SKIPPING TIME

Chapter 22

Cacee swam up groggily from the depths of sleep. She heard a slight sound she couldn't place, almost like the cheeping of baby birds, but softer. She blinked and opened her eyes.

On the end of the bed, Digits was running circles around Shane. Every time Digits zipped by, Shane tried to lick the rat's tail . It was obviously some kind of game the two of them had made up. Cacee  giggled and tried to rub the bleariness out of her eyes.

She'd woken repeatedly through the night, always aware that Jess wasn't beside her. Each time she remembered where she was, overpowering questions and emotions would drag her back into sleep. Now a glance at the clock showed it was 8:07. But whether that was  morning or night, she had no way of telling.

She smiled at the sound of Ray, snoring on the couch. Jess was nowhere to be seen. She tried to remember going to bed, but couldn't. She'd been waiting for Jess to come back from showering and...

She groaned. How had she fallen asleep with him waiting to kiss her? But her groan turned into a smile as she realized they were finally alone. Jess must be in the bathroom.

She jumped up and ran a brush through her hair before grabbing her toiletries and padding to the kitchen, trailed by Shane and Digits. She washed up in the sink and then watched, in amazement, as Digits scampered up on the counter and climbed into a large basket marked with his name.

The rat came out pulling a bright red box of animal crackers. He held it in his small paws while gnawing a hole in it. She gasped when he pulled out a cookie and politely tossed it to Shane, who gulped it without bothering to chew. She watched Digits share his entire box of cookies with Shane, wondering if she'd tumbled down another one of those pesky rabbit holes.

When the two animals finished, Digits clambered down, and they trotted off to curl up on the bed together. She shook her head, smiling, anxious to tell Jess what she'd seen. After smoothing out her pajamas and tucking her hair behind her ears, she knocked on the bathroom door. "Jess?"

No answer.

She knocked again, harder this time, stepping back when the door swung open. "Jess?"

Peeking in, she noticed the door on the far side of the bathroom. With a frown she walked across, opened it and saw Jess sprawled across an air mattress, sound asleep. The tiny, box-covered room smelled musty. Jess's cheeks were flushed, his hair stuck to his forehead. Her frown deepened. This had to be Ray's idea.

Her newfound feelings of warmth for her father were rapidly cooling. She walked into the room, knelt by the bed and laid her hand on Jess's forehead. Although he'd seemed fine when she last saw him, his forehead was hot to the touch. She pushed his hair back gently. "Jess?"

He opened his eyes and smiled a sleepy, little-boy smile that threatened to turn her into mush. She asked, "Why are you back here?"

She watched the quick play of emotions that followed her question. Confusion. Awareness. Anger. Jess's face darkened, and the light left his eyes. His reaction took all of three seconds, but he looked different now, withdrawn and far away.

Cacee's stomach turned, even as she told herself she was overreacting. She took his hand, which was cold despite the heat. "What's wrong?"

Jess seemed to look through her. "Nothing."

Not knowing what else to say, she asked, "You sure? You look upset."

The lingering darkness in his face disappeared. He looked fine again, except for a certain blankness in his eyes. He gave her fingers a light squeeze before letting go. "I'm fine, Cace. Really. I just need to..." He motioned towards the bathroom.