Five by Christie Rich
I drove. Natalie sat rigid in the seat beside me.
“How bad is she?” I asked warily.
My mind raced at the possibilities. The sun blazed above us as though in direct opposition to my unsettled mood. What had I been thinking coming here? Why had I thought I could live a normal life?
Natalie shifted uncomfortably. She reached out and turned on the heater. “I’m not sure. She was unresponsive when the EMTs started working on her.”
She seemed really calm for someone who witnessed what sounded like a horrible accident. I tried to reel my anger in because this wasn’t her fault. “What the heck happened?”
She grimaced, staring at the floorboard. “We were on our way back to the dorm. Cassie invited me to get something to eat with you guys.”
“I stopped to wait for her at the top of the stairs. Her foot was almost on the last step when she gasped and yelled something weird.” She looked over at me. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Then she was falling backward. I raced toward her, but I was too late to stop her. She hit her head really hard on the landing. I got them to her as fast as I could.” She started sobbing, gasping for air. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. It was like someone pushed her, but nothing was there.”
Ainessa. It had to be. When I found that woman, she was going to wish she could die.
Who was I kidding? What could I do to a fae princess?
We ran up to Cassie’s room. I tried to console Natalie, but I didn’t do a very good job. She took one look at Cassie through the doorway and ran down the hall in tears.
Cassie lay limp in the stark bed. A strange chemical smell permeated my senses. They could have used some air freshener. I never understood why hospitals didn’t paint walls in rainbow hues. I was a firm believer that half of healing was attitude, and who could have a good attitude surrounded by gray?
I was hesitant to touch her. Her pale features were as still as porcelain and seemed just as fragile. This was my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on coming here, none of this would have happened.
When I took her hand, her fingers were warm. I gulped down a relieved sob. “Cassie?”
She didn’t respond. At least the beat of the monitor was steady. I moved to the corner and lowered to the frigid fake leather chair. Had anyone called her mom?
Amy Lambert would insist on taking Cassie home. That was, if she ever woke up. I couldn’t believe how foolish I had been. I had thought I could come here and life would be mine to control. Did anyone ever master life? Was it even possible?
I watched Cassie intently for what seemed like hours. Zach came rushing into the room. I let him engulf me in his arms then sobbed out my sorrow.
He patted my hair gently. “I hurt for you, love. What can I do?”
I appreciated his concern, but nothing was going to make me feel any better about the situation. I spoke into his shirt. My words came out muffled, “I could use a time machine.” I shifted my head to the side, grasping his upper arm for support. “She is here because of me. I did this to her.”
He held me away from him. His face was scrunched in a puzzled expression. “That’s preposterous. How could you have made her fall when you were in your bedroom?”
I shrugged. “She didn’t want to come here. I insisted. I brought the fae with me.”
He hesitated. “I saw Natalie in the hall. You cannot possibly think this is your doing.”
I shut my eyes. “I should have stayed home in Utah.”
He shook my shoulders slightly until I looked up at him. “Rayla, it will do you no good to take the blame for an accident. She fell.”
I spoke the words as clearly as I could, “She was pushed.” Cassie’s monitor made a couple of strange noises. The green squiggles jumped up and down wildly. Why was her heart beating so quickly?
“Natalie told me—”
I turned back to Zach and glanced at the door. If the nurse didn’t come soon I was going to go get her. “I know what she thinks happened, but Natalie doesn’t know that Cassie had a pissed off fae princess stalking her. She has been lurking around our dorm. I hardly think the little troll would hurt Cassie.”
Zach grinned. “You’d better not let anyone else hear you talking like that. They’ll have you locked up in no time.”
I glared at him. “Stop trying to make me feel better.”
“Oh, so I should be helping you to wallow in your misery, now. Should I?” He pulled me over to the chair and sat down. “You can hardly expect me to do such a thing.” He gently lifted me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist. “What sort of boyfriend would that make me?”
I smiled. He said boyfriend. Snuggling against him, I watched Cassie. The bleeps on the monitor were steady now. My heart calmed eventually. I was so thankful that Zach was with me. The nurse came in a while later and told us to leave. Sam had already come to pick up Natalie. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about an uncomfortable ride home with her.
Zach followed me back to campus. Having him behind me was reassuring. I tried to protest because it was getting late, but he insisted on coming to my room with me.
I paced while he sat on the sofa. I looked out the window for the hundredth time.
“Come sit down, love.” He patted the cushion beside him. “You are giving me a headache.”
I kept my back rigid. “My best friend is lying in that hospital bed with no one to protect her. It’s driving me crazy.”
His tone was soft, almost defeated. “I don’t think she will be bothered again. The damage has already been done.”
I whirled around. “Yeah, because of me! I have to do something to make this right!”
“Like what?” Zach shook his head. “Come to the couch, love. Where is your book? Why don’t we read some more?”
I had completely forgotten about it. I was supposed to return it to Alex on Friday. I opened my purse. When I didn’t see it, I dumped the contents out. I didn’t care that a bunch of tampons scattered across the room. Where was it? I ransacked the desk and looked under the bed. “It can’t be gone.”
He came over by me and held my shoulders, smiling. “Don’t worry. It has to be here somewhere.” He searched the closet while I pulled out the mini fridge.
I climbed up to Cassie’s bed, ripping off her covers. Zach stood by me and placed a hand on my forearm.
“It could have fallen out in the car,” I said. I couldn’t lose it. I needed it now more than ever.
He picked my keys up. “You wait here. I’ll go look.”
I made Cassie’s bed. She would be angry if our room was a mess. She liked things orderly. Moving onto the floor, I cleaned up as I crawled around. I looked under everything in the room. I even searched the bathtub.
Zach came back a few minutes later. He didn’t have to tell me anything. His look spoke volumes.
How was I going to explain this to Alex? He’d never believe me. Tears stung my eyes. What else was going to go wrong? Zach held me for a long time before he quit singing and lifted me into his arms. I started to protest, but my voice was as weak as my body when he set me on my bed.
“Hush now, love. It is time for me to go. I will be here when you wake in the morning.”
The door thudded softly. I lay there for a few minutes, trying to sleep. Then I remembered I had promised to help Adam. Silly as it was, I was still trying to cling to a little piece of normal. I laughed at the irony as I turned the recorder on.
When I opened my eyes next, the sun wove a pattern of dancing light across the carpet. I had been asleep for a long time. My teeth were practically glued together. My stomach grumbled loudly.
I stood up and stretched, then noticed a jar of candy on the desk. Just what I needed. I plopped one into my mouth, savoring the flavor. I had never tasted anything like it. Hints of strawberry, orange, and chocolate melded in a sweet symphony. I was going to have to ask Cassie where she picked them up.
Cassie. The events of last night crashed into my consciousness. H
I pulled on my jeans, buttoning the fly, yanking my favorite sweatshirt over my head. So much for classes today. I had to get back to the hospital. I hoped my professors would work with me.
I rushed down the stairs and into the spacious lobby. True to his word, Zach was waiting for me. He gave me a half smile and held his hand out to me. I took it solemnly. We walked in silence to his bike. I climbed behind him, loving the reassurance of feeling him in front of me. He was already a part of who I was. We were at the nurse’s station in the ICU before I knew it.
“Can you tell me how Cassie Lambert is doing this morning?” I asked.
A large woman turned around and smiled kindly. She wore an old fashioned uniform, complete with white sneakers and bonnet. Her salt and pepper hair was pinned into a French twist. She spoke in a southern drawl. “Sure, honey. One moment please.” Green eyes beamed up at me. “Good news. Miss Lambert has been moved to the second floor. She woke up last night. Her mother is here now.”
She gave us Cassie’s new room number, and we raced down the stairs. I could hear Cassie’s voice from the hall. She sounded upset.
“Mom, I’m fine. I really want to stay.”
I knocked lightly on the door, not wanting to eavesdrop. “Cassie?”
Mrs. Lambert came to the door. She greeted me with a curt smile. Was she angry with me? I wouldn’t blame her if she was. She had every right to be.
“Rayla, would you please talk some sense into my daughter? She won’t listen to me.”
I walked over to my best friend. Her skin was paler than usual. She had a wicked looking bruise by her right eye. She smiled then winced, shifting her body uncomfortably.
“I would rather you tell Mom that everything is fine. I’ve been doing great here. Right, Rayla?”
I looked back and forth between the two of them before I turned to Mrs. Lambert. “Cassie’s been my rock. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
“Did you see her fall?” Mrs. Lambert asked. “I’ve spoken with Natalie and what she described sounded quite strange to me.”
I fully understood her question. Was her daughter delusional again? I had made a promise to Cassie, and I intended to keep it. “Natalie lives in a different dorm. I’ve just about tripped over that step myself. You know, I think it’s slightly higher than the rest of them. Not uncommon with old buildings, right?”
“Yeah,” Zach said. “I’ve noticed that as well.”
Mrs. Lambert ignored us both. “I still want you to come home, Cassandra. Perhaps you can return for spring semester? I would feel more comfortable having our own physicians examine you.”
“But Mom—”
“The decision has been made. Say your goodbyes. I need to take care of the paperwork.” Mrs. Lambert walked out of the room without giving us time to argue with her.
Tears were already streaming down my cheeks when I went to Cassie’s side. “You can’t leave,” I said for her benefit. Her fallen features broke my heart. I couldn’t burden her with the fact that I wouldn’t be here when she came back. She was in no condition to go on the run with me and Zach. She was way better off at home anyway. I would let her know I wasn’t at school later, when I found a safe place to be. I didn’t want to get her involved in my mess any more than I already had.
“I don’t have a choice. It won’t always be this way. When I graduate, she’ll be lucky to see me every ten years.”
I took her hand. “You don’t mean that.”
Anger contorted her face. “She thinks I’m crazy, Rayla. I might just disappear when I get my inheritance. That way she can’t ever force me to do anything again.”
Zach stood next to me. “She loves you, Cassie. Her heart hurts for you.”
She looked at him quizzically. “Are you a mind reader all of the sudden?”
His mouth twisted in a peculiar frown. He leaned over and touched Cassie’s arm. “It’s in the way she looks at you.”
She turned away. “If you say so.”
I had to ask her before I forgot. “Do you know what happened to my book?”
She harrumphed. “If it’s missing, it was probably the same thing that has been stealing from me.”
The troll. Oh, heaven help me if he had it.
Mrs. Lambert came back into the room. “We’re all set. I have a taxi waiting downstairs to take us to the airport. Rayla dear, would you be a doll and send Cassie’s personal things to us? You can keep the rest here for when she comes back.” She held out a wad of hundreds.
At least she was acting as though Cassie had a choice. I wasn’t so sure. “It won’t be that much.”
She touched my cheek. “Keep the rest. I want you to have it.” She pulled me into a hug. “Would you consider coming with us?”
I had already rejected that idea. I couldn’t put my family at risk by being selfish. “I need to stay here.”
“Of course you do.” She smiled, running a comforting hand down the line of my hair. “If you change your mind, let me know. I’ll have you on the next plane out of here. I worry for you.”
I frowned. “Why?”
She looked taken aback, stammering momentarily. “I can’t explain it, but there’s a feeling around you. I don’t like it.”
Zach came nearer. “Don’t worry.” He placed a hand at her elbow. “I have it under control.”
She looked at him as though she had just seen him. She blushed, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. “Yes, well…Rayla is welcome in my home at any time.”
Cassie cleared her throat, turning to me. “I’d appreciate it if you would keep searching for those things I lost. I really need them.”
“I will,” I said. How was I supposed to deal with a klepto-troll if I couldn’t even see him?
I was totally surprised Cassie wasn’t insisting I come home with her. That wasn’t like her at all.
I told Zach to meet me out front. I wanted to say goodbye to Cassie alone.
“I already miss you,” I said, giving her a huge hug.
“Ow. Watch the bruises.”
Wincing, I pulled back a bit. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry, Rayla. I’ll give Grace your love. Who knows, maybe she can bring me when I come back in a few days.”
I smiled brightly at her, understanding her words completely. She was going to try to rescue me. That was why she hadn’t thrown an absolute fit to stay here. She had given her mother a token argument so that she could come back without a fuss when she proved that she was sane.
I had the absolute best friend in the entire world. Too bad a rescue was out of the question. I turned to Mrs. Lambert. I thought she was going to leave us alone, but it didn’t look like it. “Thank you for everything. I hope to be able to come home for a visit at fall break.”
She smiled warmly. “Let me know the dates; I’ll arrange things.” She pulled me into her slight frame, kissing my cheek as though I were her other daughter.
I took one last look at Cassie wondering when or if I would ever see her again. “Bye,” I said before walking out of the room.
I was wiping the tears from my cheeks when I spotted a familiar Celtic face coming toward me. I was preparing to do battle when I noticed the sadness in his tawny eyes.