Icon of the Indecisive #3 of 3 (COMPLETE)

Chapter 24

What did I want then?

First of all, I wanted this to stop. Whatever this was. And I wasn't going to wait for Quin to sort it out when I knew who was responsible for it. The original plan was to look for Vida Castillo, head on over to her house if I had to, and tell her that we were done. Whatever this little exercise was meant to prove, I was ready to just let her have it. Whatever it was.

But I didn't even get out the door. I remembered being in my room, changing my shoes...

And when I woke up, three hours had passed.

It was midnight.

I only knew it was midnight because my alarm clock had numbers that glowed neon green in the dark. They were all I could see, because everything else was a blur.

I was so sleepy. So so sleepy.

And yet I knew it couldn't have been me. It was a fatigue that was sudden, and I knew this was about to happen to someone else.

Apparently I was sprawled on the floor, right in front of my shoe rack. I had been lying on my arm and vaguely felt that prickly sensation of circulation coming back to it. My cheek was flat on the parquet floor. So so sleepy.

I pushed myself up with my good arm and managed to roll the rest of the way up to a sitting position. It felt too fast for my head. The bed looked so inviting. And soft. And my head felt so heavy.

I needed to get my phone. It was in my pocket, and I wasn't in the right position to reach it.

Grunt. How I got up on my knees I wasn't sure, but it took a lot out of me. My head sort of followed that arc and fell on the bed, and I let it stay there.

I wanted to close my eyes. For just a second.

My non-prickly fingers reached for my phone. Quin was on my speed dial.

"Help me. Again." I must have said. I wasn't sure.

* * *

In this space, she looks taller. She holds her shoulders up, in a firm yet feminine way. I can see strength all the way through to her spine, and in this space I see that she and I are the same height. She is not as frail as Justin and Jessica imagine her to be.

"Marlee?" I call.

Being here doesn't confuse her. She looks more comfortable among the soft reeds of grass, the gentle breeze, the hills in the distance, than I am.

Maybe she comes here often.

"I know you," she says. "From school."

"Yeah, I hang around," I say. "Marlee, do you know where you are?"

She pauses. "I'm home."

"Did you do anything different today?"

"I'm asleep. I'm usually asleep at this time."

"Do you use anything to help you sleep?"

Marlee nods, and I'm glad I don't have to drag it out of her. She is open, and this is why she seems fragile. "Yes. I have a prescription. I need it every night."

"Is there a reason why you would feel like you need more meds tonight?"

Marlee thinks about it, and remembers a heartbeat before she answers. "I found out about Justin and Jess."

Her hand, her fingers, her entire arm shakes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I've come closer, but not too close. Just enough to hear her.