Page 77 of Light As A Feather
“Where is everyone?” Ozzie gets straight to it.
“In the workroom.” They file in, and I shut the door behind them, following them to where Sol and Jay wait. An awkward silence passes as we enter, and everyone approaches Jayden, where he’s still restrained.
“You haven’t untied him?” Hale asks as she takes a seat in one of the empty chairs.
“Not yet.” I fight the guilt that gnaws at me. “We need to make sure he’s not going to come back just yet. He’s a determined son of a bitch if I’ve ever met one.”
“Better safe than sorry, for sure,” Ozzie agrees.
“Hey Dash,” Zoey greets him as they sit in the other empty chair. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.” Jay laughs nervously and sits taller in his chair.
“Yeah, I bet. I hate to do this, but we don’t really have any time to waste. Do you think you all could take turns running us back through what you remember?”
“All three of us?” I interrupt.
“Who knows what details will stick out from one of your perspectives. We need every detail we can get.”
“Fair,” I concede. “Let’s start with Jay; seems like he remembers the least.”
“Sounds good. Can you two wait in the living room?” Zoey requests.
Sol’s brow furrows, her gaze meeting mine. Zoey catches it. “Just to make sure there’s no influence that might misconstrue details. You all aren’t on trial or anything.”
Nodding, Sol follows me out of the room without further question. There’s nothing to do but wait, so I busy myself with the fireplace. That proves harder when I reach, and a lancing pain cuts through my torso. The knife only grazed my side, but the slash runs from my hip to my upper rib cage.
“Let me see your bandages,” Sol demands.
“I’m okay,” I say through a wince. “I’ve had worse. It’s really more inconvenient than it is serious.”
I can tell she wants to press me for more by her intake of breath, but in the end, she decides to let it go. It’s a miracle she has the energy to be standing here at all. She’s been through so much—tonight, over her lifetime. The urge to coddle her is strong, to carry her upstairs, to hold her close while we shut out the rest of the world.I almost lost her.If I allow myself to hold onto that thought, I could spiral.
We don’t have time for that right now, though.
“Are you hungry? You never got to eat.” Neither did I, but I’m not the one who looks half out of it. Her silence is my answer. “Come on. Let’s grab something while we wait.”
“I don’t have an appetite right now.”
I believe it, but she always struggled with interoception. I can’t have her passing out when she’s already so vulnerable. I also know better than to insist that she eat. Telling her what to do only makes whatever it is become enemy number one.
“Okay. I’m going to grab a snack, then.” In the kitchen, I search the fridge for something she’ll be likely to pick at. Settling on a quick spread, I cube a few pieces of cheese, cut up an apple, scoop some peanut butter, and add a handful of pretzels.
Sitting next to her on the couch, I set the plate on the table, taking an apple and cheese for myself. Sol stares into the fire, barely taking notice of my presence other than the natural gravitation of her body toward mine.
“When do you think it started?” she asks abruptly.
I field through the possibilities to narrow down what she’s most likely talking about. “Jayden?”
She nods and turns to face me.
Now that I have her attention, I take another apple. “I’d assume the night we brought you back.”
“Was he acting weird that night?”
“No. Not that I can remember. But like you’ve said, it starts little by little, an entity’s hold on you.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
