Chapter Three
Partially Cloudy
"Stress."
I looked up from my bandaged arm and stared at the heavyset man in front of me. Was he crazy? He thought it was stress? Idiot. Instead of lashing out and demanding some sort of drug to make my new hallucinations stop, I nodded like a good little girl and fingered the stitches on my forhead.
"So I can go home now? I don't need to stay?"
I had been in the hospital for two days while they ran test after test and bandaged me up. Something had happened with my blood pressure or something which resulted in me passing out. Jade had panicked and called 911 before I could even attempt to wake up and stop her. Of course, as soon as my parents found out they had raced to the hospital and insisted on admitting me in case it had anything to do with my neck. Man, you do a backflip off a bunkbed one time...
Anyway, I couldn't stand this place any longer. My stomach was turning at the smell of all the antiseptic. My head throbbed in time with the wound in my arm, and even now I was considering making an escape attempt if they didn't let me out. I didn't have to worry about saving my spoon from lunch, though. After doing some paperwork and getting me a clean change of clothes, I was free.
It was sunny as we walked through the parking lot, and I snatched my mom's sunglasses from her face. She didn't protest as I slipped them on. Still squinting from the light I hurridly made my way to the van. I slammed the door shut as soon as I was in and laid down on the backseat. The glare from the great morning star beat down on my head, warming my already sweating body.
"Honey, put on your seat belt please. And sit up. The sun isn't going to hurt you."
I mumbled my disagreement and sat up, snapping the buckle into place. My brother and sister started to bicker in the middle seat and I expertly tuned them out. I still couldn't believe that I had passed out like that. Sure, I had a heavy school load, but that was no reason for me to suddenly kiss the sidewalk. My cellphone chirped in my bag, scaring me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the ID on the screen with a frown. Unkown caller? Who the heck would be calling my cellphone?
"Hello?"
I said after a moment, fidgeting with the charm on the antenna.
"Sarah? Hi, this is Philip Dwyer, from the church."
I struggled to place him. Then it dawned on me. The new couple that had joined! I had yet to see his wife, but from what I had heard she was nice. I wondered why he was calling.
"Oh, uh, hi."
"My wife and I heard you were in the hospital, and we were wondering whether or not there was something we could do for your family."
"Oh, no thanks. I'm fine, really. Thanks for the offer, though. That's really thoughtful. Um. I guess I'll see you on Sunday."
"That's fine. Well, Renee got you a present the second she heard. Ever since her daughter left she's been just itching for someone to shop for. I hope you don't mind."
A present? I assured him I didn't.
"Fantastic. Well, we'll see you on Sunday. Bye."
I flipped my phone shut and then felt a chill race down my spine. Had he just said Philip? And Renee? My mouth felt dry and I had the urge to throw up. This couldn't be happening! Apparently I looked worse than I thought, because my mom turned around in her seat to watch me.
"Are you okay, sweetie? Want a Coke?"
I just nodded, too numb to speak. We pulled into a gas station and I sat in the car with Connor and Karley while my parents filled the tank and got me a soda. What the heck was going on? Twilight was a story! I had Eclipse with me! Bella and the others didn't exist, they were characters! When my mom handed me the bottle at long last I was shaking. I yanked the top off and drained it, ignoring her stunned expression.
"Th-thanks. I'm still feeling weird, I guess."
They got back in the car and we headed for home.
"Me first!"
"No, me! I'm getting the mail!"
I ignored my brother and sister as they raced for the mailbox and walked inside. Lucky trotted up to greet me, her tail wagging happily. I ignored her for a second until she barked and jumped up to attempt to lick my cheek. Finaly I grinned and scratched her behind the ears, then went to wash my hands. Dogs smelled weird...
After locking myself in my room I piled all of my fan based items on the bed. The charm bracelet, my hard back and soft cover copies of all four books, my t-shirts and a few dozen drawings, all of them ended up on the bed. I crossed my legs and sat in front of the pile, staring down at it. This stuff was real. It existed. It proved that what I had seen two days ago was a complete and utter lie. I glanced at the clock and sighed when I saw that it was only one in the afternoon. Well, I was tired...and I hated being awake when the sun was.
A few hours later I woke in pitch darkness. The moon wasn't even out tonight, so I dressed in my long white skirt and my soft blue top. I slipped on a pair of sparkly flipflops and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I didn't feel like blending into the shadows. After checking to make sure the house was asleep I punched in the alarm code and grabbed my keys. I slipped out the front door, softly locking it behind me. I liked walking the neighborhood while the world was safely tucked away. It gave me a weird sense of power. No one watched me. I didn't have to worry about the sun burning me or making me squint. I skipped along the road in the darkness, humming to myself. My friends joked that I was nocturnal; too bad they didn't know how right they were.
I walked for a few blocks before turning onto a new street. It was a habit of mine to go on a new path any night I went for a walk. If I was gone when they all woke up I would just say I had gone out early. They were never suspicious. At the end of the street I frowned, realizing I was at a dead end. I didn't see any street signs, and only a solitary lamp lit the road. I was still in Port St. Lucie, wasn't I? To my left was a patch of woods that hadn't been torn down yet, and ahead of me was a giant hedge with a large, iron gate. I put my hands on the gate and attempted to peer through them. Who lived here?
I jumped when a stick to my left snapped. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I helplessly watched the tree line. Bobcats and wild boars still roamed here. With all of the houses being built, the animals had been forced into the neighborhoods. I hoped it was possibly the latter, and not a wild dog or something. I had encounted one of those only one time...I never wanted to again. When the foliage rustled and moved, I held back a scream and pulled my self up the large gate. I perched on the top, praying that God would spare me from the animals I were certain were there. Suddenly I heard another snap, this one sounding like more of a light foot step. The sound of a musical, ominous chuckle followed shortly after. I leapt down, ditching my flip flops, and took off running.
I wasn't sure how long I ran. All I knew was that my lungs felt like they were on fire, my feet were raw and blistered and I was panicking. What had been there? What could I have possibly been so afraid of that I had lost my shoes?! I walked up my driveway to the garage and unlocked the door. I pushed it up, securing it in place, and pulled out the ladder from behind my dad's work bench. It was a struggle to get it out of place, and even more of a struggle to get it set up properly against the side of the house. I climbed up to the roof and perched on the top, watching the pink and gold rays of dawn peek up over the nearby houses. A light film of clouds blanketed the sky, turning it into a dazzling painting of primary colors. I smiled at the sky and sighed. I had really liked those shoes...
