Page 76 of Fate

Chapter Seventeen

Carson

“Wake the fuck up.”A firm hand slaps at my cheeks, jarring the slosh that is my brain right now. “Carson, wake up.” This time water is splashed on myface.

“Jesus…” I barely get the word out before nausea hits my gut. I tumble out of bed, running into walls and fumbling to the toilet, where I throwup.

“He’s sick. You should go.” I hear Misty’s tight voice from somewhere in the otherroom.

“I’m not going anywhere. Kat’s hurt. She needs him.” Chase’s voice. I hear Chase. Why the fuck is my cousin here? Why does my head hurt somuch?

Kat’shurt.

I try to speak, but another bout of nausea rips through me and I heave over the bowl again. Whatever bit of food and water I had inside me comes out over and over again until I’m hacking upbile.

“You hungover?” Chase asks, handing me a wet cloth.

No man. I didn’t even have a drinkis what I mean to say. What comes out is, “Nah mah, I no drink.”

“Sick?” He clasps my forehead. “Fuck, you’re burningup.”

“I no know. I no remember.” My mouth feels funny and my head is dizzy. My tongue is swollen to double its size. Speaking clearly takes serious effort. The room tilts and sways as I attempt to standup.

Chase’s jaw tightens. “You need to get your shit together. Kat’s been in a car accident. Four-car pileup on the freeway, and it looks like it’s her fault. They’re thinkingDUI.”

I run the wet cloth over my face and it feels like heaven. If I could crawl into the sink and let the water pour over me right now, I so would. Then a thought hits me. “Kat doesn’t drink and d-drive,” I stutter. “She Ubers everywhere.” I get this out around the cotton coating my tongue and throat.

“Well, I don’t know what happened. The doctors are trying to figure it out. We’ll know more when the tests comeback.”

“Tests? What kind of tests?” Misty’s voice is high-pitched and piercing my ear. I glance her way and notice she’s bobbing Cora on her hip. I blink rapidly, seeing three of each of them streaming bits of color with every movement.

Chase crosses his arms over his chest and stares at her. “The kind that tells a judge how much she’s had to drink and if she’s on any drugs.”

Misty’s eyes widen and she nods. “Wow. I hope she’sokay.”

“She’ll live.” Then he focuses on me as I’m trying to put a long-sleeved shirt on. The holes are so much smaller than they used to be. Eventually, it dawns on me that I’m cold. My bottom half is completely naked. What? I haven’t slept naked since Cora and Misty moved in. I’m always in sleep pants just to be safe. Why the hell am I naked?

The questions swirl around in my head, but I’m unable to hold on to any one thought long enough to make any sense of it. I’m so tired. My head is pounding so hard I lean against the wall and press my temples.

“You don’t look good, man.” Chase grips me by the arm and brings me to the bed, where he sits me down. Then he walks into my closet and comes back with a pair of boxer briefs and jeans. “Here.” He tosses them on the bed next to me. Then he pulls his phone out of his suit coat pocket, brings it to his ear, and says something I can’t make out through the ocean in my head. The waves are crashing so loudly I flinch.

I focus on getting my underwear on one foot at a time, and I gotta admit, it takes more effort than it ever has in my entire life. All I want to do is lie down, let the pounding in my head disappear, and then deal with the day—until I remember Chase said Kat’s hurt. That’s all the motivation I need to get my jeans on. I sway into my cousin when I stand.

“Fuck. You’re not right.”

Jack enters the room and wraps an arm around my shoulders. That’s when I start to lose consciousness. I’m dragged through my house and into a car. The second my head hits the cool leather, I’mout.

I cometo hearing my father’s stern tone. “How is that even possible? My son doesn’t do drugs.”

I blink a few times, trying to open my eyes, but it’s so goddamned bright and my eyelids are too heavy. I just can’t. There’s a pressure on my head that feels as though my head is in avise.

“We’re doing everything we can, for both of them,” a voice I don’t recognize says. “Just be patient. We’ll get to the bottom ofthis.”

Again, I try to come back to the surface, but the darkness takes meaway.

Humming.I hear a pretty sound like a song, only it’s soft and far away. It’s a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little. I want to see my mother’s face. So bad. I open my eyes, and I’m greeted by perfect blue eyes and straight blond hair. For a second, it’s my mom. She’s smiling, and I try to lift my arm to her face, but I can’t move. Then my mom’s face morphs into my sister’s.

“Chloe,” I croak, sounding like I haven’t spoken in ayear.

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