FALL (DIMENSION Series #1)

CHAPTER 32

As I expected I didn't sleep during the night. I lay on my bed, sharing the blue comforter with Estella. The window was open because I wanted to listen to the sound of the rain in the yard below. Scraps of wind seemed to spiral loose from the madness outside, careening into my room and rattling things.

      The night had been surreal and now it was morning. I had already left our house. It was one of those clear and crisp after-the-rain fall days and I was walking at a fast clip. Despite not having slept, I was wired. And I was ready to get to school. Ready to see Derek. Some big things had been decided and I needed to be sure that things were still on track. I couldn't really believe all the things we had talked about and I had to make sure that those feelings still were the same as when he'd left our yard the night before. I wanted to feel those same feelings again. I wanted that world we'd spoken about, under the tree, to be created in our real lives. That sense of togetherness that we had conveyed to each other. I couldn't wait for it to happen.

      Today was going to be a busy day. After school, I had to get my car and go to work. I'd almost forgotten that I had a job. Between my fall and the hospital and Derek's emergence in my life— and the kiss on my cheek the night before, I retained little knowledge of my regular life. I seemed to see the things that were right in front of me, not the things I had to plan for.

     I worked for a big man who owned a small record store. Crosby's record store was in the hip part of Bluffside's tiny downtown. Or the more run-down and eclectic part as my mother described it, where the stores and restaurants were independently owned. Crosby wasn't young. I wasn't sure how old he was, but I thought he might be fifty. He was one of the coolest people I'd ever met. He called himself a music geek—and he was that, for sure—but he also was so much more than that. He even had a radio show once a week. His basement had been turned into a small studio and he did his show from in there. The show was actually called: Crosby's Basement.

      Crosby had taught me a lot about music and I knew he'd be playing me more new records today. He was a very easy-going person and kind too. And above all, he was wise. If I was ever going to tell anyone about Derek, it would be Crosby.

      "Hey," a voice said, startling me.

     I looked sideways to see Neal coming to a fast stop right beside me, stirring up some dust.

      "Hey," I said and smiled at him. His curly, blond hair was sticking up and he flattened it down.

      "I almost didn't recognize you," he said. I frowned at him and he continued. "You're walking without any kind of limp." He shook his head. "So different from before. You don't look injured at all."

      I nodded slowly. Of course that was true. I didn't feel any pain either. Not even in my shoulder that still was blue-and-purple.

      I shrugged.

      "I feel a lot better," I said. And it was true. I didn't think my healing had been an isolated thing. I was very sure that it was tied to Derek's presence in my life, but that wasn't something I'd be discussing with anyone. 

      "So, I guess you got a lot of rest?" Neal asked, still looking surprised.

      "Less than you might think," I said, and I saw flashes of the night before in my mind's eye. The conversation under the tree. The difficult things that were finally spoken out. Derek's jean jacket wrapped around me. His lips on my cheek.

      "Yeah," Neal said. "That storm was loud."

      I nodded and smiled at him.

      "I love a good storm," I said. And it was true. I loved drama in the weather. I loved thunderstorms and snowstorms. And no storm had been more perfect than the one of the night before. And never before had I surrendered more fully to the elements. I'd done a kind of rain dance in our yard. As a way of expressing my gratitude for all that had transpired. I was lucky that Neal hadn't seen me.

      "Ready for another day?" Neal asked and I shrugged at him.

      I was ready to see Derek. The rest I wasn't really focused on. Julia, Mary Rose, hallways, lockers, lunch and all those things seemed to fade into oblivion whenever I thought of Derek. But there seemed to be a problem—his car wasn't in the parking lot. My heart sank.

      "Are you still feeling okay?" Neal asked, squinting at me. I nodded at him and tried to smile.

      But I was feeling crushed. In all of my excitement I hadn't considered the possibility that he wouldn't be here today. And why would I? After all that had been said the night before. I'd mentioned his otherworldliness and he's stated that he'd wanted to take care of me. That seemed to mean that a deal had been made. A deal between us. We had things to do and places to go. And that seemed to imply that he'd show up where I'd expect him to be. Like at school.

      As we entered the school building, a person came running out of it. Neal pulled me aside and she just narrowly missed crashing into me.

      "Sorry," the girl mumbled and looked over at me briefly.

     It was Isabelle Bree. She was very pale and she looked startled. I wondered if she was running to something or from something. Isabelle Bree didn't typically run. She wasn't really the type. She was too cool to do anything with too much urgency. And then it came to me. Derek, I thought. She's running to Derek.

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NEXT NEW CHAPTER—SUNDAY, JUNE 14

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