Page 51 of Fragile Touch (Fragile 1)
Her vision slowly came back. There was the ceiling. There was the fan with its slight wobble as it spun. There was the window and the drawn shades and faint light shining against them. It was all there, but it was all spinning wildly.
Sweat dripped down the side of her face as she lay there like a wooden plank. It was that horrible feeling of hot and cold and overpowering nausea right before throwing up. Sometimes staying very still and closing her eyes helped keep it at bay, and she
could slip back into sleep until her body managed to reset.
This was not one of those times.
Bathroom. Now. Shit, shit, shit! The sound of the dream-people’s laughter echoed in the back of her mind and the hairs on her arms stood on end. They won’t be able to find me there.
Still lying on her back, she slid down until her feet hung off the edge of the bed. Her energy was gone, but she felt the lump of nausea rising into her throat.
“Go!” she croaked, unsure if she said it out loud or inside her head. With a sickly whimper, she wriggled down until her feet met the floor. It was cold, and the cold washed over her. She shivered.
The lump rose higher and a cry rose with it. Her body was a wet noodle, and the first step forward sent her straight to the floor. She caught herself with her hands. The impact increased the laughter until she swore the crowd was standing right behind her.
“Go away! You’re not real; I don’t need you!” She felt her mouth move but didn’t hear her voice come out. Something tickled the back of her throat and she gagged, clasping her hand over her mouth. A drop of sweat landed on the floor in front of her. She looked at it and saw the toilet out of the corner of her eye.
I need to go there, she screamed, inhaling a shallow breath through her nose and doing her best to crawl forward with one hand on her mouth.
The toilet was there. She grabbed it, retched, slammed the lid down, and somehow flushed it. The bathroom was colder than her room. It felt good. Even the toilet lid was cool. She didn’t feel the sweat dripping anymore, but the world was still spinning. Reaching out for the wall, she touched the bathtub. Nothing was where it appeared to be.
Screw you, laughing people, she shouted at them. She felt herself lowering to the floor. I don’t need your laughter. Screw you.
Her cheek touched the tile floor. She extended her hand towards the door but it flopped back down.
The blackness came back, this time all at once.
IT’S OKAY.
The world had turned from one big, dark shadow to a giant light bulb. She knew she wasn’t awake and didn’t waste her energy trying to open her eyes.
It’s okay. It was a distant voice, but the laughing had stopped. The last thing she remembered was that horrible laughing and throwing up in the toilet and finally not sweating anymore. The floor was so cold. Right now wasn’t cold like that anymore. Before, the tile was on her face, and now she couldn’t feel anything.
She wondered where the tile had gone.
The voice said something that sounded like her name, but it was muffled. There was a little silence before it spoke again. You’re fine, I promise.
Of course I’m fine, she replied, even though she knew she wasn’t saying anything to the voice. I feel fine here. I don’t want to leave here for a long time. I feel safe.
I’m here with you, said the voice. I’m not going to leave you. I’ll be here when you wake up.
Those words struck her as strange for a reason she couldn’t identify. Wake up? They sounded even stranger coming from her own thoughts, like pronouncing a word she had never heard before.
Please wake up soon, said the voice. I need to see you. I need to know you’re okay. It kept going, but it was faded and muffled. In the brightness she squinted her eyes so tight they were almost closed, but there was nothing to see. She tried to reach out and find the voice. It was so familiar, but her memories had all disappeared and her frustration grew.
I’m coming, she yelled loudly to the light. I’m coming to wake up.
She took a deep breath and felt the air go down to the bottom of her lungs. It felt like new air, and it was cold like the bathroom tiles. Deep tremors rumbled from her core; it took a few times for her to realize she was coughing. Something touched her. She took another deep breath and her eyes opened.
This time she could see. And there he was, kneeling beside her, staring straight into her eyes with his bright blue ones. She saw something different in his stare, different than all the other times. It was full of fear and love.
“Hey, Lil.”
Slowly the feeling crept into her limbs and head. She winced.
“How’re you feeling?”
“Did I get hit by a truck?” The question was almost serious.
