“You, me, and Sam all under the same roof?” She looked at me like I had five heads.
“Gran, too.” I reminded her.
Suspicion bloomed around her, but underneath that the vibrant red lost some of its vibrancy and I also noticed there was an increase in the amount of green and blue in her aura. Cole was right. She needed someone and the idea of not living alone appealed to her. Even if that meant living with me.
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“I told you, so you won’t be alone.”
She shook her head. “What do you care if I’m alone? You made it clear we aren’t friends anymore.”
“We were friends for a long time, Kimber. Best friends. We’ve been through a lot together, and I feel partially responsible for what happened to you. I figure this is one way I can help.”
“I don’t want your pity.”
“I don’t pity you. I said I feel partially responsible not totally. You did most of this to yourself.”
Anger and jealousy flared around her and I held up my hand to stop whatever nasty thing she was about to say. “Look, the offer stands. Think about it. If you want to come over after cheer practice, I’ll be there.”
I left her standing there watching me as I walked away. I could hardly believe I just invited her to live with us. I must be insane. But then I remembered the relief in Cole’s aura when I called Kimber away from him. Maybe if I gave Kimber somewhere else to be, she wouldn’t be with him all the time. Maybe he would get a break.
But what about me? What would living with Kimber be like?
I had a feeling it might be more than I bargained for.
* * *
I parked in the back of the lot next to Sam’s old truck, grabbed my duffle bag, and headed for the entrance. My previous thoughts about college came back and I realized I had no clue whatsoever if I even wanted to go. And if I did go, what would I study? What was I interested in? I didn’t know. The thoughts hit me like a pitcher of ice water.
I had no idea who I was.
I mean, yes, I had become strong, capable, and comfortable in my skin. I no longer cared what other people thought of me. I wasn’t the carefree, fun-loving girl I was before all of this happened to me. I was in love with Sam. I cared deeply for my family.
But, since becoming scarred and meeting Sam, my life had pretty much been taken over with survival.
Who was I?
What were my interests? My passions (beside Sam), my dreams?
At least Sam had this place. This gym might not seem like much to some people, but for Sam, it had been a lifeline for a long time. When he didn’t have a job, this place gave him one. When he felt like he’d been spinning out of control, this place showed him control. Living as man and hellhound had to be physically demanding, yet he met those demands and challenged them. I completely understood why he would want to be a personal trainer. I’ve seen how he is with clients here and also how he is with me in training. He knows how to get results and he does it in a way that’s supportive.
He wasn’t at the front desk when I walked inside. I glanced into the main workout area with all the treadmills and cardio equipment, but I didn’t see him in there either. Knowing he was around somewhere, I went into the ladies’ locker room to change out of my jeans.
The gym was fairly quiet. It was the time of day between the rush of people fitting in a workout on their lunch hour and the after-work rush. I was alone in the bathroom and I enjoyed the quiet, figuring if Kimber showed up tonight at Gran’s I probably wouldn’t have quiet again for who knew how long.
I changed into a pair of black yoga pants with a zebra print fold over waistband and a pink tank top and pulled my hair back into a high ponytail. As I was bending down to tie my sneakers, everything went dark.
You’d be surprised how dark a locker room could be when it had no windows, only one door, and no natural light. I froze, not being able to see my own hand in front of me, and stayed crouched low to the ground, bent over my shoe. I braced both hands on the cold tile floor and waited for the power to come back on. I figured it would only be a momentary flicker. But as the seconds dragged into minutes, I began to think maybe it would be longer.
Just as I was about to get up, I didn’t so much as hear something but felt it. Almost like a brush of air against my shoulder. I turned my head but of course saw nothing. Then almost immediately I felt the same sensation on the back of my neck.
I shuddered and jumped to my feet.
“Who’s there?” My voice seemed to echo in the dark, empty room.
From across the room, inside a bathroom stall, a toilet flushed.
My heart began to pound.
A sink from the same side of the room turned on and I heard the rush of running water.
“Hello?” I called.
No one was in here. No one but me.
That meant whoever else was in here was a what.
Something light brushed against me again and it caused my skin to contract. I felt it pull in tight against my frame like it was trying to slink away from whatever was there.
I whipped around when the showers turned on, the sound of spraying water filling my ears. I turned, putting my back to the lockers, and then I was shoved, something light pushing me back with enough force I fell into the lockers, my head bouncing off the hard metal doors.
I didn’t have time to call out.
Because I was invaded.
I was firmly up against the wall when something seemed to surround me. Dark tendrils of energy wrapped around my arms and legs, winding their way across my body, squeezing and tightening. I felt like someone plunged a needle deep into my vein, sending a cold, lethargic liquid directly into my blood stream and effectively began to knock me out.
I was drowsy.
Just as my eyes began to flutter closed, the bands wrapped around me, pulled me forward, then slammed me back against the lockers. My teeth snapped together with a violence that broke the stupor which had overcome me.
Fight!
I lifted my arms and kicked my legs, trying to shake off whatever it was that surrounded me. I managed to loosen whatever it was, but not get free. I slammed myself into the lockers again, hoping to stun it, but all that accomplished was giving me some bruises.
Heven! Sam’s voice broke through my mind.
I’m in the locker room, I told him as I made a dash for the showers. I bumped into everything in the room it seemed—lockers, benches, walls. I used the sound of the showers as a beacon and soon came upon them, stepping in, slipping on the wet floor, and catching myself on a vinyl shower curtain that hung from one of the stalls. The whole rod came down and the curtain draped over me like a bad Halloween costume.