The Nook

Chapter 20

"Shit." Coral's eyes are wide. Her breathing is picking up as she runs her hands through her unruly hair as she paces in front of me.

"Dwelling... The thing that had your mother?" She panics and I nod. Why do I feel so numb?

"What does Dorothy say?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her in a couple of days."

"Well, tell her to get her ghost ass over here," Coral shouts, stopping in her task of wearing out the floorboards.

"I can't just call her Coral. She appears when she wants." I snap, which stings my throat. Coral groans in frustration, beginning her pacing again and my nerves reach a breaking point.

"Coral, sit down before you burn a hole through the ground."

"Where would you like me to sit? The living room isn't much of a living room right now?" She ground out through gritted teeth as she throws her hands out. The green of her eyes jumps as she glares at me but as she rakes her gaze over me, they fall to what I'm sure is a massive bruise of a hand on my neck. Shifting uncomfortably, my eyes flick to Nolan.

He's still passed out, his chest rising and falling peacefully. But I tear my eyes away. I couldn't get the image of his empty eyes as his fingers pressed harder into the sensitive skin on my neck.

It wasn't him. It looked like him. But it wasn't!

"Are you sure you don't want to ice it?" It might stop it from bruising so badly." Coral asks, her voice softer than it was a second ago.

"I don't know," I answer truthfully. "I don't think it'll help much." Trying to keep my voice just above a whisper isn't helping ease the pain.

There's a pounding on the door that shifts both Coral and me into defence mode. A mode that has my body screaming in pain.

I watch as the handle twists and the door is pushed open.

I look at Coral, half panicked and half scolding. She left the door unlocked. Her face twists in annoyance at my pointed look.

"Don't look at me like that. The door was not at the top of my list of priorities." She argues in a hushed voice and I shrug. She is right. I agree with her priorities.

Bri's head peeks over the divider. Her brown eyes look from Coral and me before landing on the unconscious Nolan taped to the chair.

"What happened?" She asks, clearly trying to keep her cool. I look at Coral and her green eyes shoot from me to Bri.

"I- I hit him with a pan," Coral admits.

"A pan?"

"He was going to kill Adira," Coral stresses and Bri turns her gaze back on me, which I try to avoid, but she isn't looking into my eyes to ask the question. No, not when the evidence is standing out like a sore thumb. Tears burn my eyes as she goes pale, slapping her hand over her mouth.

"It wasn't him. Don't blame him." I choke out.

"I checked his head. He isn't bleeding. He also has a pulse." Coral rushes to add. Removing the attention, even if just a little, from me.

Bri walks over to Nolan and looks him over, inspecting his head and lifting his eyelids to look into his eyes.

"He might have a slight concussion. Luckily, you didn't hit him too hard. What happened?" Bri asks, looking at me. This question again. The one I can't bring myself to say the entire truth.

"He's been taken over," I whisper. "I used my powers on him, but he got up like it was nothing and attacked. It's not Nolan. He wouldn't do this... Not to me." He wouldn't kiss me either. I ignore the way my heart pinches and the way Coral's eyes are trained on me suspiciously. "Can you heal him?" I ask, and Bri shakes her head.