Page 14 of Twisted Legacy

“Palisade Shores.”

“Why?”

“I’m hoping you can tell me, but how about I change your bandages and get some coffee before we launch into that?”

I raise the knife. “How about you talk now, and if I don’t cut your throat open, you can drink you coffee when we’re done.”

He’s not even looking at me, but he grabs my hand, pushes me onto my back, and rolls on top of me. I panic and thrash around, trying to free myself. “Let me go, let me go!” I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe?

“Thea, look at me! Look at me!”

My eyes pop open. “That’s it, sweetness. Just look at me.” My vision clears and my lungs inflate. “Good girl. It’s just me, LaReaux. Look at me. Hear my voice. I would never hurt you.”

“Wolfe.” My voice sounds small. Timid. I hate how scared I sound. I can see him, but I can’t move. I can’t tell him I know he won’t hurt me, because right now, he feels like a threat hovering over me.

“I’m gonna move. Okay?”

He rolls off of me and slowly climbs off the bed. My muscles loosen and the beeping in the room slows.

“Since you’re up, I think we can disconnect you from that thing.”

“You said LJ was here before. Is she coming back?”

“Breland’s right next door, with noise canceling headphones on. I’ll go get her.”

I keep my eye on him until he steps through the door, then inch myself backwards so I can sit up. I’m halfway up when LJ comes running through the door. “You’re awake!”

I am, but the longer I am, the more I wish I wasn’t. I’m stiff and sore, my body feels like a dump truck hit the forward and reverse over me and then did it again. I let her help me into a sitting position, then slowly ease my legs over the side of the bed. “I wanna see.”

“See what?”

“What I look like.” I swallow, trying to wet my throat. “I wanna see the damage.”

“No. You don’t.” She walks over, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Lie back down, Thea. You’re still healing.”

“That’s exactly why I need to get up and see what I’m healing from.”

“Thea, please.”

My face hurts, the familiar throb of taking a blow to the jaw. My mouth isn’t wired shut, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have structural damage to it. Like my nose. I can feel the brace on it, which means it’s broken. My ribs too, but I want to look at myself and see the damage while it’s still at it’s worse.

“How long have I been asleep, and what kind of drugs did the doctor give me to get me here without waking up?”

“It’s been seven days since Coach Wolfe found you. You were unconscious and rushed right into surgery. You never woke up.”

“Seven days?” Now I know I need to get up. “Did they say I have a brain injury?” I try to work through things, see if there are any obvious holes in my memory.

Coach Wolfe comes into the room and leans against the door. “You obviously remember Breland, and who you are. I think we’ve established you remember me. Your recall of people’s names seems to be intact. Do you remember specific details about the last time you saw each of us?”

The last time I saw LJ, we had breakfast in my room, and I had just told her I was going to Nags Creek for winter break. The last time I saw Coach Wolfe, he had Tank pinned to the mat working out a new move. “Yeah, I do.”

LJ smiles. “Good. What about the first time you met each of us?”

“We met outside the auditorium and you told me about the Coxsuckers.”

“Good, and Coach Wolfe?”

My eyes slide over my trainer as I recall our first meeting. He’s standing there, arms folded across his chest, and he’s shirtless. I’ve seen him without a shirt plenty of times at the gym, but right now it seems indecent, and there’s no way I can tell LJ about the first time we really met. “I remember his crappy welcome speech in class.”

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