by Bella Street
Olga took her arm again. “Look at this.” She pointed to a purplish bruise forming inside her forearm. “I pressed here before taking the sample. Now it's a bruise. Did you feel any pain when I did this?”
“No. Just pressure, I guess.”
“Hmm.”
“So, what am I like a hemophiliac or something?”
“Doubtful because it's extremely rare among females, so I suspect it has something to do with your mutating blood chemistry. But it also could indicate that your bruising has not been from abuse.”
Seffy bit back relieved tears. Knowing it herself and being believed were two different things.
Olga stripped off her gloves and sealed them in a plastic bag, then stood. “Please let me know when Trent returns. I'd like to get a sample from him as well.”
Seffy looked up at her, her eyes wide, her heart pounding dully in her chest. “What if he doesn't come back?”
Olga smiled gently. “He will, dear. He will.”
Chapter Thirteen
If I were so not a vegetarian, had glow-in-the-dark eyes, and a propensity to chase girls down dark corridors, where would I go to hide? Seffy wiped her hair from her eyes with her arm where she lay sprawled on Trent's bed. Think. He's somewhere.
She doubted he was in the compound. Crawling into hidey-holes was more her venue than his.
When he'd escaped before, he'd made it all the way outside the compound. Had the earthquakes had any effect on his departure? Seffy sat up and looked at the ceiling. Sliding from the bed, she clambered onto the desk and made her way into the attic.
When she got to the Light Room, she flipped the switch. Soft rainbow colored lights began to flicker in the gloom, making fresh tears pool up in her gritty eyes. Thoughts of her wedding night filled her mind, wrenching her heart even more.
Swallowing back the grief, she opened the window and crawled out onto the roof.
A bitter wind slammed into her body, knocking her to one side. Gasping for breath as her hair streamed out from her head, she attempted to stand.
The force of the wind distracted her for a brief moment, but when she looked up, her eyes widened in wonder.
The sky had taken on freakish blends of pink and green and yellow that seemed to boil, split, and blend again like a vast, panoramic lava lamp. She sat on her behind with her mouth open. How was it possible? While it was astonishingly beautiful, it terrified her. A mutant skyscape just could not bode well.
Seffy remembered she was supposed to be scanning the landscape for a glimpse of Trent, so she struggled to her feet.
It took leaning into the wind to stay upright, and several minutes to make it to the side of the compound where the ladder was.
Maybe there was some sign of him in the distance. Then again there was no place to go. And if Fenn wasn't lying—which was unlikely—the pink net of time wouldn't allow him to get far.
She noticed the neon sun wasn't very high in the sky. That meant it was fairly early in the morning.
As Seffy approached the other side of the roof, the wind carried disjointed sounds to her ears.
A gust of wind knocked her over and sent her skidding along the metal roof. She put her head down to lay as flat as possible until she could get traction.
The cold seeped through her clothes, chilling her to the bone. Teeth chattering, she got up on her hands and knees. Wanting nothing more than to crawl back to the Light Room, instead the voices below piqued her curiosity.
She made her way slowly to the edge as the wind howled overhead.
By hanging her head over the edge, she could see two jeeps far below, surrounded by security guards and a German Shepherd that pranced about barking. Needing to see more, she pivoted her body and eased over onto the metal ladder. By going down a few rungs and leaning out as far as her arms allowed, she saw a large metal cage near the side of the building.
A cage? What were they hoping to catch?
As the dog yapped, two security guards approached the cage with rifles. Then they aimed, and fired. The cracks of gunfire reached her as they lowered their rifles.
At first she thought the dog had been hit. A piercing howl faded away. Suddenly the men began yelling and running at the cage. The dog pulled on its leash in the opposite direction, its tail between its legs, whimpering, but very much alive.
Fearing notice, Seffy scrambled back onto the roof and scooted away from the edge.
Once she was back inside the Light Room, she breathed a sigh of relief. She latched the window and sank onto the bedding.
Holding her head in her hand, she wracked her brain, trying to figure why Trent would leave in the first place. Was he afraid? Embarrassed? Disgusted?
No closer to the truth than when she started, she returned to his room and picked at the food Lani had brought.
But her stomach clenched with anxiety. She began to pace the confines of the room. Seffy tried to hold onto Olga's assertion that Trent would return. And she regretted finding fault with his lovemaking. She'd give anything to have him returned to her arms where he belonged.
Knowing she was making herself sick with worry, Seffy went down the hall to Lani's room. Maybe Malone being part of security meant he'd heard of someone leaving the compound.
As she raised her hand to knock on Lani's door, Addison's door opened and the redhead walked out.
When she saw Seffy, she stopped. Her green eyes widened.
“Uh, are you okay?”
Seffy nodded.
“Has Trent come back?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
Addison pulled the door closed behind her and met her at Lani's door. “What if he doesn't?”
Seffy regarded her friend and wondered at the strained expression. “He's my husband. I think he will.”
“I thought he'd changed,” Addison said in a low voice. “I thought he was different.”
Her friend's dark expression rattled Seffy's grasp on hope. “Olga believes there's something affecting him. And she figured out about the bruising thing, and well, that's me, and has nothing to do with him.”
“You might want to mention that to Gareth then, because I really think he plans on taking Trent out whenever he shows up.”
She snorted. “He can't just take somebody out because he doesn't like them. There are laws against that kind of thing.”
“Look where we are, Sef. Look what's been happening. I don't think anyone around here is going to let laws get in the way.”
“I'll talk to Gareth then.”
Addison stared at her for a moment. “Do you think he's on the smack again?”
Seffy's vision clouded for a moment and she reached out to the wall for support. “Who?”
“Duh, Trent.”
“Don't say that.”
“Look, I hope Trent comes back, I really do. But the way he's acting sounds like he's back on drugs.”
She took a deep breath. “If that's the case, then we'll deal.”
Addison shrugged as she turned and walked toward Gareth's room. He opened the door to let her in, then looked down the hall. Even in the bad corridor lighting, Seffy saw his face turn brick red. God, what had she said to him in her sleep? She decided to put off her talk with him for the time being.
Seffy turned back towards Lani's door and knocked. As she waited for an answer, she suddenly remembered no one here knew about Trent's previous heroin addiction except Olga, and possibly Fenn. Tangent Gareth had known, but that was only because she and Trent had already started dating in alternate universe land. Here, Trent was a brand new quantity, and she'd only found out by accident. So if it wasn't common knowledge, how did Addison know?
“Sef! Come in!”
Seffy forced a smile onto her face, but knew she wouldn't fool Lani.
“How are you feeling? Any news from Trent?”
She shook her head and entered the room. Sinking onto a chair, she blew out a sigh. “I was hoping maybe Malone had heard something.”
Lani tucke
d her dark hair behind her ear. “He rushed off a little while ago. Some big security to-do.”
Seffy didn't mention what she saw outside from the roof, but she told Lani about the source of her bruising.
Trent didn't need any worse reputation than he already had, and if she could get Addy and Lani on her side, then maybe Gareth would cease breathing fire and come to terms with her marriage—even if it was troubled.
Lani walked over and gave her a hug. “I'm glad it wasn't what it looked like. I mean, I like Trent, and it would never occur to me that he'd treat you that way. But at the same time, we can't be in denial about such a serious issue, right?”
“Right,” Seffy said quietly. “I just wish I knew why he left. Olga's theories don't explain his other behavior.”
“This is going to sound far-fetched, but after living in L.A. one's mind tends to go in certain directions...”
“What?”
“Could he be on some kind of illegal drugs? I mean, I don't know how he'd get his hands on any all the way out here, but—”
Seffy's heart pounded hard. She knew about the methadone Fenn still probably had around, and obviously drugs were more available in a remote outpost of Montana than one would assume—not to mention Fiona's behavior modification chemicals.
Then again, heroin or methadone wouldn't make Trent act savage. Instead, he'd been going on the nod, looking for someplace to be left alone.
Keeping her tone nonchalant, Seffy watched Lani's expression. Exactly how far had Jared's gossip gone? “So you haven't heard anything specific about it? Like if Trent has had drug issues in the past?”
Her blue eyes went wide. “Goodness, no. Is that a possibility?”
Seffy shrugged. “I just wondered because of your connection with Malone, maybe you'd heard something.”
“Well, I'm not sure that even if he knew, he'd tell me anything.”
If Jared knows, probably Cynthia and Eva do too since they hang together in a closed group whispering all the time. But how did Jared find out in the first place?
“Are you okay? You look upset.”
Seffy relaxed her expression. “No, just thinking.” She stood. “If Malone hears anything, will you please let me know?”
“Of course! And let us know if you hear anything.”
She touched her arm. “Thanks, Lani. You've been a really good friend.”
Lani bit her lip. “But it's not quite like the old days is it?”
“What do you mean?”
She looked away. “I was just hoping we'd all become closer, but things have been pretty whack.”
“Yeah.” Seffy sighed. “I keep thinking if we could just get back to WeHo 2006, things would smooth out.”
“Girlfriend, I am so there.” She licked her lips, then took a deep breath. “I think...I think all this might be my fault, Sef.”
“What's your fault?”
“I think that buying that DVD—the Zannytu one—is what triggered the time travel mess.” Suddenly tears spilled from her blue eyes and she put her face in her hands. “I'm so sorry!”
Seffy jumped up and put her arm around her. “Whoa, Lani, you're not serious.”
“But it's when everything went wrong!”
Blowing out a breath, Seffy reoriented her thoughts from Trent to her friend's crazy notion. “Hun, there is no way you buying a DVD sent us back in time. I mean, if that was the case, everyone who bought DVDs would be boomeranging through time willy nilly, and I think we'd notice that.”
Lani sniffed. “But I heard what Gareth told you to say to get back here when you went to the tangent universe.”
Seffy thought back to the last words she'd spoken to Verity before the blast. “'It's not the end of the world?'”
She nodded. “Verity said it when I told her I bought the movie, because I worried it might be embarrassing to you.”
“Well, I wasn't excited when I heard. Remember, we'd agreed to leave that whole awkward phase of our lives firmly in the past.”
“I know! I broke our trust! But I did it because I thought watching it all together would generate some nostalgia and good feelings between us. Do you remember that things were getting tense, what with Gareth dating Verity, and you being jealous of her, while Addison was jealous of you, and me being left out of everything?”
Seffy blinked. “I guess I don't remember any of the drama except for being concerned that Gareth started dating that blonde hussy.”
“That's called jealousy, sweetie.”
“Regardless, you have to know that between the drama and the movie, it wasn't what brought us here. I mean, think about it—there had to be some serious mojo to make time travel happen.”
“Then why did we all come together? Our intertwining dramas were the mojo.”
“No, it was just a coincidence. Otherwise Verity would be here. And what about the others? Cynthia, Jared, and Eva?”
“Well, we know that Cynthia and Eva traumatized you in school—so that must be the connection there. Jared—I have no idea how he fits in. And maybe Verity's still out there somewhere! Or maybe she came, but we didn't know it, and she got bitten by a zombie, which would've made her a zombie, but then she would've been killed off by the compound, so she's dead...kinda like what happened to Clay?”
Seffy blew out a breath. “Lani, it didn't happen that way. Fenn and Fiona brought us here. They admitted it.”
“What if it were more than that?”
She closed her eyes briefly. “If we knew the answer to that, we could probably go back.”
Lani wiped her tears away. “So you're sure it's not my fault for this whole time travel thing?”
“I'm sure. I can't believe you thought it in the first place, you crazy girl.”
Lani let out a weepy laugh. “I've been carrying that worry around for so long.”
Seffy straightened. “Anyway, it's all worth it if that's what it took for me and Trent to get together.”
“But don't you think you probably would've anyway? I mean you were already together in the tangent world.”
She shrugged, her brain exhausted from pretzeling everything from time travel to excuses. “I guess I'll never know.”
Lani touched her hand. “He'll be back. He's never been able to stay away from you.”
Seffy nodded and got up to leave. “Yeah.”
As she left Lani's room, she met Malone in the hallway. He stared at her, sizing her up with his villainous green eyes.
“Is that no-good husband of yours back yet?”
She decided he was being funny—in a creepy, henchman kind of way. She shook her head.
“Then I hope he's not off the compound grounds. There's something bad going on around here. We caught that big wolf that's been causing all the trouble. Hope Trent hasn't had a run in with any other animals out there.”
Seffy stared at his tactlessness. “Gee, thanks.” She skirted around him and headed toward her room.
The only thing that could make the madness fade away was Trent. Where the hell was he? Seffy realized she couldn't bear to go back to her empty room, so she decided to make her way to Fenn's.
The worst that could happen was she'd be stopped. Unless security mistook her for her tracksuit Doppelgänger and shot her dead just in case.
The halls were barren as she traversed the twists and turns. Maybe the residents were a little put-off by the new rumors along with earthquake fears and decided they were better off staying in their rooms. She wondered how many had taken their chances on the outside. What would megalomaniac Fiona do with no one to lord over?
Seffy arrived in the west section without any trouble. She peered around the corner and saw only one guard.
Leaning against the wall, she considered her options. Hope for a diversion? Or just brazen it out?
Silence reverberated down the corridor and the guard looked about half-asleep. Not much chance of a diversion.
So she'd need to do the brazen thing. Seffy ran her hands through her hair, wi
shing she been a bit more attentive to her appearance. Squaring her shoulders, she turned the corner and walked toward the guard.
His eyes popped as he recognized her and he scrabbled for his gun. “Not another step, miss.”
She offered him her most beguiling smile—in this case it came complete with no makeup and dark circles under her eyes. “I'd like to talk to Fenn. Would you please radio him and ask if he'd see me?”
The guard stared at her, obviously wondering if her polite attitude was part of a setup.
Seffy helpfully held up her hands and walked to the middle of the hallway. “You're not even within my spitting radius, so you're safe.”
He glared at her.
Oops. Contamination levity not the best idea.
Keeping his gun trained on her, the man made the call and after a minute, got a response.
He backed away from the main doors to Fenn's residence and waved her over with his weapon. Seffy went into the anteroom, breathing a sigh of relief. Now maybe she'd get some answers.
Though she never had before.
Going through the next set of doors, she found Fenn walking slowly from his bedroom to the living room.
“Sarah—”
She glowered at him, wondering why he kept confusing her old name with her new one.
He cleared his throat. “I apologize, Seffy. I was asleep and am waking up a little slow here.”
“I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you,” she said with rigid politeness. Frankly, she couldn't care less whether he was disturbed or not—not after what he and his tyrant girlfriend had put her through.
“Have a seat.”
She eased onto the edge of the black leather sofa, noticing that life off the needle wasn't exactly agreeing with him lately. His usually brilliant blue eyes looked washed out, and the lines of his face, gaunt. His slow movements as he sat on the opposite couch probably meant he was in a certain amount of pain—quite a difference from the last time she'd seen him. “Where are you in your treatment?” she asked.