Finding Sky

Stopped me losing it big time. I thought it was my fault—what with the car and everything.’

Nelson rubbed her forearm. ‘Yeah, Tina saw my good side for once.’

‘I’m so pleased—for you both. You deserve each other,’ I said.

Tina laughed. ‘Is that, like, a Chinese curse?’

‘No, you dweeb,’ I threw my cushion at her, ‘it’s a compliment.’

They stayed for about an hour. As long as we kept off the subject of my abduction, I felt fine. I had no problem remembering things about school, no pain, no confusion. I began to feel like my old self.

Tina checked her watch and gave the others a nod. ‘We’d best go. Your next visitor is due at six.’

I gave them each a hug. ‘Thanks for coming to see the poor crazy girl.’

‘Nothing wrong with you that a little time won’t put right, Sky. We’l be back the day after tomorrow.

Sal y said she thought you’d be here at least until the end of the week.’

I shrugged. Time didn’t seem to mean so much to me. I’d stepped out of my normal routines. ‘I expect so. See you then.’

They left, exchanging greetings with someone in the hal . I went to the window to watch them go but I couldn’t spot the car park from my room.

There was a soft knock at the door.

I turned, expecting to see Sal y. ‘Come in.’

The door opened and Zed stepped over the threshold. He paused, unsure of his welcome.

‘Hi.’

My throat seized. ‘H … hi.’

He pul ed a massive gold box tied with a red satin ribbon from behind his back. ‘I come bearing chocolate.’

‘In that case, you’d better sit down.’ I sounded calm but inside my emotions were tossing like palm trees in advance of a hurricane. That tidal surge of feeling was coming back.

He didn’t sit. He put the box on the bed then came to stand beside me at the window.

‘Nice view.’

I clenched my teeth, keeping the door in my head firmly shut against the surge. ‘Yeah. We crazy people get to go out earlier in the day. I’m told there’s a snowman down in the orchard that looks like the head nurse.’ My fingers were shaking as I rested my hands on the sil .

A warm hand moved to cover mine, stil ing the trembling. ‘You’re not crazy.’

I tried to laugh but it came out wrong. I quickly wiped away a tear. ‘That’s what everyone keeps tel ing me but my brain feels like cold scrambled egg.’

‘You’re stil in shock.’

I shook my head. ‘No, Zed, it’s more than that. I see things that I don’t think happened. I’ve got al these terrible images in my head—stuff about you and Xav. But you’re not like that—part of me knows this. And I think I shot you both. I wake up in a cold sweat dreaming there’s a gun in my hand. I haven’t even touched a gun in my life so how do I know what it feels like to shoot one?’

‘Come here.’ He tugged me towards him, but I held back.

‘No, Zed, you don’t want to touch me. I’m … I’m broken.’

I don’t want her broken, not yet. Oh God, who had said that?

He refused to listen to me and pul ed me firmly into his arms.

‘You’re not broken, Sky. Even if you were, I’d stil want you, but you’re not. I don’t know why you see those things, but if you do, there’s a reason for it.

Perhaps that dead savant messed with your mind somehow? Whatever it takes, we’l find out and we’l help you.’ He sighed. ‘But Xav and I, we weren’t anywhere near you until we found you in the warehouse. Do you believe that?’

I nodded against his chest. ‘I think I do.’

He ran his hands up and down my back, kneading out the knots from my muscles. ‘I thought I’d lost you.

I can’t tel you what it means to me to hold you like this.’

‘You came for me even though you knew they might shoot you.’ I remembered that much, thanks to Simon.

‘I was wearing a bul etproof vest.’

‘You stil could’ve been kil ed. They could’ve taken a head shot.’

He cradled my face in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the dip in my chin. ‘Price worth paying. Without you, I’d become the coldest, most cynical tough nut on the planet, worse even than the guys who took you.’

‘I don’t believe that.’

‘It’s true. You are my anchor, keeping me on the right side of wrong. I’ve been drifting since you shut me out.’

Guilt swamped me. ‘Victor told me.’

Zed frowned. ‘I told him to leave you alone.’

‘He’s worried about you.’

‘But you come first.’

‘I’m sorry I wouldn’t let you visit. I was so ashamed of myself.’

‘You’ve nothing to be ashamed of.’

‘I left you to suffer.’

‘I’m a big boy—I can take it.’

‘You got in a fight.’

‘I’m also stupid.’

I smiled, rubbing my nose against the cotton of his shirt. ‘You’re not stupid; you were hurting.’

‘It’s stil stupid to take that out on a couple of Frat boys for looking at me the wrong way.’ Zed sighed at his own behaviour, then gave up the subject. ‘I know you’re confused about a lot right now, Sky, but I want you to know one thing for sure: I love you and would give my life for yours if it meant I could save you.’

Tears, always near the surface at the moment, brimmed in my eyes. ‘I know. I felt it. I could read your emotions. That’s what told me my mind was lying to me.’

He kissed my forehead.

‘And I think,’ I continued, ‘that under al this, when I find myself again, I wil also find that I love you too.’

‘That’s good to know.’

And so we stood, watching the stars come out, both praying that the explanation for why I was so messed up would not be long delayed.

Sal y and Simon took me home a few days into December. Some early celebrators had already strung up their Christmas lights. Mrs Hoffman’s house was a blaze of colour, enough to be worth a detour off the highway. Our home was dark, not a candle or a bauble in sight.

Simon opened the door. ‘Now you’re back, Sky, we can get decorating.’

‘So, do we go for tasteful Olde England or brash new world?’ asked Sal y too cheerful y.

I played along, knowing they wanted to think I was better than I was. ‘If we do, can I have an inflatable Santa hanging out of my window.’

‘Absolutely, as long as I can have flashing reindeer on the roof.’

Flashing lights—a palm tree, rol ercoaster rides.

‘What is it, love?’ Simon put his arm round me.

This was happening al the time now: I’d see glimpses of things—a chair, a jet plane, a bed—

none of which I understood.

‘Nothing. Just having one of my moments.’

I dumped my case on my bed and sat down, staring at the wal s. Turquoise. I’d quite forgotten to practise shielding. I must be leaking thoughts and feelings to Zed al the time but he’d been too kind to tel me. Somehow I didn’t have the energy to pick up where I left off. He’d told me I’d contacted him while I was being held by my mystery kidnappers. I’d claimed to be in Las Vegas, which he’d found hard to believe until I turned up in the warehouse. He thought I’d tried to tel him exactly where I was but he had missed most of my message. The Benedicts had acted on what I’d managed to say and travel ed to Vegas because the city was Daniel Kel y’s powerbase—the coincidence was too much to be ignored. They stil believed there was a link: Gator, the man who had died in the warehouse, had been employed by Kel y’s corporation, but the police had been unable to co

Victor was feeling pretty steamed about the whole thing. To add insult to injury, the two Kel ys the Benedicts helped put away had slipped out of jail a few weeks ago; no one quite knew how they did it.

‘Sky, supper’s on the table!’ Sal y cal ed.

I went down and pretended to have a greater appetite than I did. Sal y had cooked my favourite pasta and bought in a tub of special ice cream. We were al making an effort to make the evening a success.