Maybe I'm Hallucinating

 

Chapter Thirteen

 

Next thing I know, my parents are running into the kitchen, asking me what’s wrong. Chase is one step ahead of them, and in fact, one step beside me, because I can feel him next to me but I find that I’m frozen in place.

Why did they run in here in such a rush? Did I scream or something?

Then I realize that, yeah, I probably did.

At first, nobody reacts. Which leads me to think that maybe I am hallucinating? But then I feel Chase tense beside me, and I know that I’m not.

My parents look at the look on my face and follow my eyes to what—who—I’m staring at.

My mom laughs. And yes, I’m serious.

“Oh, Skye. I should’ve told you, we have guests. I wasn’t expecting you to drop by today, so this is all kind of unexpected. But a good unexpected!” She says enthusiastically. I don’t say anything. I don’t move, actually. “Skye, Chase—this is Elena and Demetri Griffin.” She introduces us. I feel my stomach hardening into a tight ball, the way it usually does when I’m overly anxious. Which I am.

Anxious, I mean.

Chase and I don’t say anything. I stand there, completely motionless, while my mom chats away happily like nothing is wrong. My dad even goes to make drinks for everyone, like the people sitting at our people are welcome in our home. Which they so aren’t.

I turn to Chase, my eyes wide in shock and fear. Chase sees me look at him and nods his head towards the door, telling me to leave. I hesitate. I go to take a step towards the door, but I find that there is some sort of wall—or force—pushing me back, so that I can’t leave. I look anxiously at Chase, who sees the problem, and grabs my hand, pulling me behind him as if to block me from Elena and Demetri.

You’re probably wondering why I’m so frightened. I mean, yeah, if somebody was sitting in your kitchen all creepy-like you’d probably be weirded out, but would you be freaked? No, probably not.

Unless you have some like, social problem where you can’t be around people you don’t know. And hey, if you do, you can relate to how I’m feeling, because let me tell you, I am scared.

I should probably explain though, so that you know what I’m talking about. Demetri? Yeah, that’s the guy that assaulted me at that party two weeks ago. The one that tried to have his way with me and then hit me in the face a few times? That charming guy that Chase so kindly beat up when he saw what was going on?

Yeah, that’s the one.

Sitting here. In my kitchen. Right now.

I remember when I first saw Demetri at the party. His white-blond hair was cut close to his head, his eyes were dark brown and just…creepy, his face was strangely intimidating for a guy of average build and height. I remember thinking that he wasn’t breathtakingly gorgeous like Chase—but then again, who is?—but he was good looking enough.

And after that, all I remember is being scared out of my mind.

And Elena? She’s probably his sister. I’m only guessing this because they look so much a like. Creepy, cold and intimidating. Not exactly an award-winning combination.

Except, where Demetri’s hair is really short, her hair is a bit longer. Her white-blond locks are cut in a stylish manner, framing her face nicely and stopping just under the chin. Her eyes, also, are both cold and dark brown. But, unlike Demetri’s, her eyes are lined in layer after layer of black eyeliner.

Why the hell are they in my house? And why the hell can’t I leave the kitchen?

I turn slowly to face Demetri and Elena, who are both smiling patronizingly at me.

My mom leaves the kitchen to go make a phone call and with my father still making drinks, it leaves Chase and me alone with Demetri and Elena.

“You son of a—“I start angrily, pointing a finger at Demetri. Chase cuts me off.

“Skye.” He says softly, his voice low and dangerous. I look at him angrily, dropping my hand.

I raise my eyebrows questioningly at him, but he doesn’t offer an explanations. Until, of course, he turns to Demetri and smiles roguishly, saying “Remember me?”

Demetri’s patronizing smile falters as he recognizes Chase from the party. Yeah, I think smugly. Meet the guy who bashed your face in.

Elena looks confused for about three point oh seconds before she erases any emotion from her face and raises an eyebrow at me. I raise one right back, looking at her like she’s nothing more than an ant on the ground.

My fear has left me and now I’m just angry.

“Get out of my house,” I snap at Elena. Demetri is looking satisfyingly uncomfortable with Chase’s piercing eyes on him. I can see a muscle in Chase’s jaw twitch and I know that I have to intervene before he starts to throw punches.

Elena looks at me, purses her lips and then says, “I think we will.”

Which, okay, completely throws me. Isn’t she supposed to be all evil and say “I will do no such thing!” all indignantly before freaking out and starting to slap me?

She’s not supposed to agree with me.

And then I look at Chase, and realization dawns on me. He’s a Controller. He can freaking control minds. If he wanted Demetri to punch himself in the stomach now, Demetri probably would.

Demetri and Elena get up from the table slowly, their eyes wary. Chase’s eyes are burning silver now, the blue disappeared. He’s staring at Elena and Demetri in such contempt that for a moment I’m concerned that he’ll tell them to do something completely drastic like crash their car into a pole.

But then I realize I’m actually having sympathy for the guy who assaulted me and I shake my head at myself.

Three things happen as soon as I shake my head.

Number one: Demetri’s eyes break away from the sort of spell that Chase’s Controlling has them in and his eyes lock on me, the brown slowly turning silver.

Number two: An ear-splitting sound fills my head, although nobody else seems to be hearing it. The sound is, in fact, so loud that my head feels like its being ripped apart and I clap my hands over my ears, trying to block out the sound. But for some reason, I get the feeling that the sound is inside my head, like I’m the only one that can hear it.

The third thing that happens? Demetri starts laughing.

And after that, everything gets kind of foggy. Quite literally. My eyes start to blur and I reach out a hand to grab onto something, but I find nothing and end up falling onto the floor, writhing in pain. The sound is taking over my head, blocking out everything that’s happening around me. The pain is almost unbearable, so I curl into the tightest ball I can and hide my head in my arms. The pain intensifies, causing my vision to not only go blurry but to just go black. I whimper. I don’t even think I have it in me to scream right now. The pain from the noise—that sound—is almost unbearable. I’d do anything to get rid of it, anything, but it doesn’t go away. And when it gets worse, intensifying yet again, I finally float off into unconsciousness, turning oblivious to the pain—to everything—around me.

 

The next things I hear are voices, familiar voices, talking in hushed tones outside what appears to be a door. The walls around me are crème-painted and I sigh, realizing where I am. The infirmary at the Davenport residence.

I try to move, to sit up actually, but the tubes taped—taped?—to my hand move with me and it kind of makes me queasy. So I lay still, straining to hear what the voices are saying.

One voice—the angry one—is getting louder and I can tell right away who it belongs too. Deep and commanding, angry yet calm, silky yet rough, the voice clearly belongs to Chase. I begin to smile but the movement, the little movement of my mouth, hurts so much that I feel myself start to shake. I muffle a whimper as the noise in my head—the noise I had thought to be gone—begins to come back.

I try, still, to hear what the voices are saying. The other voice, the one Chase is talking to, is softer and gentler, persuading and assuring. Logan.

“What the hell did he do to her?” I hear Chase yell angrily. I can almost imagine how he looks right now. His brown hair tousled, his electric blue eyes sparking.

Logan responds in the calm, kind voice he always does. “I don’t know, Chase. I’ve tried everything I can to fix it.” He says quietly, softly.

I hear a pounding noise against the wall and I can only assume Chase punched it. Or smacked it. Or took a hammer out of his back pocket and decided to redecorate. (The last one was a joke. Mostly.) “I’m sorry,” I hear Logan say, and his voice is really soft now, it’s as if he’s almost whispering.

The sound in my head—that piercing sound—fills me with coldness, an emptiness that I can’t explain. The pain resurfaces with the noise and I find myself smacking the side of my head with my hands, as if I can knock out the sound. The pain…the sound…everywhere, it’s everywhere…can’t see…can’t…can’t stand it…help.

I feel warmth on my cheek and realize that I’m crying. No, probably not crying. Bawling. Sobbing. Not just crying.

Am I going to die? I wonder suddenly, as things start to go black. I’m beginning to go numb from the pain and I almost welcome the drifting feeling that is coming over me. Is this it? I wonder again.

Suddenly, a large hand—much stronger than mine—is pulling my hands away from my head. Pulling them away so I can no longer smack my skull, trying to stop the pain. My wrists go limp .

“Do something!” Chase bellows. I can hear someone—Logan, most likely—shuffling things around, things that sound like metal. I feel a prick in the inside of my elbow and before I can do or say anything my eyelids start to droop, and an unknown force starts to pull me into oblivion. I feel a hand placed on my head and the pain almost seems to…lessen somehow. Before I can think anything of it, I’m off into unconsciousness once more.

It’s weird. I’ve been unconscious so many times in the last day, that it feels normal to me. Oblivion: my home away from home.

But, like Chase asked, what the hell did Demetri do to me?

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Anya]

Awesome chapter! very scary and spooky and a little confusing (of course, in a good way) :)