Chapter Four
Marie woke up the next morning feeling exhausted. She had a dreamless sleep and she wanted to bury her head in the pillow and lie there for the rest of the day.
She peered at the clock from underneath her blanket and realized she had actually been in bed for most of it. It was already three in the evening. Whatever it was that made her like this, she wished it would pass quickly. Her body ached and her head throbbed nonstop.
Her mom came in the room with a tray full of food and put it down on the dresser. “Good evening sleepyhead. How are you feeling?” she asked.
Marie sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Okay, I guess. I feel like I was hit by a bus,” she joked.
She saw concern in her mom's eyes and instantly panicked.
“Please tell me I wasn't eating pillow for another three days,” Marie asked.
Her mom smiled and shook her head. “No, just an overnight coma.”
Marie relaxed and got out of the bed to see what was on the tray. Her mom made her favorite; scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and oatmeal. She was so starved, she stood at the dresser and scarfed the meal down. Her mom was quiet.
“What's wrong?” Marie asked before sipping on the orange juice.
“Well... no, it's nothing,” she stumbled over her words. “I just want to make sure you're okay and there is nothing you want to talk about.”
Marie sat back down on her bed in front of her mom. The air in the room changed and her mom looked around as if she felt it, too.
Marie watched as her mom took a deep breath in and back out. It was written all over her face, Marie could feel her mom wanting to say something, but holding back. Somehow she could sense her mom's pain. She was confused, hurt and scared all at once. Marie didn't know how she knew that, but it was all she could think about when she looked at her mom.
She leaned forward and pulled a strand of hair out of her mom's face. She jolted, coming back from the stupor she was in and focused on Marie.
They sat there, silently gazing at each other; knowing something was happening, but not quite wanting to admit it. It was strange; this was never a problem for them before. When something out of the ordinary happened to her, Marie couldn't wait to get home to share it with her mom. Now, every urge she had to spill her guts was pushed all the way down.
“Mom, I...” Marie began, but she didn't finish. How could she explain what she was feeling?
“Please tell me baby. Whatever it is, we can work through it,” she said crying.
“I know, but I don't know how. I don't know what to say.”
She moved closer to her on the bed and put her hand on Marie's cheek, “Just try,” she begged.
Marie couldn't stand lying to her mom or keeping secrets from her, but what would she accomplish by telling her the truth? There was no way her mom would understand this, especially since she didn't understand it herself.
She couldn't tell her that the pounding in her head was becoming more frequent, as were the images she saw. She hated when her mom worried. She didn't know how to tell her she was changing, becoming different and how it was scaring her.
She pulled away and walked to the other side of the room to lean against the wall. She put her hands over her eyes and slid down the wall.
This clearly wasn't the best time, but all she could think about was Brenton. “I really need to talk to you,” she said into her hands, forgetting her mom was in the room with her. His face appeared in her mind once more.
She heard her mom in the background saying she was there for her, but all she could focus on was Brenton's face.
“ I'm here. Come find me ,” he said in her mind and then she saw a clear shot of the woods they were in the day she collapsed.
She jumped, bumping her head against the wall. Her mom was startled and ran to her aide. She wasn't sure what happened, but she knew she needed to go to the woods to see if he was there.
“Baby, you okay?” her mom asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get out of here for a minute, maybe take a walk and clear my head. Is that okay?”
Her mom was reluctant, but she gave in. She kissed her on the forehead before leaving her alone.
Marie scrambled around trying to find something to throw on. She had to get to the woods, get to Brenton. She had plenty of questions and she was convinced he had the answers.