Ominous (Private 13)

I turned and looked at him, gratitude flowing through me. “You believe me?”

Josh’s green eyes were full of pain and distress and concern. “I believe you’re seriously upset, and I believe there’s something weird going on around here. But then … when is there not?”

We both managed a halfhearted chuckle.

“Why don’t you call Lorna?” Josh suggested. “Once you hear she’s okay, you’ll be able to sleep.”

I glanced at the clock. It was after 2 a.m. But this was life or death.

“Okay.”

I grabbed my iPhone off my desk and hit Lorna’s speed dial. As the phone began to ring, I closed my eyes and silently chanted.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up.

One ring. Two. Three. I looked at Josh, terror seeping slowly into my veins.

“Four rings,” I told him.

He swallowed. “Well, it is the middle of the night.”

Five rings. Six.

“Hello?”

“Lorna!” I blurted.

Josh’s face flooded with relief. He put his hands over his eyes for a moment, then dragged them down to cover his mouth.

“Reed? What time is it? Did they find Astrid?” Lorna asked.

Instantly I felt beyond guilty. Not to mention stupid, gullible, and nuts. “No. I’m so sorry. I misdialed. Just … go back to sleep.”

“Oh. Okay.” Lorna let out a yawn. “’Night.”

Then she hung up.

I blew out a breath and dropped the phone on my desk. “She’s fine.”

“Good,” Josh said. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Already the images of the nightmare were starting to fade. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Josh said. He gave me a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I’m just glad I was here.”

“Me too,” I replied.

We dropped back into bed and Josh lay down, one arm around me as I rested my cheek on his chest. He held me tightly and I listened to his breath as it eased toward the steady rhythm of sleep. I turned my face toward Josh’s ribs, my nose flattening against his side.

“Don’t ever leave me,” I whispered.

“I won’t,” Josh whispered back.

I smiled and closed my eyes. Seconds later he was snoring lightly. Seconds after that, so was I.

I awoke from a solid, deep sleep to the sound of loud banging on my door. The pinkish purple light of dawn blanketed my room, and I was just blinking my blurry eyes at my digital clock when the door was flung open and Mrs. Shepard, our housemother, looked inside. Normally impeccably dressed, she wore a purple tracksuit and untied sneakers. Her brown hair was back in a ponytail, and there was a line of dried night cream along her jaw.

Josh and I sat up as one, clutching the blankets to our chests. Mrs. Shepard’s mouth was open with an unspoken announcement, but she froze for a second at the sight of Josh. We were so frickin’ expelled, it wasn’t even funny.