Awaken by Skye Malone

embarrass her.
    For a moment, Noah studied Baylie, and
something in his expression made me think he guessed what the
conversation had been about anyway.
    “She tell you about the pepper spray?” he
asked me.
    Confused, I shook my head.
    He lifted an eyebrow at his stepsister.
Baylie grimaced.
    “She was the first to see what the guy was
doing,” Noah explained when she didn’t say anything. “She
pepper-sprayed him. Made him let you go.”
    The memory came back. “I heard someone
scream.”
    Noah nodded. “You need to stop blaming
yourself,” he told Baylie.
    She looked down.
    “Baylie,” I said. “Please? It’s not your
fault.” I paused. “You probably saved my life.”
    She swallowed, her face taking on the same
green cast I’d seen for days, whenever she or the others thought
back on what things must have looked like in the bookstore.
    I turned to the window, determinedly ignoring
the expression.
    “He was just so…” Baylie trailed off.
    “Insane,” I supplied, attempting to keep my
voice even as I glanced back at them.
    Noah’s face made it clear he thought the
same, possibly with a few more colorful words thrown in.
    “But I’m fine ,” I continued.
“Really.”
    Baylie hesitated a moment, and then
nodded.
    “So you want to go shopping again?” I
asked.
    Incredulous, she looked up at me. I
grinned.
    She made an exasperated noise, but a smile
tugged at her lips. “I swear, you’d tell jokes in the middle of
anything.”
    Holding onto the grin, I pushed to my feet,
though her words weren’t quite true.
    I was just going to be fine if it killed
me.
    “Okay, so no shopping,” I said, my tone
lighter than I actually felt. “What else can we do? Volleyball?
Maybe a game or something?”
    They hesitated.
    “Come on,” I said, almost feeling ready to
beg. “Let’s do something normal, okay?”
    “You play poker?” Noah asked.
    “No, but I’ll learn.”
    He smiled.
    By the bed, Baylie took a breath, almost
visibly pushing her concern back inside. “Watch out, though. He’s
vicious.”
    Noah gave her a mock glare.
    We headed for the stairs again, and this
time, Baylie intercepted Diane before she could worry at me
further. Noah grabbed a deck of cards from an end table in the
living room, and in short order we were set up to play.
    Hours passed and by the time dinner rolled
around, I’d managed to win a few hands. We took a brief break to
eat and then went back to the game, with Maddox joining us after he
returned from work.
    And for a while, I finally felt like life was
normal.
    It was late when we called it quits, and
Diane and Peter had long since gone to bed. Waving goodnight to the
guys, Baylie and I headed back to our room. As she climbed beneath
the covers, I pulled open the window to let in the cool night air,
and when I turned back around, I realized she’d already fallen
asleep.
    I grinned as I changed into my pajamas and
then got into bed. She’d stayed awake at the hospital for days; it
was about time the girl got some rest. The pillow felt good beneath
my head as I lay down, and on the ceiling, the skylight showed a
beautiful view of the stars.
    But sleep didn’t want to come.
    It’d been like this ever since the first
night in the hospital. Lying around all day meant I didn’t use much
energy, and so when it came time to sleep, I simply couldn’t. My
whole body wouldn’t stop buzzing.
    Rolling over, I closed my eyes, trying to
will myself into unconsciousness. Time crawled by, my mind dipping
briefly into confusing dreams about the previous day before
surfacing again. The soothing ocean was nowhere to be found, and my
muscles wouldn’t stop twitching.
    I scowled, pushing away from the bed and
looking around the room. Maybe if I walked around the house for a
while, or got something warm to drink, I’d finally be able to
sleep. But anything was better than lying here all night, gradually
turning into a cramped ball of nervous energy.
    Leaving the room silently, I