Insomnia

Chapter 8: Agnes

After two nights of Mia's dreams, I felt fantastic, better than I remembered feeling ever. Her dreams could be the best thing that had ever happened to me. I was beginning to believe I might even be able to survive this curse with her help. Seeing her, making eye contact, her dreams . . . it was all I could think about. And now that I'd passed my retake of Mr. Nelson's exam, it was all I had to think about. 

I leaned against my car, the chill from the cool metal sinking through my shirt and into my skin. I thought about throwing on my jacket, but I liked being a little cold. I liked feeling so alive. 

Occasionally I waved at one of the people passing me, but my attention was on the door to the school. I hadn't seen Mia all day, but she had to come out this way. I wouldn't miss her. At least I hoped I wouldn't. But already the parking lot was nearly empty. Some guy with a black leather jacket was standing at the bottom of the stairs into school, blocking my view. Lately, that dude always seemed to be in my way. Our school wasn't that big, and I knew most people by sight if not by name. So why didn't I recognize him? My hands shook and I moved a step to the left so I could see around him. Could I have missed Mia because of him? 

I jumped when Addie grabbed my elbow, nearly breaking her nose. 

"Watch it, Parker! Geez!" 

"Oh, I'm sorry, Addie." I shifted my position so I could see her and the stairs at the same time. Reaching out, I put my hand on her shoulder until she looked at me. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" 

She shook her head and rubbed the pointy tip of her nose that was already red in the cold air. "What are you doing?" 

"What do you mean?" I dropped my arm back to my side and glanced over her shoulder at the stairs again. 

"You've been staring at those doors since I came out. I called your name three times. What's going on?" 

"Nothing." I shrugged and returned my eyes to the stairs. She shuffled her feet and took a step away. "Who is it?" 

"What?" 

"Who are you looking for?" I tried to find an easy explanation. "Jeff." 

"Oh." I was relieved that her voice sounded more normal when she spoke. "He took Mia and left before last period. She had some counseling thing or something." 

I couldn't stop my head from whipping around to her. "Is she in one of your classes?" 

She bit her lip for a moment before speaking. "Oh . . . it's Mia." 

"What?" I shook my head, confused. 

Finn walked up and leaned against the car. "What's Mia?" He pulled a Dr. Pepper out of his backpack and popped it open as he turned to me. "And why does she keep coming up?" 

I ignored him and opened my car door. 

"Parker likes her," Addie said softly. Her face was unreadable, like always. 

Finn took a big gulp of his drink, then grinned. "Yeah? Is this the part where we sing Parker and Mia sitting in a tree?" 

I shook my head, uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation. "See you guys tomorrow." 

"Later," Finn managed to say around a mouthful of Dr. Pepper. Addie waved without looking directly at me and turned away. 

Sliding into my ragged leather seat, I saw Addie hit Finn's shoulder as they walked toward the front of the school. I was glad she had swim team practice and Finn tutored in the library today. My mind was reeling from the last forty-eight hours and I needed some time to process—alone.