The next morning, I woke up and awkwardly made my way to Carter’s room. I knocked and waited for him to answer. He opened and pulled me inside without a word.
“You got your own room?” I asked.
“Problem?”
“It’s just weird you didn’t stay in the same room with me.”
“Was I supposed to?”
I don’t have an answer for that so I don’t say anything. He’s being weird and if he wants to act like a child then so be it. I sat on his bed and he stared at me. His things were already neatly packed.
“Ready to leave?” I asked.
“I’m not leaving,” he said pointedly. “I’ll catch up later or in a few days.”
A few days? What did he plan on doing here all that time? I thought of asking but he’d just give me some snotty comment about not having to go wherever I go. There was nothing left for me to do but leave. So I stood and shuffled towards the door.
“Have fun,” I said over my shoulder.
He wouldn’t be meeting someone, right? I remembered peeking at the guest book while checking in. It said we were the only two people checked in that night. Did Carter plan on staying alone? I went back to my room and dressed for the day in my usual dark wash jeans, combat boots, and crew neck tee. Looking in the mirror, I noticed the faint glow on my skin. The swirls would be back but this time I wasn’t in the water. Veering away from the glass, I refused to acknowledge what I was seeing.
“It’s all just my overactive imagination,” I told myself. I knew I was lying to myself but it was easier to do that than to imagine myself as a glowing freak.
I began packing my stuff. A light wind blew through my hair but there wasn’t an open window. Then I heard it. The voice that I thought would be gone for good. He called me by my first name, as always.
Adrianna. You shouldn’t leave him like you left me. Who knows? He could die here…or get killed.
I snorted. Get killed by what? I wanted to ask but that’d be crazy.
Can’t you do this? For me? Please?
Pleading? Ha. Nice try.
I ignored the voice that pained me underneath my smirk. I began throwing stuff into my bag now. I needed to go and get out of there.
So you’re going to let him die? Like you let me die?
That stopped me. I whipped around, thinking maybe someone was playing a joke on me. No one was in my room but me and my insane thoughts. My heart began racing; I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. I felt like I was suffocating. Something’s wrong, I thought. Very wrong. Holding a hand to my heart and using the other to grab the door handle, I felt a shock go through me.
“Damn it,” I hissed, shaking my hand out.
I tried again and I was shocked once more.
“What the hell is going on?” I shouted, hysterical.
There was a searing pain in my heart and I dropped to my knees, clutching at my chest. I gasped for air but it wouldn’t come. I felt asthmatic. Something trickled from my nose and I touched it. Blood. I stared at my bloodied hand, watching it fade in and out. I shook my head, trying to see clearer.
Don’t run from me Adrianna. Don’t ignore me!
I refused to acknowledge this voice as Michael’s. Michael never raised his voice at me. Michael would never become so demanding. Sure he was eccentric but not demanding. I coughed and what I thought would be blood was a piercing scream that sounded more like a roar. I didn’t know why I was screaming; I just felt like I had to. I needed to. Something’s wrong with me.
***
Carter’s Point-of-View
I heard screaming coming from Luna’s room. I was already running before my mind realized it. Throwing open the door to her room, I stopped midstride. She was on the floor, inches from the door, screaming like she was being murdered. Then she just stopped. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped over.
I ran over and cradled her head in my arms. She wasn’t moving, barely breathing.
“What happened in between the time you left my room and now?” I asked as if she could hear me.
I lifted her off the floor and placed her on the bed. Whatever was happening to her had something to do with this hot spring. I knew it. I couldn’t leave; not after this. I left her to rest and ran down to see the owner. I needed some information.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Um, can you give me some history about this place? I’m really interested in knowing how it came to be.”
She gave me a look that said “You’re joking, right?”
“Please?” I said, smiling a little.
She agreed and we took a seat by a window that overlooked the spring.
“Back in the 1500’s this spring was more of a wildlife reserve. Many different animals roamed these mountains and during the winter, the hot spring was their refuge from the cold. I—”
“What kind of animals?” I interrupted.
“Every kind. Boar, deer, sea turtles.”
“Any cheetahs? Or jaguars? Panthers?” I asked, naming every feline I knew.
“I don’t believe so.”
I groaned in frustration. “Are you sure?”
“Is everything alright?” she asked, giving me a concerned look.
“No,” I admitted. I hit a dead end.
I thanked her for the information she gave me and I trudge back to Luna’s room, defeated. No leads. I guess our business here was done. Time to get back to the States. I opened the door to her room and walked in. She was awake and pretty much normal.
“Ever heard of knocking?” she asked.
“Ever heard of not screaming like you’re being murdered?” I retorted.
“What are you talking about?”
Did she not remember anything? I shook my head, never mind. I told her our lead was a bust and the hot spring had nothing to do with us. We agreed to head back, cutting our vacation a little short.
When we arrived back at her apartment several hours later it was dark and a lone streetlight illuminated the sidewalk. I carried the bags, not trusting Luna to be stable enough to carry anything. I was worried. Her condition was progressing far worse than I had assumed.
I walked down the hall and saw a figure leaning against the door to Luna’s room. I stopped. She continued walking, not noticing the person. I tapped on her shoulder and nodded at the guy.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
“Uh, hey it’s Tory.” He emerged from the shadows and approached us with a nervous smile. “I hadn’t seen you in so long. I thought you might be avoiding me.”
“Oh crap,” she said. “We had plans, didn’t we?”
“A few weeks ago, yeah.”
“I’m really sorry. I took a brief vacation and I just got back.”
He smiled at her, clearly happy she hadn’t blown him off on purpose. He finally noticed my presence and said hey. I nodded.
“Where did you go?” Tory asked Luna.
“The Philippines.” She invited him in and when I tried to follow, she snatched her bags and shut the door in my face. I let myself in anyway. “Yeah it was…interesting.”
Sighing in fatigue, Luna plopped down onto the couch. I dropped myself down beside her, making sure Tory didn’t sit next to her. He gave me a look but settled for sitting next to me.
“Do you mind?” Luna said, a hint of annoyance coloring her voice.
“Huh?” I asked, not paying attention.
“Can you go please? Tory and I have some catching up to do.”
“It’s fine,” Tory chimed in. “I don’t mind.”
He grinned again like an idiot. He was obviously trying to impress her. I snorted and Luna discreetly pinched my arm. Holding back a yelp, I bit my lip and stared straight ahead. They continued to yammer on until I thought my ears would fall off. Hearing about a vacation I had been on wasn’t so interesting especially since Luna left me out of it as if I wasn’t there at all.
Luna stood finally and stretched. “Coffee?” she asked.
“Sure,” Tory said. “I’ll help.”
They escaped to the kitchen and Luna made a point of glaring at me so I didn’t follow. What was her problem? Did I do something? Was this because I didn’t share a stupid room with her?
I peered around the corner into the kitchen and saw Tory had his arm around Luna’s waist. I felt the sudden urge to chop it off and feed it to him. They made coffee and didn’t bother to offer me a cup. I decided to leave. There is nothing worse than being a third-wheel especially when the other two people make a point of ignoring you.
***
Luna’s Point-of-View
We drank our coffee and talked more even though it was close to midnight. I stifled a yawn and asked about what he did for a living.
“Full-time student,” he responded.
“What’s your major?”
“Pre-med. I had an internship at a hospital back in my hometown but left it when I moved.”
I asked about the hospital and he said the exact name of the hospital where Carter and I had first met. I choked on my coffee, surprised. If he worked there then he could’ve had access to records and everything. I could take another look at my parents’ files. I could see where things went wrong.
“You must’ve had access to all types of cool things,” I said, my voice excited.
“Nothing cool per say but mostly patient records and the oh so sought after medicine cabinet,” he grinned.
Patient records! Score!
“Do you still have connections there?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not asking me to steal drugs for you, are you?” he asked, in a joking tone.
“No,” I said with a smile. “I’m more interested in the records. There’s something I want to see.”
“Were you a patient there?”
“My parents,” I said softly, my eyes on my coffee.
He nodded understandingly. “Why do you want to see the records?”
“They died there,” I whispered. I was playing for the sympathy factor but my voice getting quieter wasn’t my doing. “They were mugged but I don’t think a simple mugging could cause them to die. I’m thinking some doctor negligence was going on behind the scenes. I just want to know what happened. Closure.”
He didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll call and see what I can get for you.”
“No! I want to go there.”
“I’m not sure when I can actually drive there. It’s at least a three hour drive.”
“Please Tory,” I begged.
“We have a holiday coming up,” he said, referring to school. “I’ll use that time to go down to the hospital with you.”
I must’ve thanked him at least a million times. A slight glimmer of hope was rising within me. If I could figure one thing out in my life then maybe I could figure out more. Maybe if I got answers, I wouldn’t be so messed up. I was probably grinning like a dumbass because Tory laughed.
“I have an exam tomorrow. I should get going,” he said, standing.
I walked him to the door and he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. We exchanged numbers and he said he’d call when he got the ok to leave campus for the holiday. At least something was going right.
The next morning, I went to the gym before breakfast. Carter was there of course. I did my best to ignore him because he seemed to be in a bad mood. He glared at me from his treadmill.
“What is your problem?” I asked, finally annoyed with his dirty looks.
“How’d it go with Tory last night?”
“How’d what go? We just had coffee.”
“He was there for over two hours. It doesn’t take that long to drink a cup of coffee.”
“We were catching up.”
Why am I explaining myself to him? It’s my business.
“I’m sure,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Why are you so jealous of Tory?”
That caught him off guard.
“And don’t act like you aren’t because I noticed it last night too. You sat in between us on purpose.”
“You know what Luna. You and Tory can go jump off a cliff for all I care. Have a nice life.”
He jumped off the treadmill and snatched his towel. Without looking back, he stormed out of the gym. He really had to suck it up and get over it. He knew we weren’t good for each other but he insisted on being jealous. That was his own problem. I noticed his phone sitting on a nearby weight bench and hurried out. I didn’t want to be there when he got back. I went for a light jog around the block with a surprising smile on my face.