Page 8 of Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

A hand appeared in front of my face, waving up and down. “Earth to Skyler.”

I tore my gaze away and blinked at Dustin, whose blue eyes shone with amusement when I shook my head to clear it.

“You’re not having a bad turn, are you?”

Of course…the drugs. I was having a bad trip, that was all. A very bad fucking trip. Where I’d felt light and blissful earlier, I now felt trapped and claustrophobic. I needed to get out of here. I needed to sink a blade deep into my skin and watch the blood rush to the surface.

Evelyn rubbed my back, her sweet perfume entering my nostrils as she leaned in close. “Remember, just one more week, and then it’s back to normal.”

I clung to her words as I stared at the crow on the gravestone up ahead. It cawed. My hands felt clammy and my throat was dry. The threat of a panic attack lingered at the fringes of my mind, hoping to catch me unawares now that I’d been weakened by the magic pill promising to chase away the shadows, but invited them instead.

My eyes soon drifted back toward the dark woods, but Nate’s apparition was gone. The skinny branches swayed gently in the breeze, hiding the darkness beyond.

A shiver ran through me at the sensation of being watched, the hairs on my back standing up. I kept looking back at that one spot behind the branches, but it remained empty. I couldn’t shake the feeling of disquietude.

CHAPTER

THREE

SKYLER

Leaning over the railing of the old, rusty train bridge, I stared down at the murky water below. To the left, near the bank, where the water was shallow, was an immersed shopping cart. The red handlebar was just visible beneath the surface, splitting the stirring water every time the breeze danced across it. Birds tweeted in the trees, the sun setting in the distance. It had been Lily’s idea to come here after school, and Evelyn had dragged me along, much to my grumbling.

A few of the cheerleaders sat crossed-legged on the ground, doing their homework, while some of the more adventurous football players challenged each other to climb the metal bridge. Lewis was almost at the top, leaning back out and smirking at his friends. His smile was smug and wide, a dimple popping in his cheek.

Max walked up behind me and clasped Dustin on the shoulder. “We should jump in.”

Beside me, Dustin straightened up. “Are you fucking crazy? It’s freezing.”

“Scared your balls will shrivel back inside your body?”

“Fuck off,” laughed Dustin, and I rolled my eyes when he shrugged out of his winter coat and pulled his hoodie over the back of his head. “You want to do this?”

“Hell, yeah,” Max replied excitedly, following suit.

Evelyn chose that moment to walk up to us, pulling her jacket tighter as she took in the scene. The confusion on her face made me snigger.

Pushing off the railing, I joined her. “Don’t ask questions.”

“Oh, I won’t,” she replied when Max kicked off his jeans. Behind us, the girls on the ground giggled as they abandoned their homework to admire the muscles on display.

“You have to admit,” Evelyn said, sliding her eyes down Dustin’s muscled chest, “he’s got a hot body.”

“You fuck him, then.” I walked off, causing her to frown and take chase. I set off down the hill, slipping onto my butt and sliding down the damp grass. Evelyn didn’t fare any better.

“Where are you going?”

Reaching the bottom, I straightened and picked up a long stick before walking over to the river. The grass was wetter here, but my feet stayed dry inside my studded boots.

Evelyn, wearing suede western boots, wasn’t as lucky. She grumbled as she caught up to me.

A masculine holler rang out to our right before a loud splash had the footballers cheering on top of the bridge.

Dustin broke the surface, flicking his hair out of his eyes. “Fuck, that’s cold!”

Max jumped too, and another splash sounded as I crouched down by the river’s edge, stirring the surface with a stick. It was deep in the middle, but shallow here.

“You’re acting weird,” Evelyn said, standing uncertainly beside me.

---