concussion, let’s hope that’s all it is.”
“How long will the results be?”
“A few days, like I said, I’m not too worried.”
I blow out a breath. “And it’s necessary?”
“Definitely. My professional opinion says so. In fact, if you agree to one, I’ll cut the price in half.”
Narrowing my eyes, I ask sardonically, “I thought you weren’t worried.”
“I’m not, but I do like to be sure.”
“She’ll have it done,” Loki replies for me, his dark blue eyes round with concern. “And what do we do about her concussion in the meantime?”
“Rest, plenty of it, and keep yourself hydrated,” he explains and starts to scribble on a piece of paper. “I’ll prescribe you something for the pain.”
“Thank you,” Loki says on my behalf and takes the prescription note.
“Plenty of rest, you need at least a week.”
I smile a flat-lipped smile but don’t confirm that I’ll do that. I don’t have fucking time to do that. I’ve got to take care of my sister.
I’ll sleep today and maybe all day tomorrow, but after that, I’m done.
We leave two hours later, after a CT scan that didn’t take long but the wait for it was ridiculous. My wallet is a lot lighter than it was, but it wasn’t as expensive as I thought it might be. I’m just glad to be rid of that place.
“Can we take a detour?” I ask Loki who looks at me incredulously. “I just want to go to Sander’s garage real quick.”
“Are you serious?”
“Please?”
He bites his tongue and takes me where I asked to go.
I instantly spy Nok’s truck when we pull in and so does Loki. Hopefully Nok isn’t anywhere in sight. My head is hurting too much to handle him yelling at me today.
“What are you doing?” Loki asks as I make my way to Joseph’s father who sold me the part I needed to fix my bike not long ago.
“How much do you think two new truck tires cost?” I ask him, ignoring his gaping stare.
“Are you fucking serious? You just paid over a thousand dollars for an injury he caused.”
“I know, it doesn’t make sense,” I say and smile at Joseph’s dad. He looks at my bruised face and his smile fades. “Mr. Sanders.”
“Lilith, been keeping out of trouble?”
I shrug. “Nope.”
He smiles again but it’s cautious. “Joseph said you had a bit of a run-in with Nokosi?”
“He did that to her face,” Loki snitches and my eyes fly to him, telling him to shut his mouth. “Well, he did, and now she wants to pay for his tires, even though she’s a grand out of pocket for her hospital bill.”
Mr. Sanders isn’t smiling anymore. “Nokosi hit you?”
“No. It was a misunderstanding.”
“You’re defending him?”
“Loki, please, your voice is pissing me off.” I pull out my wallet and start counting bills. “How much are the tires costing him?”
Sanders doesn’t know what to do, he looks torn but when I ask again and explain that I need rest, he shows me the invoice and I pay it in full.
“Now we can go.”
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
I stop and look at Loki. “I’m grateful for what you’ve done today but stop. What I do and why I do it is none of your business. I know you don’t understand, and I know you never will, but it’s done. Now drop it.”
He looks like he wants to argue some more but then his eyes drift to my temple and he resigns himself to the silence I’ve asked for. We make the journey back to my house and I leave a hundred on the seat before he walks me to my door.
“Thanks for being there today.”
“It’s no problem. Truth be told it’s not even because I like you. It’s because I’m nosy.”
I laugh at that despite the pain it causes me. I need to lie down.
He drops me off and my sister for once takes care of me while I slowly die in bed.
I go to school on Monday, wearing my sister’s lumpy-ass foundation and other makeup that she helped me apply. I need to buy her some new ones, although she’s perfectly capable of shopping online. I need to find a wheelchair and take her out. I keep saying I’m going to but I never
get around to it. Truth be told she’s become a bit of a hermit. She doesn’t want anybody to see her looking so frail and I don’t blame her. So she only goes out on days she’s feeling good and looking good. Which these days isn’t often enough.
I wear sunglasses and keep my hair around my face. People look at me as I enter. No, they don’t just look, they fucking stare.
Loki.
I bet he’s told everybody. I never should have trusted him. Though a niggling voice in my head is reminding me I never told him to keep it quiet. He’s obviously the type that loves to gossip and feed the drama.
Plus the bruise is pretty fucking obvious.
I get to the door, say, “Fuck it.” Then turn around and head back to my car.
I’m not doing this.
Why am I still trying with Nok? Why? He’s a lost fucking cause.
Why do I care?
Or maybe I’m being paranoid, and they don’t know anything.
I yank open the silver door and sit inside, pulling off my glasses and dumping my bag on the back seat. My forehead rolls along the steering wheel as I try to gather my thoughts and shut my eyes for a moment. The passenger door opens, I smell who it is before I see who it is.
“Get out of my car, Nok,” I demand tiredly.
“Drive,” he clips, his eyes front and center.
“Are you kidding?”
He levels me with a flat gaze, one void of happiness and full of frustration. His acorn-colored eyes hold the reality that he wants to be anywhere but here. “I’m not getting out of this car until you drive us to where we need to be.”
“And where’s that exactly?” He snatches my bag off the back seat and rummages through it. “Hey. Don’t touch my stuff.”
“Just checking you don’t have a knife, or a gun stashed away.”
“Oh, I do,” I respond, raising a brow at him, not that he can see it beyond my large glasses.
“Course you do. You’re a fucking psychopath, you know that?”
“Yep.”
He sighs and rests his head back. We both look at the students watching us, or making it look like they’re not when really, they are.
“Where are we going?” I ask quietly.
“Back out. I’ll guide you.”
“Okay, Sacagawea.”
He starts shaking, first it’s small, but then it gets more prominent, and then he’s laughing so hard he starts choking for breath.
I smile with him, he has a nice laugh. It’s gentle, not booming, almost cute. It makes him seem less harsh than his eyes constantly emit.
“That’s probably racist,” he comments, still grinning from ear to ear. “Next right.”
“So is calling me a white whore.” We keep smiling, neither offended because even though we have beef, we also understand each other.
“I’m sorry about that.”
“No, you’re not.”
He laughs again and shrugs. “You’re right, I’m not.”
We don’t talk as he guides me around a winding path, past trees and around rocks and down a steep hill. In my dad’s fucking Prius no less. Not a 4x4 like his truck.
If we get stuck here, I’ll hurt him as payback.
“Stop here,” he instructs, and I do so, grabbing my bag and hooking it over my shoulder.
“Is this where you kill me and bury my body?” I follow him down another path on foot but have to stop when I get dizzy. I grip a tree trunk for support as he goes on ahead, only noticing I’m not there when he says something I can’t make out from back where I’m at.
“I’m not going to kill you if that’s why you’re—” He reappears but stops when he sees me. “What’s wrong?”
“My head.” I stand upright and brush it off. “I’m okay. Just need a sec.”
He reaches for my massive shades and slowly pulls them from my face. I hum a grunt of pain when the arms of my glasses scrape my temples. The sore one really fucking hurts.
I hear his intake of breath when he sees the swelling. I don’t have a black eye but my temple and cheek are really tight, bruised, and swollen.
He stares, his body tight and his diamond-heart lips dry. “I did that to you?”
“That night was wild, huh?” I joke but then the truth of the situation registers with his confused expression. “You didn’t know?”
“Why would I know?”
“Because Loki…” I trail my words off and look around, wondering why I’m here if not for his guilt. “Look, it doesn’t matter. It’s done.”
“Doesn’t matter?” When he steps back, he looks almost distressed. “You told me I’d hurt you and I called you dramatic. I thought it was just your nose.” He shakes his head and raises his shaking hand to my face. “I don’t like that you wear a mark and have pain caused by me.”
I didn’t expect him to be so upset by it. But then I honestly thought he knew already. “Loki took me to the hospital, so I just assumed you knew.”
“You went to the hospital?”
“I had to have a CT scan.”
He blanches. “A fucking CT scan?”
“Yes, Nok,” I snap, snatching my sunglasses back. “I was really bad. I collapsed and everything.” Now I’m just milking it. “I get my results in a few days.”
He scowls at the ground. “And you came to school?”
“I wanted to see you,” I admit before I can stop myself.
“Because of my truck?”
“No,” I scoff. “I’m not sorry, I’d do it again but this time I’d go for the body if you ever put me in a position where I feel unsafe.”
He nods and some of his long hair escapes the tie that holds it, my fingers twitch, aching to reach up and push it back. “Is that why you paid for the repairs?”
“Who says I did?”
“Sanders.”
I put the glasses back on and stomp past him. “Sanders is a dirty rotten liar.”
He chuckles and catches up with me. “We both fucked up that night, but what I did was worse.”
“Why did you do what you did?” I ask, glancing at him through the corner of my eye.
He grips my arm with a firm hand and guides me over a fallen tree. “It doesn’t matter the reason behind it.”
“You mean like when you slammed me up against the lockers for trespassing?”
Stopping, he turns me to face him and glares at me. “You shouldn’t have been there, you had no right.”
“Yes, forgive me for riding my bike over grass and earth in a place with no fences lining their border.”
“Those are sacred grounds you were tearing up. Did you ever ask? Did Nash never tell you?”
I roll my eyes and keep walking; despite the fact I don’t know where I’m going. “I said I was sorry and never went back. What more do you want from me?”
“I don’t…” He stops himself and growls, gripping my bicep again to turn me to face him. His light brown eyes are glowing. He’s so handsome. “Look, I don’t know if I like you, but out of every white chick I’ve ever met, you’re the most genuine, and psychotic. It makes you interesting and I like figuring out interesting things.”
I bark out a laugh. “That’s fucking weird, man. Can we just get to where we are…” I trail off when I adjust my eyes to something or someone in the distance. I step around Nokosi for a clearer view and push up the leaves of a low-hanging branch.
I spy a figure in the distance, in the thick of the trees. Goosepimples break out over my arms. He’s looking our way, his legs spaced but the entire form of his body is shrouded in shadows. I squint to make out his face but it’s impossible. “There’s a man over there.”
Nok swings around, looking where I’m pointing, and the rest of his hair falls from the tie. I’m mesmerized by it for a moment.
“Probably a hiker.”
I look around his bulking frame and scan the spot where the man shrouded by shadows was standing but no longer is.
When he sees my frown he checks again, walking away from me a few step
s. He cups his hands to his mouth and howls, but nobody howls back. His howl lingers in the trees and space around us. It’s eerie.
“Definitely not one of my people.”
“Is that like a tribe thing?”
“The howling?” he asks, still looking around the area.
I nod.
He smiles that seriously attractive happy smile that only he can pull off. When I smile like that I look like a grimacing hairless cat.
My sister always had a nice smile, I had the creepy version of it. It’s because my eyes hold secrets, or at least that’s what my mom says.
“No. It’s just something I started with my brother when we were kids. It became our thing and then others joined in.”
“That’s really cool.”
“You should do it. If you ever hear me howl, howl back. Then I’ll always know where you are.”
I smile my creepy smile. “Okay. Do it.”
With eyes lit from the excitement, he cups his hands to his mouth again and starts to howl a long high note.
I watch his lips make a perfect O and recall the time he kissed that girl against the tree.
I don’t want to kiss him.
Okay, that was a lie.
I do want to kiss him, but I can’t.
Maybe just once.
But not today.
After daydreaming for a couple of seconds I finally join him, cupping my hands around my own mouth and howling into the air as loud as I can be.
Our voices echo for what seems like miles and eventually, somewhere out there, somebody howls back. It’s faint, so quiet the forest almost swallows it.
Though I just know it doesn’t belong to the man I swear I saw staring at us. It’s too far away and I just have a feeling.
Either that or I’m losing my mind.
“Where are we going?” I ask when he takes my arm again and leads me to the sound of rushing water. I don’t know if he has noticed his poker-straight near-black hair falling over the curve of his amazing biceps.
He doesn’t have to answer because we arrive at a branch of the Columbia River, a gushing stream of water in the middle. It’s crystal clear and gorgeous but so fast the water bounces over rocks and sprays a fine mist into the air. It’s not even particularly steep here so I don’t know why it’s so fast.
Naked or Dead Page 9