Track 15

“Clocks”

Present Day

As I slowly return to consciousness, I hear bits of sentences in hushed voices around me.

“…an experiment…”

“Didn’t let up…”

“…the hospital…now…”

Frowning, I murmur, “Experiment?”

“Cassidy made a noise! She’s awake!” a high-pitched voice chirps close to my ear. Trudy-Rudy.

I open my eyes. Three anxious-looking faces hover above me. I struggle to sit up, but the McGraws’ fat-cushioned sofa is threatening to swallow me whole.

Heat and dizziness overcome me. Flopping deeper against the cushions, I mumble, “I fell asleep. I can’t believe I fell asleep.”

“No, you passed out. I was about to call your dad,” Hayden says in a grim tone. He holds a palm to my forehead. For some reason, his touch makes me feel faint all over again. It’s hot, scorching.

Trudy pokes my foot, staring at it like it’s the most fascinating object in the universe. Then, biting her lip, she slides a furtive gaze at her mother as if to say, “Am I in trouble?” But her mom’s pacing, watching me.

Experiment. Did Trudy perform one of her experiments on me? I rub my temple. No, that can’t be right. She wasn’t in the pantry. She was busy with her crayons.

And her experiments are just a game. They aren’t real. Snap out of it, Cass.

“Please don’t call my dad. The last thing I want to do is worry him. Besides, he knows I’ve got this habit of falling asleep in strange places!” I laugh awkwardly, but not one of them smiles with me. This time, when I try to sit up, I actually succeed. “How long was I out for?”

Worry lines crease Lindsay’s forehead. “About ten minutes. Hayden caught you before you hit the floor.”

“I can’t believe how fast you went down,” Hayden says. I can’t get over the concern in his voice and eyes. I’d probably given him one hell of a shock.

“Maybe a rattlesnake came in and bit her,” Trudy offers. She climbs onto the couch next to me and sits so she’s almost on my lap. “There are rattlesnakes in Colorado, you know.”

“Oh, I do know, Trudy. But I don’t remember seeing a snake in your pantry.” I’m positive I’d be writhing in agony right now if I was bitten. Squinting, I try to remember what I was doing when I blacked out. There was a rattle, though…

No, that was the sound of plates clattering.

Feeling stronger but still beyond embarrassed, I stand. “I’m sorry to ruin your family dinner. I should go home.”

All of them protest at once. Hayden’s voice is the loudest.

“No, really,” I say. “I’m not hurt. No broken bones. I’ll head home. Get some real sleep.”

“I understand,” Lindsay says, squeezing my arm.

“At least let me pack you a to-go bag.” Sam heads for the kitchen in swift steps.

“I’ll drive you.” Hayden goes to a sideboard and fishes keys from a ceramic bowl.

“I was just about to suggest that, sweetie,” Lindsay says.

It’s bad enough that I’d collapsed in his pantry—I bet they found me drooling and spread-eagled on the floor. I don’t want these nice people thinking I’m totally helpless. Holding up my hands, I say, “Seriously, I’m fine. It’s a twenty-minute drive over Saddleback Ridge. Ten if I take a shortcut.”

“Ten minutes? That’s all? I’ve got a free ten minutes,” insists Hayden. “How about you drive your car and I follow you?”

“Fine, fine,” I grumble. In reality, I’m touched by his thoughtfulness.

His dad puts a Tupperware container in a bag and hands it to me. “Careful, it’s piping hot. You won’t even need to microwave it when you get home.”

“Thank you,” I say with a wobbly smile.

Outside, Hayden’s parents and sister stand on the sidewalk and wave as I pull away. The dash clock glows 7:30. With deep darkness surrounding the car, it feels much later. Behind me, Hayden follows in his truck, close enough for me to see his face in my rearview mirror. He looks serious and pale. What I didn’t want to admit to any of the McGraws was how freaked I was. And still am.

Falling asleep standing up? Blacking out for no reason? Or maybe there is a reason. Maybe it’s a tumor…

I point my car toward the ridge. This is a shortcut I’d never attempt by myself at night, not with its steep hills and a border of thick forest. There are no streetlights, no road markings. The occasional sign warns of hairpin bends and deer crossings. Over the tree line, lightning jags, but it brings no thunder.

Hayden tails my Fiat like a cop in pursuit of a perp. Well, maybe not that aggressively. But he does stick to me like he’s being towed. I concentrate on keeping the car on the asphalt road. The soft noise of the wind rushing by soothes me, helps ease my worries about a possible tumor. Before I know it, I’m pulling into my driveway.

I nose the car up to the garage door. Hayden parks right behind me and runs up to my window before I even turn off the ignition.

“Hey, Cassidy, are you okay?” He pants like he’s just run a marathon. Leaning on the windowsill, he peers inside my car, eyes wild.

“Um, yeah.”

Hayden searches my face. He can’t seem to haul enough breath into his lungs to answer me. “What’s the matter? Did you notice something wrong with my car? Do I have a flat?”

He frowns deeply and steps back from the car. “No, your car looks fine. Fine.”

Turning off the engine, I say, “Good. You, on the other hand, are not fine.”

“I…I just thought…” Jamming his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, Hayden looks up at the stars for a moment. He mumbles, “Your car weaved around a few miles back, that’s all. Maybe, uh, get your wheel alignment checked out.”

“Wheel alignment. Got it.” I give him a thin smile. The car had been serviced just last week. Top to bottom. Bumper to bumper. What’s going on with him?

Hayden straightens and turns toward the street. Unspoken emotions churn on his face.

He looks at the sky again, then back at me. Judging by his firm nod, he seems to make a decision. He lunges forward and opens my door. “You should get inside. Now.”

“What’s the hurry? Is that storm getting closer?” From our hilltop vantage point, there’s no sign of the lightning I’d spotted earlier. The night’s so clear I can practically see the entire Milky Way.

As he stares at his watch, he swallows. “It’s late, that’s all. Wouldn’t want you to break your curfew.”

“Hayden, please. The sun only went down an hour or so ago.” But it’s sweet of him to worry. Unless all he’s concerned about is not getting on his new boss’s bad side. Twisting my mouth in skepticism, I power the window up and grab my bag and the Tupperware container.

On the curved brick path to the door, my legs feel kind of numb. I stumble and hold out my arms for balance.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hayden grabs my elbow. I wince as his thumb presses into me. He stares at me like he’s trying to read my mind. His pink mouth is pursed tightly. Is he holding his breath?

“Yep, totally fine.” I wish he’d stop asking me that. Although, come to think of it, I don’t feel so hot. The spot where he grabbed my elbow is throbbing. I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.

“Okay.” Hayden escorts me to the hefty front doors. As I fumble for my key, I notice his skin feels kind of clammy. If anything, I should be worrying about him. Aside from being fundamentally hot, he looks like hell.

“Maybe we’re both coming down with something,” I admit, trying to put the key in the lock. Keep missing it. My coordination is out of whack. Maybe he was right about me swerving on the road. “You know, because I fainted for no apparent reason. And you seem kinda feverish.”

“That’s…a possibility.” Pointing at the key in my hand, he asks, “Need help with that?”

“I’ve got it.” The door swings open. Feet on the threshold, he leans in and eyes the alarm keypad inside the front doors. “Aren’t you going to disarm that?”

Lowering my voice, I say, “That’s just for show these days. Mom insisted on installing it, but Dad and I can never remember the code.”

I put my bag and the Bolognese on the hall stand. Soft light rains down from the chandelier when I flip a switch. Rolling up a sleeve, I check out a zit-sized red bump in the crook of my right elbow. It looks like a fresh insect bite, but I don’t remember how or when it happened. Frowning, I wipe away a speck of…blood?

“What is that?” Hayden stares at my arm and absently scratches his leg.

“It’s just a mosquito bite,” I say, scratching the bump. “I’ll live.”

Hayden nods slowly. Peering around me and into the house, he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. He finishes scanning the foyer and sends me a fleeting smile.

“So…thanks for seeing me home,” I say.

“You’re welcome.” He clears his throat. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Um…till Dad comes home?”

Hayden looks over his shoulder, then back at me. His face is deeply troubled. “I mean stay the night.”

“You want to stay here? Overnight?” Collapsing into my warm, comfy bed is all I can think of right now. “Why?”

He sways ever so slightly and says, “For protection.”

At least, I think that’s what he says. His voice is so soft.

“You don’t need to protect me. I can look after myself,” I scoff. What century does he think we’re living in? “But if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll try to remember the alarm code and switch it on.”

Blinking hard, he steps back. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Sorry, Cassidy. Just…erase everything from… Just erase it all.”

Before I can even draw a breath, he slams the door shut and jumps into his truck. He literally burns rubber on the driveway. The acrid smell lingers. By the time I wrench open the door, Hayden’s taillights are already disappearing over a crest.

Zombie-like, I close the door and grab the Tupperware. It’s only when I put the food down on the kitchen island bench that I realize the container that was superhot when I left Hayden’s house is now cold.

Puzzled, I tilt my head and catch sight of the oven clock. As the colon between the bright green numbers blinks intermittently, my heart pounds in time. Hard.

9:53.

“That can’t be.” But the phone I fish out of my jeans pocket confirms it.

I’ve lost over two hours of my life.