Fluorescence: The Complete Tetralogy Page 5

  He reached for my hand again, cupped it between his and squeezed gently. “Last night was one of the best nights of my life. Because of you.”

  I playfully combed my other hand through his messy hair and grinned.

  “I need to figure out what’s going on with me. Promise not to say anything.”

  “Cross my heart and hope to die.” He made a crisscross gesture over his chest and smirked.

  “Don’t say that, Brian.”

  “Yeah, don’t say that, Brian,” Sam chimed in.

  Brian let go of my hand and I spun around to greet her, hoping she hadn’t seen anything incriminating.

  “It’s soooo 90’s.” Sam knocked on the door with her knuckles. “Good morning, Alllliiice. Brian.”

  “When did you get here, Sam?” I asked.

  “A little while ago. Your mom texted me this morning so, of course, I had to come.” She held out her empty hands and frowned. “I brought you some tea but the nurse lady said I couldn’t bring it in here.” She pushed out her lower lip. “Meanies.”

  “Did they just let you in?” I cocked my head at her.

  “Yeah. The lady said he’s allowed visitors.”

  I felt really stupid. Apparently I had lied to the receptionist for no reason. Oh well.

  “You can go with her,” said Brian. “I’ll be okay. Go home and get some sleep, Alice. Just do me a favor and give my mom your cell number, please? I’ll text you when I’m back home.”

  I didn’t want to leave him, but with Sam there the whole mood was spoiled. No use hanging around being sleep deprived. If the doctor said he would be okay, that was the only thing I needed to hear.

  But now, despite what my brain was telling me, I felt the need to just be there. In his presence. It was a strong force pulling me closer. Keeping me where I was. Putting my nerves at ease.

  I remembered the calming scent of his jacket. His warmth.

  “Come on, girl.” Sam yanked my arm.

  “Ow!”

  “Let’s go get you some tea. Buh-bye Brian.”

  I waved to him as she dragged me back to the lobby.

  “Here.” She handed me a hot to-go cup. “Thought it would help wake you up.” I cupped my fingers around it and took a slow breath of the wispy steam seeping out of the lid. English breakfast tea. Malty and warm. Creamy with a tad of sweetness.

  Sam scrunched her lips up to one side and raised an eyebrow. “So, what were you and Brian doing outside last night anyway?” She leaned closer and her eyebrows bobbed up and down suspiciously.

  “Nothing. We were just talking.”

  “I’m not an idiot.”

  “Okay, okay.” My voice lowered to a whisper. Mom was nearby. “We danced to one song and that was it. We held hands and… the next thing I knew… I was calling 9-1-1.”

  “Did you electrocute him?” She planted her fists on her hips. “You are a terrible girlfriend!”

  “Shh!” I looked to see if anyone had heard her. An old woman sitting nearby had a wide-eyed stare aimed at me. I smiled, dumbly, hoping she’d stop looking.

  Not that it bothered me, but was I the only person who didn’t know about the whole girlfriend thing?

  Chapter 8

  I zipped my hoodie closed and flipped the hood up over my head, covering my shoulder so they wouldn’t see the blazing, fiery green glow. Brighter than it had ever been. I fast-walked toward the abandoned building ahead, keeping an eye on my surroundings.

  I heard a rustle in the distance and veered around.

  “Alice!” Brian rushed up to me and grabbed my hand. “Come on!”

  We ran as fast as we could.

  Trying to escape from something. Someone.

  Terrified. Confused. I didn’t know who or what was chasing us. Or where we were headed, for that matter. We just had to get there… fast.

  Out of breath. So tired. Muscles burned. Feet ached.

  It was dark inside and the building was dirty and old—completely falling apart. Broken pieces of glass and furniture littered the floor. Wallpaper peeled. The air smelled of mold. I coughed hard, choking on dust.

  I flipped a switch.

  No power.

  Oh, God. We were sitting ducks.

  We ran up a flight of stairs. I knew that up on the fifth floor, a sky bridge connected this building to the next.

  Get out before they find you. A voice lingered in my head. Whose voice? They will kill you.

  I turned to Brian.

  And yelped.

  “What? What the hell, Alice?” He looked around frantically. “What is it?”

  He had them—the veins. Glowing azure veins resonated beneath the skin of his left arm. The light started from just above his elbow and stretched down to his fingertips, mirroring my own in every way except in color.

  “Your arm. You’re…”

  “What? We don’t have time for this. We have to find her.”

  “Her?” Her who?

  “What’s wrong with you? We have to find her and get to the door before they find us.”

  Door? What door?

  Something crashed behind me and I gasped.

  “Let’s go!” Brian grabbed my wrist. We ran, dodging debris and hopping over broken planks of wood and ceiling tiles. More dust clouded the air. I coughed, covering my mouth with my sleeve. The rooms crumbled. Every step was a hazard. The floor could give any second.

  Third floor.

  Fourth floor.

  Fifth floor.

  The sky bridge was just ahead. Only a few sliding glass doors and shattered ceiling tiles stood between us and freedom. I rushed toward the doors and started lifting and tossing aside the debris. Brian helped, digging into the piles of musty drywall and kicking pieces out of the way.

  Something sliced my palm and I grunted, turning over my hand. A deep, hairline wound split open and blood oozed from my palm.

  “I cut myself.” I groaned. “No…”

  Brian came to my side and grimaced. “It’s deep.” He looked around for the culprit and found it at my feet—a glimmering tin ceiling panel. “Damn it. That’s no good.”

  He wasted no time in removing his overshirt and quickly wrapping it around my hand. He tucked a tail end into a fold and pulled it snug. I flexed my fingers. It would have to do.

  “I’ll get the rest,” he said, making short work of what was left in our way.

  The ground rumbled beneath our feet. It sounded like a floor had collapsed somewhere else in the building.

  “Help!”

  A female voice. Muffled.

  “Help me!” Again.

  Brian perked up and listened.

  “This way.” He motioned to the right. “I think she’s over there.”

  I took a step and stopped. “No, Brian.” I held my ground. “We have to go forward. We can’t stop for anyone. They warned us.”

  Somehow I couldn’t even remember who they were.

  “Whoever she is, she’s in trouble.” He glared at me as if I were the most selfish person on the planet. “We have to help her.”

  We had almost reached the next building—and freedom from this deathtrap. There wasn’t much ground left to cover. Only a glass bridge that could crumble in an instant if another tremor came through. The glass already showed stress cracks. But we couldn’t get separated.

  The look on his face made me feel like a villain and I couldn’t stomach his disappointment if I said no again.

  “Okay. But we have to hurry.” I hopped over a small pile of broken paneling and followed him.

  My hand ached. I flexed my fingers and squeezed the blood-soaked shirt. A few droplets of crimson fell to the floor.

  Ugh. No. Now they could track us.

  We were in trouble.

  “Brian! Come on! I’m bleeding everywhere.”

  “Please. Help.” The voice sounded weaker now but closer.

  We rushed into a nearby room filled with
piles of wood and broken drywall. The pungent scent of decay made my nose wrinkle.

  Something moved and I backed up against a wall, afraid the floor might give way.

  “There!” Brian pointed.

  A dark-skinned hand reached toward us, trapped and camouflaged beneath a pile of rubble.

  BUZZ

  That sound. Another tremor?

  BUZZ

  I felt groggy and weak.

  BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

  My head hurt. I blinked and rolled over.

  My cell vibrated on my dresser, jittering toward the edge.

  I reached and caught it before it slipped off.

  “Hey… Brian?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “It’s 2 AM. What’s up?”

  “I just had the weirdest dream ever.”

  I fell silent.

  “Alice?”

  “Me, too.”

  Chapter 9

  The hospital released Brian sooner than I’d expected. They said he’d made a miraculous recovery, his body healing much faster than they had anticipated. He could go back to school after Christmas break.

  Being trapped in the hospital for days after having seen my glow had made him a little crazy, though. And I couldn’t have been more anxious, either. We had a lot to talk about.

  The dream? We’d both had it that night. His version had varied slightly but the gist had been the same. Too much to be coincidental.

  He wanted to come over and talk in person, but Mom wouldn’t have it. Not while we were knee-deep in making plans for our annual family get-together—a huge dinner party she always threw the week before Christmas.

  Family from out of town, a few cousins, and Sam came every year. We’d eat candy, cookies, turkey, stuffing, you name it. We broke holiday crackers and stayed up late catching up and telling stories. It was fun and I was looking forward to it, but this year, I felt kind of bad I couldn’t invite Brian. I knew we hadn’t been friends long but so much had happened between us. I felt really close to him. Really… really close.

  . . .

  Brian had managed to convince his mom to swing by my house on the way home from the hospital so he could “thank me.” My mom wasn’t happy about the idea—she hadn’t even met him before the accident, so I couldn’t blame her for feeling on edge.

  “You’ll like him, Mom. He’s nice,” I said, trying to reassure her.

  “It’s not about me liking him, Alice,” Mom replied, scrunching her lips to the side. He’d only be stopping by for a few minutes, but the way she was acting, you’d think he was planning on staying the night.

  “Mom. Mom, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends, okay?”

  She shook her head and sighed. “If you say so, hun. I’ll take your word for it.”

  I went back upstairs to my room and waited.

  The doorbell rang.

  I heard the front door open and my mother chatting with Brian for a few moments. I tried to listen but couldn’t hear a thing from the staircase.

  The front door shut.

  “Alice!” Mom yelled.

  “Coming!” I’d already made it halfway down the stairs.

  “I think you know who’s here. Don’t be long. His mother’s waiting in the car and that cold front is really hitting hard out there.” She handed me a sweater from the coat rack. It was a frumpy beige button-up I pretty much only wore when no one was looking.

  “Thanks, but I won’t be long.” I declined and she hung it back up behind me, sighing.

  I opened the door and Brian smiled.

  “Hey, Alice.” He lifted the fingers of one hand in an awkward wave. “So, how have you been?”

  “I’m doing okay. You?” My words formed white puffs in the air.

  “Better. A lot better.”

  “That’s good.” I nodded.

  A gush of cold air blew past, and my hair tickled my cheeks.

  Brian reached out.

  I held my breath.

  He brushed a loose lock behind my ear.

  Our eyes met and I shied away with a nervous smile.

  I tucked my hands into the pockets of my fleece pullover and looked down at my feet.

  Brian cleared his throat. “Thanks again, Alice,” he said. “If it weren’t for you, I might not be here today. I’m grateful for what you did for me.”

  “You already thanked me, Brian.” I peeked past his shoulder to see his mom in her car, fixated on something in her lap—probably a phone. She had the radio on some country station.

  “I… guess I’d better get going.” He shoved his hands into his jean pockets and looked back toward his mom’s car and then again at me.

  I didn’t want him to go.

  “Alright. Take care of yourself,” I said. “We’ll catch up when things aren’t so hectic around here. After my relatives leave.” My nose tingled from the cold. It had to be bright pink by now.

  “Sure.” He did his awkward partial wave again and turned to leave. He took one step down off the porch and stopped.

  “Oh, and Alice.” He turned around, all the confidence draining from his face. “I need to ask you something before I go.”

  “Anything.”

  “Will you… be my girlfriend? I really want to get out of whatever awkward stage we’re stuck in right now.” I caught him glancing at my lips.

  “I’m fourteen, Brian. I don’t think my mom would appreciate me having a boyfriend right now.”

  He shrugged. “Look, don’t think about it like that. We can make it work. But, you’re going to have to agree first.”

  “I…”

  “Say yes. Please.” His kind hazel eyes drew me in, pleading for me to reconsider.

  I wanted to. I really did.

  “Brian, I…”

  He took a step up and cupped my hand, his warm fingers embracing mine.

  I crumbled.

  “Yes.”

  He was three inches from my face before I could…

  He kissed me.

  I closed my eyes and froze, my last breath catching in my throat.

  His hands came up to cup my face, pulling me closer.

  Fingers combed through my hair.

  The porch disappeared beneath my feet.

  If only I’d said yes sooner.

  Our lips parted and my heart sank like a stone, forcing the rest of my body to acknowledge gravity again.

  But then our noses touched and he lingered a moment, his warm breaths teasing my heartstrings. I’d once thought his eyes couldn’t get any prettier. The soft, woodsy green encircled by hints of light amber and brown. The tiny, perfect fleck of near-black embellishing only his left iris.

  “See you at the Christmas party.” His lips curled and he smiled even bigger with his eyes. Brian turned away and stepped off the porch.

  I traced my lips with my fingertips as he walked off, part of me leaving with him.

  Okay, so maybe Mom was right to be a little concerned.

  Chapter 10

  “You invited Brian to the Christmas party?”

  “Brian and his mother,” Mom corrected. “I asked if they had plans and he told me they usually spend Christmas alone. It only seemed right to invite them, seeing how they’ve only been in town for a few months. You don’t have a problem with it, do you?”

  “No. Of course not. I was just surprised, that’s all. You seemed really worried about him at first and now…”

  “Now, I’ll get to know him properly. Over dinner with family.”

  “Sounds good.”

  It then occurred to me that since Brian was coming over for the Christmas Party… it might be a nice idea to get him a small something for Christmas. Of course, I had absolutely no clue what or even where to start looking.

  Nice going, Alice.

  I’d been kissed by a boy who I didn’t even know well enough to buy a Christmas present for. Smart move.
Brilliant teenage mind at work.

  “I’m excited,” I added, smiling big. “Except about Uncle Teddy. He’s always kind of…”

  “Weird?” Mom added with a laugh. “His stories are pretty bad, but he’s always been a good brother.”

  “I know.”

  Uncle Teddy had been the first to console her during the divorce. He’d always told her how much he had disliked my dad. Even before she had married him. I didn’t know my dad before he was Dad, so I wasn’t one to judge. I hardly saw him anymore and I missed him. I missed my dad like crazy.

  . . .

  “Get the door, Alice!” Mom hunched down in front of the open oven, basting a turkey with one hand and stirring a pot of sweet potatoes on top of the stove with the other. I’d heard the doorbell ring before she’d even yelled, but had to snake my way through the aftermath of the holiday explosion our home had endured to even get to it. Festively wrapped presents had been lovingly tucked in nearly every corner. Lighted artificial spruce garland spiraled down the staircase railing and above the doorframes. Our eight-foot Christmas tree twinkled with multi-colored lights in the far end of the living room. Its red velvet tree skirt—a family heirloom—had been sprinkled with holiday crackers and decorative favors.

  Eleven-year-old cousin Kevin, Teddy’s son, sat alongside a pile of puzzle pieces he had scattered halfway across the carpet. The contents of a 1,000 piece set he probably wouldn’t finish before getting distracted by something else. Boys.

  Aunt Stephanie was in the kitchen finishing up her homemade pumpkin pie. I’d snuck a taste early in the day as she’d stood mixing the ingredients. Spicy and sweet. The wispy scent of cinnamon and cloves would linger in the house for days after the party.

  Ham. Stuffing. Turkey. Gravy. And a dash of sugar cookies to “keep the little ones appeased.” So many smells melding together. The smell of Christmas. The warm fuzzy feeling of love and family. Presents and laughter.

  I put on a smile and opened the front door.

  “Sorry it took me so long,” I said. “I apologize.”

  Brian’s mother greeted me with a vase of lovely red and white carnations tied together with pretty gold ribbon. I invited her in and Brian followed behind, grinning sweetly as he passed me. Seeing him melted my heart.