Author's Note: Here's chapter 3, y'all. I wanted to get it written and posted sooner, but I got a bit of a chest cold :( I did manage to write it though, and here it is. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling error cause I didn't get to re-read it yet. This is the longest chapters so far but it may not be the longest to come. IDK yet. I hope y'all are enjoying my story and want me to continue. Remember to read and review!
"So here's what we'll do." My daddy began. "I'll carry you to the pickup and we'll go home. Sound like a plan?"
I nodded. "I suppose."
"Make it look like ya fainted or sumthin'." Cheyenne told me. "That way, no one will question ya." She faked a smile.
I returned her 'smile'. "Shouldn't be too hard." I said with a cough. I've had enough practice with fake fainting over the years that I've pretty much gotten it to the point where even my parents and Cheyenne would believe it. And they were the people who knew me best. When I was little, I would sometimes 'faint' to get out of chores I really didn't wanna do. Of course, if I used my little trick all the time, it wouldn't work no more. But once in a while- on a hot summer day- I could get out of collecting eggs from the chickens (those creatures terrify me!).
My daddy walked over to me. "Tip your hat down to cover the Mark." He whispered. I did as I was told before wrapping my arms around his neck and letting him lift me up into his arms. He was really, really strong. My daddy was a carpenter, so he knew how to carry things without throwing out his back or knees.
I allowed my body to go limp in his arms, making it easier for him to carry me and making it look like I just passed out or something. He, my mama, Cheyenne, and Dex (Jesse went back to the go-karts) began walking toward the temporary grass parking lot where my brothers were waiting with the pickup. We took the sideway through the carnival, trying to avoid as many people as we could. Seeing as if most everyone was on the rides, listening to Old Man Farber play his banjo, or chasing after their kids who were all sticky from too much cotton candy, very few people seemed to notice us. We arrived at the pickup with little trouble.
Trevor opened the backseat of the pickup, and my daddy helped me in the car. Cheyenne sat there with me while my brothers and Dex occupied the back of the truck. Again, my daddy drove and my mama sat shotgun. Just as soon as my daddy started up the engine, the worst cough of the day came over me. This cough made my whole body shake and my eyes water. Cheyenne gently patted my back to try and comfort me. "We really gotta hurry." I heard her say. Her voice was full of severe concern. I'm sure she thought I was gonna die right then and there. I sure felt like I was. I felt the pickup go faster and knew my daddy was flooring it.
Once my coughing finally stopped, I rested my head on Cheyenne's shoulder. "I'm tired." I told her, thinking I was talking normally, but my voice came out as a weak whisper instead.
"Almost home." She replied. "Then we pack quick and y'all go to Tulsa."
"Aren't ya gonna come?" I asked her, hoping she wasn't backing out now. I needed her there with me. I couldn't imagine going to the House of Night without her there to say goodbye and comfort me.
"Of course." She smiled down at me as she caressed my cheek, playing with my curls that had fallen in my face.
"Good." I tried to smile back, but I coughed in her face instead. "Sorry." I frowned, clearing my throat.
"It's kay." Cheyenne's smile faded. I could see how worried she was for me. We had been best friends for as long as I can remember. She's always been there for me, and I've always been there for her. Not even me getting Marked was gonna change that… I hoped.
I guess Cheye could sense that I was worried she'd leave me because she started singing Carrie Underwood's version of "I'll Stand by You".
Oh why you look so sad
The tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
Cause I've seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
As she finished singing the first chorus of the song, tears will filling both our eyes. "I'm gonna miss you like crazy." Cheyenne said. "You're my best friend, Stevie Rae. Nothing, not even that Mark," She began, gesturing to the outline of crescent moon on my forehead. "will ever change that."
It took everything, all the energy I had left in me, not to burst out crying. I think I probably would've if we hadn't pulled into the driveway of our single story ranch house.
"We're here." My mama called from the front seat. I sat up and wiped the tears from my eyes as I heard my brothers and Dex jump down from the back of the pickup truck. Mitch ran over and opened the car door for me and Cheyenne. She got out first, and the two of them helped me out of the car. When I got out and my feet touched the ground, I nearly collapsed as another cough came to me. I would've collapsed if Mitch and Cheye hadn't caught me first. I continued to cough, being supported by their grasps, for at least a full minute before finally things subsided. My lungs felt like they were burning out of my chest, and my whole body felt as if I was standing on an earthquake. Tears were streaking down my cheeks from all the coughing, and my headache from being Marked had increased tremendously. I felt like someone was constantly hitting me in the temples with a hammer while digging their knees into my chest so I couldn't catch my breath. I had never felt this bad before in my life. It was scary.
My daddy came around the pickup to where Mitch and Cheye were holding me up. He took me from them and lifted me into his arms like I was nothing more than a small child. This time, I didn't have to pretend to faint and go limp in his arms. The minute he began walking toward the house with me in his arms, I had another coughing fit. This one was ended in several seconds by me passing out in his embrace.
I woke up (I don't know how much later) in my bedroom, lying down on my bed with my warm green blanket wrapped around me and my head resting on about three of the most comfortable and fluffy pillows in the whole house. I could feel a cool, moist cloth resting across my forehead and someone gently stroking my arm. I blinked several times to rid my vision of the sleepiness it still possessed before being able to register who it was sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Hey." I called to Cheyenne who was intently watching my mama and Austin pack up some of my favorite clothes and chotchkies.
Cheyenne quickly turned her attention to me, as did my mama and oldest brother. "You're up." Cheye squealed happily. "You've been out for a good 45 minutes." She told me.
My mama walked over to my bedside and removed the cloth from my forehead. "Your fever's gone down." She told me, placing a warm hand on my head. "How are you feelin'?"
"Like crap." I replied, coughing slightly as I made my way to a sitting position with the help of Cheyenne and my mama.
"We packed your stuff for ya." Austin called from across my bedroom. "Just take a quick browse through your drawers and make sure we didn't forget nothin'." He told me. "I ever got your cowboy boot lamp all wrapped up and in the truck."
"And my Elvis clock?" I asked, my voice sounding weaker and weaker by the minute.
He nodded. "I wouldn't dare forget that." He smiled, plopping down on the foot of my bed.
"And all your posters of Kenny are packed too." Cheyenne added. "I made sure to take extra special care myself." She said. "Not one of 'em's ripped or nothin'. All in perfect condition. I promise ya." She smiled at me, showing her dimples for the first time since I got Marked. I knew she was gonna miss me, but I was glad to know I had a friend like her to take such good care of my Kenny.
"Thanks." I giggled lightly to myself, trying my best not to enter another fit of coughing, as I swung my legs over the side of my bed. Cheyenne helped me to my feet as she led me over to my dresser. I took a quick inventory of the items left in the drawers. All was well, but I turned my attention to the stack of CDs on top of the dresser and noticed no one had packed them up yet. "Where's my travel case?" I asked, turning my attention of Austin who I knew had borrowed it two weeks earlier when he went with his girlfriend on a roadtrip to Memphis. "Ya know, the one with the mistletoe on it?"
"Oh, it's in my room. Be right back." He smiled before taking off to get my CD case.
While I waited for him to return, Cheyenne and I went through my stack of CDs and removed the ones I wanted to bring to Tulsa from their appropriated cases. In total, I had 31 disks made up of Kenny Chesney, The Dixie Chicks, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, and Shania Twain (yeah, I'm an Okie. I know!).
Austin came back in with my travel case, and he and Cheyenne quickly packed it up with all my CDs. My mama led me back over to my bed and gestured for me to sit down. "Are you ready?" She asked me, her voice sincere and full of worry.
"As I'll ever be." I faked a smile, as she pulled me into her sweet embrace.