Home is not a Place

47• Her Heartbeat

DRAKE

I knock on the door a little rougher than I mean to, so when Mrs. Creech opens the door, her eyebrows are drawn together tightly. As soon as she lays eyes on me, her brown eyes soften. She smiles. "Oh, hey dear."

"Is Vanessa home?" I ask, my voice softer than it has ever been.

I hope to God she isn't suspicious. I'm not prepared for telling a cover story. I'd rather just barge in the room and find Vanessa instead of pretending to be a sweet guy for Mrs. Creech.

"Yes." She moves out of the way, and in an instant, my heart is filled with joy. Vanessa is fast asleep on her bed, curled up like a kid.

The relief that lifts off my chest releases a lump at my throat as well, and it takes me by surprise. Since when was I so scared for Vanessa's safety?

I move forward, thanking Mrs. Creech. She replies something simple and goes back to sifting through her fridge.

"She's not moving, dude." Tony says in my earpiece from the van. His tone is frightened, and it sends a cold shiver down my spine.

I don't reply as I reach Vanessa's bed. She is super still, and I go to reach over her, but my hand hovers for a moment.

My eyes catch sight of something... red? Something red stains her skin behind her ear.

Holding my breath, I lean forward and move her hair out of the way to touch it. She doesn't budge, even when I graze her skin and peel off the substance that I now know to be dried blood.

Something in my gut shifts, and I lift my hand back up to touch Vanessa's arm. I whisper. "V."

She doesn't budge.

"V." I repeat, my heart climbing into my throat.

"Are you going to wake her?" Her mom calls from the kitchen, her voice soft. "I would normally say not to, but she's been sleeping ever since the morning. What time is it anyway?"

"It's eleven." I breathe, moving my hand over Vanessa's arm. I nudge her again. "V, get up."

She still doesn't move. Tony says something to me, but I am too numb to listen.

I reach forward, grabbing Vanessa's wrist. I push my fingers against her skin, and I pray for a pulse.

I don't receive one.

My own heart picks up its pace, the loud echo of its beat taunting me. I say her whole name this time, moving her arm in a harsher way. "Vanessa."

My other hand is still on her wrist, and amidst all my panicking, her heartbeat thuds softly on the other side of her soft skin.

I nearly collapse on top of her, but I hold myself together as I let out a breath. "Jesus."

"What?" Vanessa's mom walks over to me. "Is everything okay?"

"Just fine." I tell her, smiling. "Is she normally a deep sleeper?"

"Yes." Her mom chuckles. "You can't get her up?"

"No." I laugh with her, letting some of my stress out along with it. "How do you normally get her up?"

"Like this." She comes over to Vanessa's bedside and pinches her shoulder. The pain causes Vanessa to jolt awake, but she doesn't open her eyes.

Instead, she nestles farther in her covers and swats at her mom's hand. "I'm up. I'm up."

"Honey, you have a visitor." Vanessa's mom explains, causing Vanessa to slowly turn and open her eyes.

I notice how pale she is right off the bat, but I move in front of her mom before her mother can catch the red flag. I reach down and embrace Vanessa in a hug, and Vanessa goes so stiff I fear she's transformed into a board.

"Vanessa," I say aloud. "Where have you been? You didn't show up to work."

Once her mother's shuffling footsteps fade behind me, I pull away. Vanessa lifts her hands to her head and grasps it, her caramel eyes blinking rapidly. "What's going on?"

"Just checking in on you." I tell her, knowing her mom is close by.

"I don't feel so good..." She grumbles, one hand moving to her stomach.

"You don't look so good." I tell her. "Were you drugged or something?"

Her eyes focus on me for the first time since she woke up. She still rubs her head, gradually rising to a sitting position. "I don't remember. Why?" She pauses for a moment and blinks. "And.. why did you hug me?"

I have to laugh at that. "You look pale, and I didn't want to worry your mom."

She nods groggily, and I move out of her way. She climbs to her feet, and that's when I realize she is still in her outfit from last night. She never changed into her pajamas.

So many questions filter in her eyes, and fear ignites inside of me. "Do you not remember anything?"

Gripping her stomach and swaying slightly, she says, "I'm not sure. I have to go to the bathroom."

She takes a step, but I immediately grab her because she almost topples over. She leans all her weight on me, so much fear flooding her pretty brown eyes. Her legs tremble as she whispers. "Wait, where's Ethan?"

Her innocent eyes peer up into mine, punching my gut. I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything at all. Instead, I hold her close.

"He's fine. For now. But something happened." I get around to saying after her mother makes a ruckus in the kitchen with dishes. "We need to know what happened. Can you try to remember?"

"Something... happened?" Her thin eyebrows snap together. I give her a look, and she shakes her head. "I really don't remember. I'm sorry."

"Well, take a minute to freshen up." I order her, guiding her toward the bathroom. "A shower and a change of clothes should help."

She gazes into my eyes, something unusual flickering in her brown ones. "Okay. Thanks, Drake."

My heart strings tickle, bringing a smile to my face. "Go on."

She wobbles into the bathroom, her mom calling out. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom." She replies shortly. "I just don't feel the best."

"Take some Ibuprofen." She tells her daughter as Vanessa shuts the bathroom door behind her. "It fixes just about everything."

Her mother glances my way, and I nod casually. "Just about."

Pleased, she turns and busies herself with heating up some food from out of her fridge.

In the meantime, I focus on the sound of Tony's voice. Though he is still on coms with me, he must be calling the teammates because he is yelling happily. "She's alive! Guys, she's fucking alive! Tell Jerome!"

I let out a breath as I soak in the sound of that joy. Rarely do we hear that relief.

The sound of the shower kicks on, but the bathroom door opens and Vanessa's head pops out. She says, "Mom, will you gather a comfortable outfit for me? I'm going to run to work with my friend."

"Sure thing." Her mom pauses what she is doing and gets right to work; however, she wears a frown. "But honey, aren't you feeling bad? Maybe you should take off."

"I think getting out with help me feel better." She says, not giving her mom time to answer as she shuts the door.

Her mom shakes her head. "Jeez. That girl is stubborn."

I don't hesitate to say, "You're right about that, Mrs. Creech."