Midnight Rose (completed)

Chapter 7

I was fairly certain I had gotten away with sneaking out. I still couldn't walk by the time we got back to my house, so Kendra dragged me up to my room and tucked me in. She wanted to stay the night, but explaining her sudden presence to my parents was almost as bad as getting caught. For several hours I lay in bed, tossing around the events of the night in my head, over and over again. Elijah made me uneasy, but I was strangely drawn to him. I had always followed the straight and narrow, the black and white. Elijah was gray, and Wes was somewhere in between it all. So, why couldn't I shake them?

Ben, catching me the way he had, wasn't sitting right with me either. I had never officially met Ben or his twin, Zoe. I only knew them in passing, so for Ben to do that was just odd to me. I wasn't even sure he knew Wes and I were friends.

The chirping of birds through my open window woke me. It felt as if only moments had passed since I closed my eyes. My body ached, my head was still pounding, and sleep remained heavy in my eyes.

"Abigail, if you don't get ready soon, you'll be late for school," my mom called cheerfully through the door. I grumbled as I rolled out of bed, landing hard and loud.

The door flew open, and my mom rushed to my side.

"Abigail, what's wrong?" She put her hand on my forehead and then on the back of my neck. Her hands felt like ice cubes on my skin.

"Abigail, you're burning up."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"No, you're not. Get back into bed. You're staying home. I'll go get some medicine for your fever."           

When she was out of sight, I went into the bathroom, tied my hair up into a knot, and splashed water onto my face. My skin did feel hot. I stared at my face in the mirror, beads of water dripping down, last night's encounter returning vividly.

Do you feel safe?  A prickly sensation crawled around inside me, panic consuming me and chipping away at my grip on reality.

"Abigail?"

"I was just using the bathroom." I went back into my room and slid back under the sheets. I swallowed the pills my mom handed me.

"Do you need anything?" she asked.

"No. Just some more sleep."

She tucked the sheets in around me. "Okay. I'll check on you in a bit." She kept the door cracked.

I turned over and stared out the window, still trying to understand Elijah's cryptic message about my safety. For all I knew, he was the danger and it was becoming increasingly evident that Elijah was following me, but why?

I stayed in bed for most of the day, listening to my parents come and go as they checked on me several times.

By evening, I was bored out of mind, having finished the English paper that was due tomorrow and trudging through a very, very, very long history chapter.

"Hey, honey. How are you feeling?" My mom checked on me again.

"I'm feeling better. I should be fine to go to school tomorrow," I said, giving her my best award-winning smile to reassure her.

"If you think so." Her voice quivered a bit.

"I'm sure." I stood up and walked to my desk for her benefit, showcasing my sturdy legs.

"Your father and I were going to get a bite to eat. Can I bring you something back?"

She brushed a long golden strand behind her ear. My chestnut locks were courtesy of my dad's genes, and my copper eyes and long lashes came from my mom.