Page 78 of Sweet Nightmare

Lightning booms across the sky yet again, and Eva wraps a hand around my upper arm. “Why are you stopping?” she shouts. “Come on!”

“Sorry!” I lay on the speed, and we burst through the main door of the dorm like our lives depend on it. And maybe they do, considering the door has barely closed behind us when the sky opens up with a lightning show like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

We collapse the second we’re inside. Luis drops the tapestry and stretches out, spread-eagled on the ground. Eva leans back against the wall, breath bellowing in and out. And I just lean over, bracing my hands on my knees, as I try desperately to catch my breath.

But we can’t lay around the dorm common room forever—I’m wet and freezing. Eva picks up the tapestry, and we head toward the table to get our dinners. But I’ve only gone a few steps when my mother’s voice rings out behind me, followed by the clip, clip, clip of her shoes against the worn tile.

“Clementine! Are you all right?” she asks.

Eva and Luis take one look at her and hightail it across the room with the tapestry while I step in front of them to block her view.

“I’m fine,” I tell her, forcing myself to straighten up even though I still can barely breathe. “We were just trying to outrun the lightning.”

Her eyes are intense as she catalogs me from head to toe.

“Your aunt told me there was a problem earlier. Is everything okay now?”

A problem seems like an understatement, but since I don’t want her to chain me to her side for the next twelve hours, I just shrug. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m okay.”

“You’re sure?” Her eyes search mine.

“Oh, yeah. I freaked out a little in the middle of the unmeshed thing, but I’m good now. Really.”

“All right, then. Grab your dinner and get back to your room. We’ve instituted an eight o’clock curfew tonight, and the staff will be patrolling to ensure everyone stays safely where they belong.”

I nod.

“And take a hot shower, will you, please? The last thing you need is to get sick right now.”

It’s such a motherly thing to say that, at first, I’m convinced I heard her wrong. But she definitely still looks worried.

“I really am fine, Mom,” I tell her.

“You always are,” she says, blowing out a long breath. “Claudia reminded me this afternoon that I can be too harsh on you sometimes, and I’m sorry about that. I know we don’t agree on much right now, but I do love you, Clementine. Very much.”

“I know you do, Mom.” Tears burn at the backs of my eyes. I beat them back for what feels like the millionth time today. Because we do have our disagreements. And I do think she’s wrong about a lot of things, especially how she runs this place. Not to mention, I’m still furious with her about what happened to Serena. But… “I love you, too, Mom.”

She nods, her throat working in a way I’ve never seen before. “Okay. Get going before your friends get tired of waiting for you. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay.” Impulsively, I lean forward and give her a quick peck on the cheek. “Make sure you get some rest, too.”

“I’ll rest when I get every one of my students and faculty to safety. Until then, I’ve got work to do.”

As if to underscore the point, the walkie-talkie she’s got fastened to her waistband starts to crackle. “To your room,” she tells me with a stern look before walking away, putting the radio at her ear.

“What was that all about?” Luis asks, eyes wide as I join him and Eva next to a large pile of folded towels.

“I think she was worried about the whole unmeshing thing,” I answer as Eva hands me a towel. “I think she wanted to check on me. I told her everything was fine.”

“I’d rather not get a massive punishment for our little magic carpet–snatching adventure, so good call,” Eva tells me. “Now, I’m starving, so do you guys mind if we grab dinner and head out?”

“Already ahead of you,” Luis says. “I’ve got stuff back at the cottage, so I’ll see you guys later. But call me if that thing does anything else, will you?”

“Absolutely,” I promise.

Luis heads out with a little wave while Eva and I grab the tapestry, our box dinners, an umbrella, and a couple of ponchos from the table set up near the door before signing out. Then we head toward the center mall that runs through the entire dorm area and leads directly to our cottages. But we’ve only made it about halfway when we look up to find Jean-Claude walking down the sidewalk straight toward us.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

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