Track 47

“I Will Follow You”

Present Day

“Trust Angie to call a snap post-dance debrief and show up late!” Lisa laughs as our waitress brings her an espresso.

“Where’s Billie?” I ask, scratching my arm. That insect bite site has flared up again. Maybe I’m allergic to something.

“Sleeping in. She was smart enough to know Angie wouldn’t turn up on time anyway.”

Lisa and I both arrived this morning on time, five minutes ago. But in between getting our orders taken and fielding apologetic texts from Angie, we haven’t had a chance to talk yet.

“I could have done with an extra couple of hours in bed. If there isn’t a law about compulsory sleeping in on weekends, there should be.” I yawn and slosh an extra helping of half-and-half into my coffee mug. By the time Hayden got me home, it was almost one a.m.

“That reminds me,” Lisa says, digging into her purse and producing a fist-sized amber bottle. “I bought these for you at the drugstore.”

Screwing up my face, I say, “Vitamins?”

“To stop you from falling asleep in class.”

“Ah, you mean ‘vitamins,’” I say, using air quotes.

“Legit vitamins, minerals, and herbs,” she insists, dropping the bottle into my bag. “Take two and call me in the morning.”

“Thanks, Dr. Cannon.” I grin, touched by her thoughtfulness.

Through the window, I watch Angie rush out of her convertible. She points the remote lock over her shoulder as she runs across the diner’s crowded parking lot. Once she’s inside, a few people wave at her as she makes her way to us in the corner.

Angie looks a bit less put-together than usual. Her brown hair is tangled. Eyeliner uneven. Russet-colored dress rumpled. But her huge grin is big enough to make anyone overlook those things. This is not the face of someone who’d been stood up at homecoming.

“Hi and hi!” She slides into the booth, bumping me. Coffee splashes out of my cup. “Oops, sorry.”

“Hey, you!” I mop up the coffee spill with a paper napkin. “Good to see you all chipper this very early morning. I’m guessing Jake, uh, Jacob turned up after I left?”

Angie nods happily. “But since we all went our separate ways so quickly last night, I want to know everything that happened.” She points a chipped-polish fingernail across the table at me. “Starting with you.”

“Give her a chance to wake up,” Lisa says.

I throw her a grateful look. “There isn’t a lot to say. Hayden and I are a thing. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him. I wanted to find out for myself first whether my feelings for him were real. And they were real. Are real.”

“I’m really happy for you, Cassidy. Nothing to apologize for,” Lisa says. “We get it, don’t we, Angie?”

“Totally.” Angie nods. After the waitress takes her order, she continues. “Maybe we could all go out on a triple date, huh? It’s a shame you didn’t meet Jacob last night, Cassidy. He’s gorgeous, isn’t he, Lisa?”

Angie shows us a series of photos from last night. I can’t help but notice Jake’s gaze looks blank in every single one. Hands in pockets. Broad shoulders hunched. It’s in sharp contrast to Angie—arms either spread wide or wrapped tight around Jake’s waist. Judging by the size of her smiles, you’d think she’d won a Powerball jackpot.

Lisa shrugs a shoulder. “He’s not my type. But I’m not blind. He’s definitely movie-star material.”

As Angie continues extolling Jake’s/Jacob’s physical attributes, my mind stays stuck on how traumatized he looked at the support group. Even to me, a virtual stranger, he seemed to be walking a virtual tightrope across the Grand Canyon. No harness, no net. And he was seconds from falling.

Furtively, I check my messages. Nothing from Jake, though I’d texted him a few times. Why was he being so elusive?

Movement outside catches my eye. A tall, muscular figure stumbles through the parking lot. His dark hair sticks up at odd angles. A streak of blood runs from one nostril. He leans against my car, gasping for breath.

“Holy shit,” I say, startling the others. “Is that Jake?”

“What…?” Angie leans over me to peer out of the window. “Oh my God! Jacob!” she shrieks before running out of the diner. Lisa slips out of the booth after her.

“Wait for me!” I grab a handful of napkins from the dispenser and chase my friends.

Angie skids to a stop at Jake’s side. “Baby! What happened to you? Have you been in a fight?”

Jake looks up, dazed and confused. He clutches at his right arm. “I don’t know. How did I get here?”

“Maybe he’s got a concussion,” Lisa says.

“But from what?” Angie clutches at Jake’s cheeks. They’re drained of color, like a vampire had sucked ten pints of blood out of him. “Baby, talk to me. Did you fall? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Jake blinks at Angie’s index finger. “Four?”

Calmly, Lisa says, “Yep. It’s a concussion.”

Angie wrings her hands. “We should get him to a hospital.”

“No doctors! No hospitals!” Jake shouts. “I’m not letting any more quacks near me.”

“But, Jacob, you’re a mess! You’re covered in blood. What the hell happened?” Angie looks hurt as Jake flinches away from her touch.

I step forward and press a wad of napkins to his nose. “Tip your head back, Ja…cob. That’s it.”

A flash of recognition lights Jake’s eyes. I pinch his nose tight at the bridge while supporting his muscular neck. A silent agreement passes between us—pretend we’re total strangers. I’m loath to ask him what happened in front of all these people, even in a whisper. What if he says he was abducted by aliens?

Angie wedges between us and takes tissue-holding duties. Jake waves her away and clamps his nose. More blood soaks through the tissue. A dried river of blood runs down to the neck of his long-sleeved shirt.

Lisa backs away. “I’ll get more napkins.”

“Babe, how long have you been wandering around like this? Where’s your car?” Angie asks, fighting back tears.

Jake simply shrugs. “I need some water. Can you get some for me?”

She kisses his cheek. “Anything for you, baby. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as she’s out of earshot, Jake takes my wrist with an iron-like grip. “Cassidy, tell me I’m having some insane dream right now.”

“I’m afraid you’re wide awake, but you’re safe,” I say, trembling inside, but trying not to show it on the outside. Passersby look at us curiously. I move to shield Jake from view.

“Last night…after the dance… I saw you.”

I frown. “Where? At the lookout?”

He drops his already deep, low voice. “You, me, your friend from the group, and a deaf girl. We were together. On a spaceship.”

My body turns to stone. I guess I was dead wrong about the chances of another abduction. Moira’s hypnotic suggestion was supposed to help me remember my next abduction. What if her suggestion went the other way and helped me mentally bury it instead?

“Are you sure? What was I wearing?”

Jake groans. “You don’t believe me.”

“I do. I believe something awful happened to you.”

His bloodshot, fear-riddled eyes look up at me. “You were wearing a dark blue dress and silver high heels. And…Anonymous—”

“Hayden.”

“He was in a suit but no tie.”

I choke back a golf ball-sized lump in my throat. We were taken last night. But how? When?

Running footsteps approach us. I turn around to see Angie with two bottles of water and Lisa carrying an entire napkin dispenser. My pulse keeps going up and up.

Lips hardly moving, I say, “We’ll talk about this later. Follow my lead for now.”

“But—”

I shove the bloodied napkins against his face to keep him quiet. I have to get him out of here, maybe meet up with Hayden and Alondra so we can figure out this mess together.

Angie rushes up to us. With two fingers, she tosses the napkins to the asphalt. She clumsily opens a water bottle, spilling almost a quarter of it. “Drink this, baby. It’s ice-cold, just the way you like it.”

Jake grimaces. “Thanks.”

“Ohhh, you’re still bleeding,” she moans and gingerly touches his face. “Lisa, give me those napkins.”

Jake guzzles the entire bottle of water. He takes the napkins out of Lisa’s hands. I can’t see any other marks on him. No bruises or cuts. If we take Jake to a hospital and they find some sort of alien device implanted inside him, what’ll happen to him?

“Babe…” Angie says. “You’ve gotta let me help you.”

I cut in. “You know, Aunt Carole will know what to do. Jake, I can take you to her house if you don’t want to go to a clinic or hospital.”

“Yes.” Jake pushes himself off the bumper of my car. He looks much more alert now. “Let’s go to your aunt.”

Angie puts up her hands in protest. “Jacob, tell me where your car is so I can grab it and follow you. Lisa, you’ll come with me, right?”

“Sure,” Lisa says, kicking the blood-soaked napkins into a pile. “I’ll get rid of all this stuff.”

“No!” Jake’s forceful tone makes us all take one step backward. Seeing that, he softens his tone. “No, Angie…uh, baby, I don’t want you to see me being, uh, examined.”

My throat constricts even more on that last word. Examined. Studied. Probed. A flash of white blinds me for a split second. Nausea sets in as a silhouette seems to loom over me. Woozily, I lean against Lisa.

“Hey, you’re sick, too? Is there something in the water?” Lisa pushes me upright. Her touch brings me back to reality. The nausea washes away almost instantly.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Must’ve been the sight of blood that got to me,” I tell her. I spin around. “Jacob, I’m gonna run in and get my purse. I’ll be right back to take you to my aunt.”

I have no intention of taking him to Aunt Carole’s. She’ll only ask questions and it’ll get back to Dad. But I’ve got to get Jake somewhere safe. Now.

On my way back to the diner, I quickly fire off a text to Hayden: Where are you? Jake’s with me. He’s in trouble.

I wait a few seconds. No response. After a second’s hesitation, I text Alondra.

Angie catches up to me inside the restaurant. “Cassidy, something’s not right here.”

It’s hard to meet her gaze. “Yeah, it’s so weird the way guys hate looking weak in front of their girlfriends, huh?”

“Yeah,” she says faintly, looking over her shoulder at Jake and Lisa. “I don’t know. This whole thing is bizarre. He turns up here all disoriented and bleeding. Bleeding! And he doesn’t seem to know who I am!”

Of course Angie’s confused. But what can I possibly say to her? That her boyfriend was abducted by aliens, who scrambled his brain and did God knows what to him? Inside the diner, my vision blurs as it sweeps over plates of untouched strawberry pancakes, hash browns, and sunny-side-up eggs. Digging into my purse, I find enough money to cover the check for all three of us and dump it in the middle of the table.

Angie grabs my arm. “Do you think he’ll be okay? I don’t understand the big deal about the hospital.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to convince him to go.” Ignoring the stares of other diners, I run out to the parking lot. I can’t answer the stream of questions Angie’s firing at me as we go.

Jake’s standing now, head back, still holding a wad of tissues against his face.

“Can we go now?” he mumbles.

“Yep.” I remote-unlock the Fiat. “Get in.”

He obeys as I start the engine. Angie leans down and I open the window so she can kiss him one more time. When she’s done, she peers over at me. “Drive carefully, okay?”

Hands gripping the steering wheel, I reply, “You know I will.”

“And call me. One of you call me. No, both of you call me,” she begs.

“Will do, Ange.” I back out of the parking space and try not to look at Angie and Lisa.

Once I get out onto the main street, Jake turns to me. In a nasal voice, he says, “Thanks for getting me out of there.”

“No problem. Keep your head tilted back and your eyes closed. Rest for now.”

Privately, I hope he doesn’t pass out. The flow of blood has not stopped. Seems he’s lost five pints. What if bypassing the hospital is a big mistake?