Branded

  The condemned were never willing to let anyone get away though. Clusters of them grabbed at my ankles, doing their best to drag me back down into their fiery hell. It is absolutely true when they say misery loves company.

  A brutal tug-of-war began with my body serving as the rope. I screamed and kicked at the cold hands that tried to pull me downward but I could feel the grasps that held my hands slipping. After a moment I lost hold. I heard the heckling, victorious laughter as I freefell through the air, before blackness swallowed me graciously.

  I almost called Emily and canceled. I had been a mess all morning, nearly in a vegetative state as I sat motionless on my couch. I just couldn’t make sense of the most recent trial.

  But somehow after a few hours of not moving I found my will again and told myself I had to continue in my mission to gain some normalcy. A girls day out was very normal.

  So I managed to drag myself into the shower and get dressed in some of the new clothes I had bought. I finally made it out to the truck. It took another five minutes or so of sitting there with my hands braced on the wheel to convince myself, but finally I backed the truck out of the garage and made it to the freeway.

  It only took me a moment to find Emily once I reached the mall’s food court. She was dressed in an almost too short skirt that showed off her mile long legs and a cute pink sweater. Her hair was worn down as always but one could tell she had taken some time to get the perfect curls to stay.

  The whole effect drew quite a few unabashed stares from the male shoppers. I suddenly felt very plain and boring next to her.

  “So are you hungry?” she said cheerily after we exchanged excited greetings.

  “Sure,” I lied. The thought of eating made my stomach churn slightly. Apparently I still wasn’t over the effect last night had on me.

  We each got some food from different places and I decided I was only safe with a smoothie and a bag of chips.

  Emily, practically bouncing like a giddy fifteen-year-old girl, led us to a table that wasn’t surrounded by too many people.

  “Thank you so much for coming with me today,” she began as she forked a bit of salad into her mouth. “I know it must seem really weird, me asking you to come with me out of the blue like that but I just really needed a friend and I don’t know very many people here yet.”

  “Where are you from?” I asked, suddenly realizing I knew nothing about Emily other than her amazing flexibility.

  “I grew up in Texas but I’ve moved around the west coast since I was eighteen. I’m twenty-two now.” I nodded as I took a long draw of my drink. We had at least that in common, leaving home at a young age.

  “So tell me about yourself,” she said as she looked up at me, excitement over our surroundings shining in her eyes.

  “Where’d you grow up?”

  I chuckled uneasily. I should have guessed this wasn’t going to be as easy as I might have hoped. “Um, I grew up in the amazing state of Idaho,” I began sarcastically. “I finished high school in California and moved up here a year and a half ago.” There, keep it simple and easy.

  Emily’s eyes narrowed for just a moment as if she were considering asking something she possibly shouldn’t.

  It only lasted a moment though before she showered me with questions about what I liked to do, what I did around here for fun, guys.

  “So what’s the deal with you and Cole?” she said as we dumped our now empty trays in the garbage and headed toward the stores.

  It took me a second to say anything as I thought over my confused feelings for him. “I don’t really know. Things are a little strange in that department.”

  “Well I can tell you now,” she said as she led me into a clothing store. “Cole’s feelings are plain and clear on his face. You didn’t see the way he kept looking at you yesterday.”

  “What?”

  “Oh ya, girl. He definitely knows what he wants and that is you, my friend. I’d be careful. Not that he isn’t absolutely perfect in every physical way, but there’s something a little strange about him.”

  I felt a little relieved as she said this. So I wasn’t just crazy and the only one who felt a little wary toward him.

  “Thanks,” I said simply.

  By this point we only had a moment to wander around the store before we needed to head to the theater.

  I couldn’t remember the last time I had gone to see a chick flick with a female friend. I decided as the movie started I was going to have to do this more often. It made me feel almost normal, like I actually fit into the world. It almost made me forget that I had a pair of wings embedded into the skin on my back and an X branded into the back of my neck.

  “Oh my gosh,” Emily squealed as we exited the darkened theater. “I cried so hard at the end there when he finally kissed her!”

  I could only nod in agreement as I dabbed at my eyes again, grateful she’d had a pack of tissues in her purse. I hadn’t expected the movie to be a tear jerker and a comedy.

  “Do you mind if we stay around here a little longer?” she asked with hopeful eyes. “There’s supposed to be a killer sale going on right now at my favorite store and I was hoping to get some serious shopping done.”

  Even if I had something going on it would have been hard to deny her with all the hope that shone in her eyes.

  “Sounds fabulous,” I answered. She gave a delighted squeal and hooked her arm through mine and we marched down the hall.

  Emily had meant it when she said she wanted to do some serious shopping. We were in the one store for almost three hours. Not that I could blame her for taking her time, the sale had been amazing and I knew I was spending too much money as we both checked out. I could only hope it was true when Alex had said there was a fund to keep paying me.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  It was almost completely dark outside by the time we made our way back to the cars, each bogged down with too many bags. I had offered to carry a few of Emily’s as I had not gotten near the amount she had and so I helped her load them into her tiny car.

  “Thanks,” she huffed as she closed the back hatch.

  When she turned back to face me her face was suddenly very serious and very out of place considering the day we just spent. “We need to talk,” she said, her tone very matter-of-fact.

  “We’ve been talking all day. Is everything ok?” I asked, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

  “I need to talk to you, now,” she said, her tone far too serious. “You aren’t going to be sleeping tonight, are you?” I froze suddenly and felt a little light headed. How could she know to ask a question like that? “What are you talking about?”

  Emily didn’t say anything as she turned her back to me. She gathered her hair in one hand, lifting it clear of her neck.

  My heart stopped for a moment and the world fell eerily silent as the all too familiar scar on the back of Emily’s neck came into painful view.

  I didn’t remember Emily turning back around to face me nor did I remember the bags in my hands falling to the ground at my feet. I did however remember the not so gentle pats Emily gave me on either side of the face. Her eyes suddenly came back into view as the world started to focus again.

  “We need to talk,” she said simply again.

  I think I nodded as Emily guided me back to the truck, grabbing my bags from off the ground and placing them in the back seat.

  “Can you drive? I was thinking we could go back to your place and talk tonight.”

  It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t breathing. As I took a sudden gasping breath the world came into sharper focus and my head cleared a little, though what I had just seen still wasn’t making the slightest sense.

  “Ya, I think so,” I said as my brow creased and I gave Emily a good hard look, reassessing everything I had ever learned or thought about her.

  “Okay,” she said, her own brow creased as she nodded. She seemed to be gauging if I was telling the truth about my state of mind. “I’ll follow you there.” I c
ould only nod as I watched her slide into her car.

  Numbly, I climbed into the truck.

  The drive home seemed to flash by in an instant as I tried to make my mind comprehend what this meant. I couldn’t make sense of any of it. The image of the X

  branded into the back of Emily’s neck wouldn’t leave my thoughts though.

  I parked the truck in the garage and walked up the slight hill to the road as Emily parked her car on the narrow shoulder.

  “I’ll be back in just a second,” I said as I approached cautiously. “I’ve got to check on something really quick.

  You can go ahead and go in. It’s unlocked.” She gave me a long hard look as if trying to decide if I was going to suddenly run off and never come back. “I’ll wait for you inside,” she finally said before walking toward the house.

  All the lights were off inside and I wondered briefly if Sal might be asleep. That would be very out of character.

  Sal was a night owl; it was rare she went to bed before midnight. I tried to make out any signs of life but it was too dark. I searched along the wall by the door and quickly found the light switch.

  Sal was laying on the couch and I silently wondered how she could possibly sleep in the position she was in. She looked so uncomfortable. I crossed the room to try and rearrange her if not make her move into her bed.

  I was about half way across the room when the orange bottle of pills came into view. I crossed to her side in two long bounds.

  “Sal?” I nearly screamed as I shook her violently.

  She remained as still as she had been when I first saw her.

  “Sal!”

  The bottle of pills looked as if they had fallen from her hand just before she crashed onto the couch, only a few of them seemed to be left to scatter across the floor.

  “Sal!” I screamed again as I pushed her onto her side and felt around for a pulse. It took me a moment but I finally found it. I timed it to the clock that hung above her sink; it was very faint and barely detectable.

  “What did you do?” I muttered as I stumbled across the room to the phone.

  My fingers shook violently as I dialed the three numbers.

  “911, what is your emergency?”

  “There is a woman unconscious here,” I tried to keep my voice even as I spoke. “It looks like she’s overdosed.” I tried to keep my head clear as I followed her few instructions and gave her the address.

  “An ambulance will be there in just a moment,” the woman’s voice said comfortingly.

  “Thank you,” I managed as the first of the tears escaped down my face.

  It seemed to take an eternity for the ambulance to arrive though it could not have been more than a few minutes. As soon as I heard the wailing I ran to the front door to let them in.

  They asked only a few questions as they loaded Sal onto a stretcher. I barely heard them tell me that they were taking her to Saint Joseph’s Hospital as I thought how fragile and helpless Sal looked, laying completely limp there.

  As I followed the paramedics into the driveway, I noticed several of the neighbors as well as Emily were standing on their front steps, looking to see what all the noise and flashing lights were about. I suddenly felt slightly hostile and wanted to shout at all of them to go back in their houses. Sal didn’t need any more judgments being placed on her. Everyone thought she was insane enough; they didn’t need to see this.

  I walked swiftly back to Emily’s side as the sirens wailed away.

  “I’m guessing you need to go then?” she said as she followed me to the still open garage.

  “Ya,” I said as I dug the keys out of my purse with shaky hands. “Um…” I struggled with words to say as I looked back up at her.

  “I’ll stay here,” she said with surety in her voice. I was grateful for her ability to think clearly when I couldn’t.

  “I’m sure you could use some moral support when you get back. That is if you want me to stay around. Though we do need to talk.”

  I could only nod as I wiped a single tear away.

  “Hey,” she cooed as she wrapped her arms around me.

  “I wish I could say everything is going to be okay but I don’t exactly know. You can handle this though. Go be with your friend.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered as I stepped away from her. I didn’t wait for her to say anything more as I opened the truck door and climbed in.

  Despite the fact that I had gotten some sleep last night, I felt drained as I got to the freeway. Too much had happened since then that didn’t make any sense. First the council changing for the first time ever, then Emily showing me the brand on the back of her neck. I still couldn’t understand what that meant exactly. And now Sal.

  That was as strange as the rest of it all somehow, even though it should seem, well not normal, but well, at least not supernatural. Sal might have been slightly crazy but she wasn’t suicidal. She had her times when she was completely out of touch with reality, but there were times when she was with it that she appeared content and happy. She understood what it meant for her to now be freed from her ex-husband and she absolutely appreciated that. So for her to try and kill herself like that made no sense.

  I found the hospital with no trouble. I had been taken there once, just after I crashed my car into that ravine. I had, of course, come out of it unscratched. Not a bone in my body had been broken; I had never had one or any other sort of cut or even a bruise in my life. The paramedics still insisted on checking me out.

  The emergency waiting room was surprisingly quiet when I arrived. There was only one other man waiting inside.

  The woman at the counter was friendly and answered my questions kindly. She said that the doctor would probably come out soon to talk with me when I told him Sal didn’t have any family that I knew of. I was appreciative of her patience, especially considering the environment she worked in.

  I sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs that lined the wall, sitting as far across the room from the other man as possible. I suddenly wished that I had asked Emily to come with me. She was so level and clear headed it would have been nice to have her with me.

  I waited for almost an hour, and asked the nurse twice if she had heard anything before the doctor finally came out to talk to me. He introduced himself as Dr. Ostler and I hesitantly asked if I could see Sal and he ushered me into a tiny private room.

  The tears welled in my eyes and threatened to spill over as I saw Sal lying unconscious in her bed. They had changed her into a nightgown that drowned her tiny form.

  Tubes were stuck in her nose, a few were coming out of her arm, and I could see traces of black smudges around her mouth from when they pumped her stomach.

  “You told the nurse Sal doesn’t have any family that you know of?” Dr. Ostler asked kindly.

  I nodded my head, not entirely trusting my voice.

  “And can I ask what your relationship is to Miss Thomas?”

  “I’m her neighbor,” I whispered. “I help her out. I do her shopping and run her errands. I check up on her every day. I had been gone all day so I hadn’t been over yet.

  That’s when I found her.”

  He asked my name and I told him.

  “Well, Miss Bailey normally I wouldn’t be able to tell you much but as there doesn’t seem to be a nearest of kin we will say you are a caretaker of sorts to this woman.” He motioned for me to take a seat in one of the two stiff looking chairs. I numbly sat. “As I’m sure you have already assumed this looks like a suicide attempt.” A few tears spilled over as he finally formed the words I could not will my head to think.

  Dr. Ostler was very kind and patient as he asked me questions about Sal’s mental status and medical history. I told him what I knew and gave him the name of Sal’s doctor.

  “She is stable and should be fine physically. We are, however, recommending she be placed under psychiatric observation for at least a week to determine if it is safe for her to be living on her own,” he said after he showered
me with questions, all the while making notes on his clipboard.

  “You are welcome to stay with her for as long as you like.” I nodded and thanked the Doctor before he quietly left the room.

  It took me a few long minutes of simply staring at Sal’s still form before I could find the will to drag my chair to her side. My hands still shaking, I took one of hers carefully in mine. It broke my heart as I looked at her face, seeing the almost anxious expression that was set into it.

  One would think at least in a medicated state of unconsciousness she should be able to find some peace and rest.

  I couldn’t hold back the flood of tears I had fought so hard for the last few hours. How could she have done this?

  How could she do this to me? Sal was as close as any family I had now. Despite how untraditional our relationship was, she was still the best friend I had. I needed her as much as she needed me. Perhaps more. She had gotten along without me for several years before I came along. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I were to lose her now.

  My only sense of time as I sat at Sal’s side was when a nurse came in to check on Sal’s vitals. She told me everything looked fine and asked if she could get me anything. I told her no and thanked her. I glanced at the clock as she left and noted it was now just after midnight. I tried to press back any thoughts; everything was just getting to be too much.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I laid with my head resting on the side of the bed, Sal’s hand still held securely in my own when I felt the warm hand touch my shoulder. Sleep had been threatening to pull me under but at the contact, a warm jolt of life and energy flooded through me.

  “Alex!” I exclaimed as I lurched to my feet and launched myself into his arms.

  He didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arms around me tightly and pressed his face against mine, momentarily pressing his lips to my cheek. Tears flooded my eyes again and spilled onto his shoulder. Such a deep sense of relief and comfort washed through me, I felt as if I were physically melting into his embrace.