SKIPPING TIME

Chapter 8

Cacee hurried along, her sneakers soundless on the familiar paths. The bright day had deepened into a cool night that made her glad she'd worn her hoodie.  Around her, the forest seemed different, like it had been dipped in something rich and mysterious. The full moon bleached the night into an incandescent mimicry of daytime, which made it slightly less creepy to be out here alone.  

Cacee gulped away the dry click in her throat and tried not to imagine her mother's reaction if she ever found out. She could practically hear her mother's warnings-no doubt girls got raped or murdered by sneaking out in the middle of the night. Truthfully, bright moon or not, she was a little freaked out. She'd changed a lot over the last year but creeping around the dark woods at midnight still felt like a crazy thing to do.

She shook her head, wishing she could blame her loss of mental faculties on being a good friend. Sadly, Jess's desperation on the phone was only part of the reason she'd agreed to meet him.  Mostly, he'd had her at hello. Admittedly, her reaction was a little pathetic but, given that he'd just made her physically ill for an entire month, she felt she had the right to be as pathetic as she wanted.

Besides, on top of her mysterious sickness, she'd had to deal with her mother's overreactions. That definitely qualified her for a bout or two of acting crazy.  According to her mother, losing ten pounds and suffering insomnia was a catastrophe second only to the zombie apocalypse. Despite Cacee's argument's, her mother had insisted on taking her to three doctors. And a therapist. All over the course of a single month.  Cacee told them all the same thing. She was stressed over finals. No way would she admit she'd gotten herself sick over a guy. It made her feel pitiful and stupid.

At the same time, she couldn't control her physical response. The less she saw Jess, the worse she felt. Her bones ached like she had the flu. She had no appetite. She never slept without having horrible nightmares about a huge city and her father and red fog. Her father screaming her name in the red fog...

She shuddered and pushed the images away. She'd had a month of walking around half-dazed, feeling like she'd fractured something irreplaceable. She'd researched her symptoms, first on the computer and, when that didn't work, at the library. In the course of her reading, she'd found a handful of illnesses that sort of matched her symptoms but never got the crux of it right, the part where it seemed to be all tied up with Jess. When it came to that part, all she'd found were a lot of lame stories about broken hearts. 

But Jess hadn't broken her heart. That was ridiculous. He'd just gotten busy. And withdrawn. And moody. She scowled and jammed her hair behind her ears, walking faster now. And so what if he had? Regardless of his mood swings, none of Jess's problems should've made her sick. The problem was, they had.  

It was like something in her had gotten all knotted up with something in him. Now, whenever they went too long without seeing each other, that knot between them pulled so hard every other part of her began unraveling. 

And that was why, the second she'd answered her phone, she'd been ready to do whatever Jess asked. Stupid and irrational or not, she needed to be with him. It was the only time she felt okay anymore.    

In fact, because of Jess, she'd had an entire day of good health. From the time she'd gotten up this morning and known she'd be seeing him, she hadn't been tired or achy at all. And when they'd been together on the library patio, she could've run a few marathons and had energy left over. Her inexplicable good health lasted all the way up until about two and a half hours after lunch. It had been right around then when rumors of his suspension reached her ears and she'd put together that Jess had gone home early. He'd gone home and her poor health had returned with a vengeance. But when he called and asked her to come meet him tonight? Poof! Like magic, she'd been fine again.