“Sorry about that, Charlotte,” he says. “You should have aimed your face a little lower. You know, like your friend.”
I narrow my eyes, my hands balling into fists at my side. “Brandon, you’re just jealous because you know that Sarah would never get within ten feet of your shriveled, little—”
And suddenly it strikes. My vision blurs, my skin catches fire, Brandon is gone. Only this is different from the Need. This is something else.
“You okay?” I hear, but can’t respond. It’s like I don’t have a mouth. It’s like I’m not here.
I’m on the bridge, the night dark and starless around me. It starts to rain and I can feel the splatters on my skin, but when I look down, there is nothing. No rain. No skin. Just glowing light.
I search for Onika, knowing that she’s always here waiting for me. Then from the other side of the bridge someone is running toward me. The wind is strong and it’s then that I notice where I am, standing on the guardrail, holding on to the cables. What am I doing here? Am I going to jump?
“Charlotte!”
I look up but I can’t see who it is. They’re too far away, their voice muffled by the storm. But next to me there’s a laugh. “Beautiful night, huh?”
“What’s happening?” I ask, turning toward Onika. “Why am I here?”
She stands up on the railing, balancing effortlessly even in high-heeled boots. “It’s easier to find you this way—in your visions. Although it was nice to see you in the pharmacy. Too bad about Miles, though. He’s been wanting to kill himself for a long while.”
In the distance I can still see a figure coming toward me and I’m frightened. I don’t know what to think anymore.
“So here’s my offer,” Onika says, reaching over to take my chin and turn me toward her, away from the approaching person. Up close, her beautiful porcelain skin has a tiny crack along her cheekbone. I blink quickly, alarmed by it. “You stay on Earth with me,” she says, “and I’ll give you everything you want.”
“How? How did you keep from bursting into light?”
Her icy blue eyes narrow. “It wasn’t easy. And it’s not for everyone. In fact, I’m not even sure you’re up for it. But I’ve been searching for other Forgotten and they were too weak. But you’re more like me. And wouldn’t it be nice if that meant you didn’t have to dissolve?”
“What do I have to do?” The person coming across the bridge is calling for me again, and I see Onika look toward them, her delicate jaw clenching. When she turns back to me, she tries to smile. The crack in her skin spreads slowly like a spiderweb.
“I’ll let you know when the time is right. I’m just happy to hear you’re game. Now . . .” She lets go of my chin and flips up the hood of her jacket. “It’s time for you to go. But first, a little taste of how blessed you’ll feel if you go into the light.”
And just then she rams her palms into my chest and sends me flying backward off the bridge. I feel myself falling, pain shredding my skin as I scream. I scream until my voice breaks and I squeeze my eyes shut as I wait for the imminent smack against the water. Then suddenly I feel myself being pulled out of my vision.
I open my eyes and Brandon is shaking me, telling me to stop screaming. I hear a loud noise in my ears but it takes a second for me to register my own shrieks. I stop, the sound still echoing in the room. When I look around, the entire class is staring at me, their mouths hanging open. Brandon seems terrified.
“Jesus, Charlotte. It was just a joke. You didn’t have to go all Exorcist on me.”
I’m shaking, every bone in my body feeling hot and out of place. When the teacher comes over and asks if I want to go to the nurse, I say yes and leave.
I walk through the empty halls, fear creeping up my legs and down my arms and I wrap my sweater tightly around me and move a little faster. Off the bridge, that’s how I’ll end—having to leap, just like the people in Monroe’s journal. That’s what happens if I give in to the Need.
But Onika offered a deal. She has a way to stop this, even if Monroe won’t. I’m just not sure if I can trust her. And her face? What happened to cause it to crack?
I shake my head, trying to stay in the moment. I’m losing so much time, time I should be living. So I decide that if that’s my end, falling off a damn bridge, I’m sure as hell not going on one. I have choices still. This is my life.
Chapter 14
I ’m still lying on the cot in the nurse’s office when I hear the sound of a shoe tapping impatiently on the linoleum. I start to smile before I even open my eyes.
“Come to check on me?” I say and manage to sit up. Sarah is there, a Diet Coke in one hand and a bored expression on her face.
“Seriously?” she asks. “You let Brandon One-Brain-Cell Whaler freak you out? I’m pretty sure I kneed him in the balls last year and you gave me a behind-the-back high-five. What happened?”
“It wasn’t him,” I say. “I mean, yeah, he’s a tool, but I don’t know. I—” And I stop because I realize that I can’t really explain. Visions of ghosts and falling off bridges aren’t exactly normal topics of conversation. Even if that’s now my life. “Never mind,” I say. “I think I have a concussion.”
“Probably. You look pale. Hey, you’re still going to go the charity event with me, right?”
I groan.
“Pretty please? It’ll be so boring without you there. I’ll be your best friend.”
I smile at her. “You’re lucky I already know you’re my best friend or my answer would have been a hell no.”
The nurse clears her throat from her desk. “If you’re well enough to make plans for tonight, Ms. Cassidy, I think you’re okay to go back to class.”
I’m a little embarrassed and nod, hopping down from the uncomfortable cot. She hands me a hall pass and I wonder if she thinks I did it all to get out of class. But I don’t say anything and instead follow behind Sarah into the crowded hallway.
As I fall in step next to her, I look sideways, anxiety creeping over me. “Sarah, remember that time last summer when we drove out to the coast to see the beached whale?”
She turns, a blank expression on her face. Please, no.
“Charlotte?” she asks slowly. “Why the hell would you bring that up? You know I puked for like two hours after I smelled that thing.”