“Emmy … you’re shivering,” she whispered, holding me tight.
We stayed like that for a long moment, our cheeks pressed together. When we pulled apart, I felt a little embarrassed. Sophie and I weren’t the huggy type. We almost never touched each other.
“Thank you for telling me about it,” she said softly, wiping her eyes. “Thank you for trusting me.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I just lowered my gaze and sighed.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sophie asked. “Anything at all?”
I raised my eyes to her. “I don’t think so. But … I’m glad we can talk like this.”
I crossed the room to my bed and climbed under the covers. A warm breeze fluttered the curtains at the open window. Sophie clicked off the light.
So weary … so exhausted. But my mind was still spinning. Surprisingly, I fell asleep quickly. Fell into a deep sleep and found myself in another dream that seemed as real as my waking life, the colors so vibrant, my vision so clear. I could smell the fresh air. Something sweet on the air.
In the dream, I was running, running on all fours through the sweet-smelling pasture. Tall grass brushed my sides. I thudded heavily, pounding out a steady rhythm.
I’m an animal, I told myself in the dream. I lowered my fur-covered head and trotted, the grass nearly up to my face, tickling me, brushing me with its prickly blades.
Day became night, and I was running through darkness. Running under a full moon, quivering above me.
The dream ended suddenly at the edge of the pasture.
I woke up in the darkness of my room. Saw the fluttering window curtain. And raised my head to howl.
Sitting up in bed, I howled like a wolf. Howled at the window, my wails shrill as a siren, howled and couldn’t stop.
And then Sophie was beside me. She wrapped her arms around my body as I howled. “It’s okay,” she said calmly, quietly. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She repeated the words until I lowered my head and became silent.
“It’s okay, Emmy,” Sophie said. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad. I promise. I won’t tell them what’s happening to you.”
22.
“I promise. I won’t tell them what’s happening to you .”
I thought about Sophie’s words all day in school. I couldn’t think about much else.
What IS happening to me?
The answers were too frightening. Too weird. Was I going totally insane?
I was desperate for a distraction. I tried to shut everything from my mind as I drove to my after-school job.
Three days a week, I have an after-school job as a nanny. I take care of this sweet little boy named Martin in a house four doors down from Shadyside High. Martin is only fourteen months, and he’s just learned to walk and to run. This means he falls down about a hundred times an hour.
It’s fun to take care of him. He babbles nonsense words all the time I’m there. But the hard part of my job is keeping right beside him and making sure when he falls a hundred times that he doesn’t hit his head or get a bruise that might cost me my job.
I know that sounds cold. Of course, I worry about Martin, too. But his mom pays me really well, and I’m desperate to keep this job.
His mom got home from her job around five thirty, and Martin went wobbling over to her, his arms raised high in a nice greeting. I gave her a short report on all the games we had played and what Martin had eaten. Then I said, “See you next time,” and hurried out the door to my car.
And that’s when I noticed the man dressed all in black, large dark shades covering most of his face, watching me from a little gray car parked directly across the street. I stared for a moment, frozen, trying to determine if he really was watching me or if I was imagining it because of my current paranoid state.
He didn’t look away.
His window was rolled down. He had one arm resting on the door of the car. Of course I couldn’t see his eyes, but his head turned as I stepped up to my car.
He’s
We stayed like that for a long moment, our cheeks pressed together. When we pulled apart, I felt a little embarrassed. Sophie and I weren’t the huggy type. We almost never touched each other.
“Thank you for telling me about it,” she said softly, wiping her eyes. “Thank you for trusting me.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I just lowered my gaze and sighed.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sophie asked. “Anything at all?”
I raised my eyes to her. “I don’t think so. But … I’m glad we can talk like this.”
I crossed the room to my bed and climbed under the covers. A warm breeze fluttered the curtains at the open window. Sophie clicked off the light.
So weary … so exhausted. But my mind was still spinning. Surprisingly, I fell asleep quickly. Fell into a deep sleep and found myself in another dream that seemed as real as my waking life, the colors so vibrant, my vision so clear. I could smell the fresh air. Something sweet on the air.
In the dream, I was running, running on all fours through the sweet-smelling pasture. Tall grass brushed my sides. I thudded heavily, pounding out a steady rhythm.
I’m an animal, I told myself in the dream. I lowered my fur-covered head and trotted, the grass nearly up to my face, tickling me, brushing me with its prickly blades.
Day became night, and I was running through darkness. Running under a full moon, quivering above me.
The dream ended suddenly at the edge of the pasture.
I woke up in the darkness of my room. Saw the fluttering window curtain. And raised my head to howl.
Sitting up in bed, I howled like a wolf. Howled at the window, my wails shrill as a siren, howled and couldn’t stop.
And then Sophie was beside me. She wrapped her arms around my body as I howled. “It’s okay,” she said calmly, quietly. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She repeated the words until I lowered my head and became silent.
“It’s okay, Emmy,” Sophie said. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad. I promise. I won’t tell them what’s happening to you.”
22.
“I promise. I won’t tell them what’s happening to you .”
I thought about Sophie’s words all day in school. I couldn’t think about much else.
What IS happening to me?
The answers were too frightening. Too weird. Was I going totally insane?
I was desperate for a distraction. I tried to shut everything from my mind as I drove to my after-school job.
Three days a week, I have an after-school job as a nanny. I take care of this sweet little boy named Martin in a house four doors down from Shadyside High. Martin is only fourteen months, and he’s just learned to walk and to run. This means he falls down about a hundred times an hour.
It’s fun to take care of him. He babbles nonsense words all the time I’m there. But the hard part of my job is keeping right beside him and making sure when he falls a hundred times that he doesn’t hit his head or get a bruise that might cost me my job.
I know that sounds cold. Of course, I worry about Martin, too. But his mom pays me really well, and I’m desperate to keep this job.
His mom got home from her job around five thirty, and Martin went wobbling over to her, his arms raised high in a nice greeting. I gave her a short report on all the games we had played and what Martin had eaten. Then I said, “See you next time,” and hurried out the door to my car.
And that’s when I noticed the man dressed all in black, large dark shades covering most of his face, watching me from a little gray car parked directly across the street. I stared for a moment, frozen, trying to determine if he really was watching me or if I was imagining it because of my current paranoid state.
He didn’t look away.
His window was rolled down. He had one arm resting on the door of the car. Of course I couldn’t see his eyes, but his head turned as I stepped up to my car.
He’s
Similar Books
