Insomnia

Chapter 20: Message Received

"Are you sure about this?" Addie asked from her spot in the middle of my resident sick room in the nurse's office. "Today?"

Her eyes rarely lifted from what must've been the world's biggest first-aid kit. She had all one million pieces of it spread out on the floor in front of her. In the pastfive minutes, she'd packed, unpacked, reorganized, and was now packing it again—all while Finn walked around her in circles. They were making me dizzy. It looked like Addie's lower lip might start bleeding any minute from the way she kept biting into it. 

"It can't wait any longer. It's almost Thanksgiving, and during fall break making eye contact with her will be even harder than it already is. We need to do it while this latest dream is fresh in her mind." I leaned against the wall and studied the popcorn ceiling. Maybe it was reckless, but we were running out of time. 

My vision shook violently back and forth and I closed my eyes. Over the last few days, different parts of my body had begun having full-on mini-seizures; usually it was my eyes or my hands, but the other day my foot had gone crazy. The longer I went with less and less sleep, the worse they got. Mia's nightmares, while improving our relationship, were killing me. 

"I told you about the dream last night." I shrugged, my eyes still closed. "Maybe it won't be as bad as we think." 

Mia's dream wasn't the only thing that had changed for the better last night. The floss tying my wrist to the bed was in one piece when I woke up. Drawing in a deep shaky breath, I released it slowly. I'd stayed in bed. After everything lately, it seemed like a good sign. 

Finn wouldn't stop pacing. His legs kept going like he was on a treadmill—if he slowed he might stumble and fly off the back of it. 

"I don't know," Addie muttered as she struggled to wrap her thin fingers around an enormous stack of gauze pads. "She just started talking to me about the e-mails again. If we really want to help her, we can't afford to scare her off now." 

"That's why you won't be a part of it." My eyes finally stopped their spasm and I slid to the floor, taking supplies from her hand and placing the pile in one of the containers. 

"But things have been bad with her foster family lately. Mrs. Sparks is never home." Addie sighed and wrapped both arms around her knees, tucking them up under her chin. "I feel so bad for her. First there was the fire—which alone had to scar her for life—then, I don't know. It'd be so hard to get stuck in the middle of some family you don't even know." 

"Do you think there is anything weird going on with Mr. Sparks?" 

"No—from the way he acts, I think he cares about her. They're just really busy. Mia doesn't like to talk about family much, and she refuses to discuss her parents." Addie closed her eyes and shook her head. "No matter how many times I ask." 

It was quiet for a minute before I reached over and closed the massive first-aid kit, stood, and pushed it onto the top shelf. "We're never going to figure out who's threatening her if we don't convince her to let us see the e-mails. I'm going to try to talk to her. I think after the dream last night, I might actually have a shot. If not, you're our backup plan." 

I extended my hand to Addie. As she came to her feet, I waited until her hazel eyes met mine. "Remember, you know nothing about this. Play dumb and it'll be fine." 

"No worries. She does that constantly." Finn's laugh sounded weak and robotic, but I still appreciated the effort. He got to his feet and stood next to her. 

Addie smiled, then elbowed Finn in the ribs—hard—before looking back at me. "I just hope you know what you're doing." 

Still rubbing his side, Finn led the way out of the office as the bell rang. His skin had paled and his voice wasn't as steady as usual. "So, the hallway behind the gym?"