Indigo (26 page)

Knowing I’m literally about to lose it, I call my mom. She doesn’t answer, so I try again with no luck. Minutes pass, and the storm doesn’t abate, just seems to get worse with each passing second.

Lightning lights up the room, and I run for my knife, jumping on the bed and shoving back against the headboard and scrambling for the weapon.

Calm down! The rational part of my brain is screaming at me, telling me that I’ve seen dozens of storms since the night I was rescued. But the humming, and that there’s the small chance someone out there might be looking for me has the loudest voice.

I’m not rational. I’m crazy. And my heart feels as if it any moment it will literally beat out my chest. I want to call mom again but know that if she was near her phone, she would have answered. I feel alone, and just like I did back then, I wish I had a lifeline.

You do. A voice whispers, and I think for a moment to call Kennedy.

My hand hovers over the phone, and I try to think through my raging emotions. Knowing all I do about him, he probably wouldn’t mind, but he’s seen enough crazy for one day. I don’t want him to see me like this, hiding in a corner like some sort of manic coward. Even though that’s exactly what I am.

Lightning strikes again, and I nearly scream, but am able to hold it back at the last moment. I feel like a string pulled too tight, ready to snap if I let go. Taking deep breaths I close my eyes and lean back against the wall, trying to shut everything out but the sound of the weatherman.

I hear sounds in the hallway, people walking around, probably casually discussing the intensity of the storm. I tip toe out of bed and go to the door, putting my ear up to listen, just to make sure there isn’t more cause for alarm.

I hear a small laugh, and I’m jealous of the normalcy. But I cling to the sound of sanity in the face of all the terror I’m feeling.

For several seconds, I just listen with my ear pressed up against the door, but it does little to calm me. The storm seems to pick up pace, and three huge booms, accompanied by a painfully acute strike of lightning make the string snap.

I go for my phone, and without thinking, press Kennedy’s name to call him. I no longer care how crazy I look, I just need something, someone to hold on to. If that makes me look pathetic, weak, or crazy, so be it.

Before the call connects, an incoming call comes through at the same time, and the unexpected vibration scares me enough to drop the phone and send it crashing to the floor for the second time that day. I scramble for it, but the screen is black. I try to turn in on for a few seconds, but it’s done. 

There’s now no way for me to contact anyone.

I’m completely alone.

KENNEDY

I try to call back a few times, but her phone’s going straight to voicemail.

The storm is raging outside, and I was hoping to call and make sure she’s okay, especially with everything that was dropped on her plate this afternoon. I send a quick text, and then wait for a response, which I don’t expect to come. 

Shawn, who has always been a heavy sleeper, is passed out on his bed, totally immune to the cacophony of sounds. There are a couple tree branches angrily tapping against the window, although the rhythm is nearly drowned out by the sheets of rain. 

I’ve never really minded storms. It kept my mom in the house, so I didn’t feel alone. Not that she spent much time with me, but it was nice to know she was there, to have someone else around. I glance at Shawn, put my phone on my chest, and close my eyes, letting the rain lull me to sleep.

I’m not sure how much time has passed, but a pounding on the door has both Shawn and I jerking up out of bed.

“What the hell?” I hear Shawn say. “Tell whoever it is to go the fuck away.”

I sigh loudly, and get myself out of bed. I don’t have a shirt on, but whoever is interrupting me this late will just have to deal with it. I don’t bother looking through the peephole, I just yank open the door.

It’s Indigo. She’s standing there soaking wet from the rain, her arms wrapped around her middle. I’m so shocked to see her, it takes me a couple seconds to react. My whole body tenses when I see a steel knife clutched in her shaking hands. A million thoughts swarm through my mind, but the only thing I care about is getting it out of her hands. Who knows who saw her with that on the way over here?

“I’m sorry,” she blurts out. Her teeth are chattering and she’s shivering in just the shorts and tank top I left her in. Moving fast, I reach out and wrap my arms around her, pulling her inside the room. My hands move to her wrist, and take the knife out her fingers. She doesn’t resist, just immediately buries her face into my neck.

“Is she okay?” Shawn asks, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “What’s going on?”

“Can you grab me one of my hoodies?” I ask him, walking over to my bed. I don’t want him to see the knife, so I drop it into my backpack as I pass. Indigo is clinging to me, and I can almost feel her terror.

I sit down on my bed, and place her so she’s straddling my lap. Shawn tosses me a sweatshirt, and I begin trying to pry her cold hands from my back. My fingers slide over her skin, which feels like ice, and once I put the sweatshirt on, I grab a small blanket from the side of the bed and drape it over her lap.

To my surprise, she starts to laugh. Shawn is looking at me over her shoulder like WTF.

“I’m sorry,” she says again. The tears in her eyes don’t seem to be from laughter. “I’m just realizing how psycho I must look.”

Instantly I’m shaking my head. “All I’m thinking about is what happened. Did something scare you?”

She shakes her head. “I just freaked out. The storm…”

I’m running circles over her back with my palm, and it seems to be soothing her. “I tried to call you, but your phone was off. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She sighs loudly and shakes her head. “Welcome to my life. I’m not. I’m a basket case.”

“What can I do to help?” I care that she’s upset, but am totally stoked she came to me for help. That probably makes me a bad person but at the moment, I could care less.

“I don’t know,” she answers. “I hate to bother you…”

“How about I grab some movies, we head to your place, watch a few and try to forget about the storm?”

She seems hesitant, indecision clearly written in her eyes. I’m about to promise her I’ll behave, when she reluctantly nods her head.

“Sure. It seems you’ve seen the bottom anyway.”

I don’t know what she means by that, but worried she’ll change her mind, I get up immediately and she puts her feet on the floor. I tell her to pick a couple movies from my collection while I grab a shirt and put on my sneakers.

Shawn is staring at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Did I miss something here?”

“Sorry if I woke you up,” Indigo apologizes.

I realize the last time he saw Indigo and I, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

“I’ll fill you in later,” I mumble.

We leave a few minutes later, and I tell her to stay put in the lobby while I drive the car around. It’s still raining hard so I sprint to my Jeep, hop in, and pull around front to pick her up. We’re both soaked and I blast the heat on the way to her dorm, only to get drenched again when we run from my car to the door.

It’s silent on the walk to her room, and I know she’s probably having regrets about me staying over. I vow to do my best to comfort her, and behave myself, but I can’t help but groan inwardly as I make my next offer. “I’ll sleep on the floor.” I wave away her denial. “It’s okay, I want you to relax and I know you well enough to know you’d be more comfortable with me there.”

She doesn’t answer, but we’ve reached her door, and without her asking, I take her key again and push my way inside. I do a thorough check off all her usual places, then wave her in. The storm is still raging full force, and I watch her slam the door, and immediately head to her closet. “I’m just going to change quickly.”

I nod, and watch her walk to the bathroom with a pair of long pants and long sleeve shirt. My own shirt is wet, and I wish I had thought to bring another one to change into. But I look around the room, happy to be here, even if it means sleeping in a wet t-shirt.

She comes out of the bathroom as I’m grabbing a blanket from the end of her bed to build a make-shift bed on her floor.

“Catch,” she says, then throws me a towel. I grab it mid-air, and after using it to shake out my hair, I wrap it around my shoulders.

“Thanks. Why don’t you pick one of the movies while I finish up here?”

“Okay.” She still seems a little shaky, but even I can tell she’s visibly relaxed with my presence. I watch as she checks the locks, the windows, glancing at me over her shoulder while she does it. She does it multiple times, but I busy myself with drying my shirt with the towel as if I don’t notice.

She rummages through the three DVDs she brought over, and I grin when I see her choice. “A Christmas Story? It isn’t even Halloween yet.”

A small chuckle escapes her. “I’m getting a head start. Remember? I love Christmas.” She starts to put the DVD in, but then hesitates and turns towards me. “You don’t mind, do you?”

I look straight into her eyes and it feels as if I’m touching her. “Watch whatever you like it’s your choice.”

She gets everything ready, and then on the way back to her bed, I see her hesitate again. I can’t imagine what’s she’s thinking about, but I watch closely as she turns off a few lamps, leaving only the one on her bed on. I wait for her to turn that one off too, but she doesn’t.

“Do you need any more blankets?” I hear her whisper after she climbs into bed. “Or another pillow?”

“I’m okay,” I tell her, laying back and stacking my hands under my head before turning to look up at her. “Are you okay?”

She looks at me, and gives me a smile that I can’t help but smile at in return it’s so beautiful. “Yes, thank you. I’m not used to having anyone here at night, but…so far I don’t mind you here.”

And that just made sleeping on the floor worth it. I settle in, and get ready for the uncomfortable night that I would endure a million times more if it made it easier for her. The movie starts, and Indigo and I spend the first half hour laughing and reciting the lines. It’s one of those movies everyone has seen dozens of times, and I’m suddenly glad she chose it as it’s clearly taken her mind off everything else that’s been going on.

After a while, we both go silent, quietly watching the film from our different vantage points. The night seems to grow darker, later, and reaches that point where time seems to stop on the late hour and drift by like a dream. I feel myself giving in, but before I can close my eyes, I take one last look at Indigo, whose eyes are closed. Her hand is dangling off the bed, and without thinking, I lean up, take her fingers into mine and press my lips against the back of her hand.

Sighing about I don’t know what, I let myself drift off to sleep.

When I wake up, it’s quickly, with the echo of a sharp sound in my ear. I know something startled me, but I can’t grab on to what it was. I glance at the clock on her nightstand, wondering how much time has gone by since I fell asleep. My eye catches both a dark shadow at the door, and the glint of something shiny, maybe steel. Immediately, I’m alert.

I scramble up from my vulnerable place on the floor, backing up towards the bed to grab Indigo. My hands grasp at empty sheets, at the same time I realize how small the shadow is. It’s her.

Taking a deep breath to swallow my adrenaline, I take note that she’s crouched in a corner, her forehead against her knees with another huge knife clutched in her fingers. She doesn’t seem to know I’m awake, and the last thing I want to do is startle her, so I softly clear my throat before calling out. “Indigo.”