Simply A Sacrifice

Chapter 27: Fool

Soundtrack, if you are interested - Fool by the Sweeplings. 

As it turns out, the day could get weirder. After we finished our coffees, Alana surprised me again.

"Will you be staying here tonight, Amanda?" She asked.

"I actually go by Amadahy these days and I don't know. I don't remember deciding to come here," I mumbled.

"Did they drug you? Do you need to go to a hospital? Or witness protection?" Kendra was bouncing up and down in her chair, looking far more excited than concerned.

"No to all of the above," I replied, trying to keep my gaze steady. The real answers were 'yes', 'it couldn't hurt' and 'probably'.

I had no idea what my game plan was. Where would I be safe? Had Adahy dumped me here or did he think I had gone missing? Were they busy fighting a war at this very moment or had they sent out the search parties?

I had literally no idea. The only way to find out would be to wander back into the woods. Considering I could be walking straight onto a battlefield or into the open arms of Lukas, it was probably a better idea to come up with an actual plan. But that would take time and - insert obnoxious stomach growl - sustenance.

So I simply shrugged and accepted Alana's offer. To my surprise, she stopped me on my way up to the attic.

"Take the guest room."

I blinked twice and then hurried into the guest room before she could change her mind. What was up with that woman today?

I collapsed on the king sized bed, sinking immediately into the luxuriously soft mattress.

I did not realize I fell asleep until I woke up and it was dark outside. I must have been exhausted. Did I even sleep last night? I must have totally messed up my internal body clock. It's hard to get a sleep schedule going when I'm constantly blacking out.

I went downstairs just in time to see my family walking out the door.

"Bye Amadahy, we are going for supper. Help yourself to the food in the kitchen," Alana said, smiling and waving at me. So things hadn't completely changed. I was not invited to family supper, but "help yourself" was already a step up from "you have a separate food pantry holding the exact minimum required for survival". Yeah, my childhood had been great. I hadn't starved though, so I had had it better than many.

"Oh, you're still alive. Congrats," Arianna said, breezing past me to catch up with the others.

"It's only been a few hours," I muttered.

"Dude, you fell asleep yesterday morning. It's been like 36 hours." With that, she ran out the door, flinging it shut behind her.

Thirty six hours. How? Was anyone even looking for me? Or had Adahy really dumped me here without even saying goodbye?

My life was disappearing in front of my eyes. It was like being betrayed by your own body. I lost hours as a wolf. I lost hours to sleep. The hours I was awake, I spent running for my life or clutching at fleeting moments of happiness. Is this the best I can hope for? 

I shuffled to the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. The thought of cooking anything made me feel like crawling back into bed. Clearly the sleep was doing very little for my energy.

I was slumped over my cereal bowl, mindlessly shoveling it into my mouth as I stared at the counter. My mind was blank for the first time in a while. A slight ring in my ears was the only thing that kept me from completely disconnecting from reality. That was, until the telephone rang.