Falling into Fiction

06 As Bitchy as in the Books

We need to find out what it is.

The words have been playing on a loop in my head nonstop. Katy wants to find out what's going on with Dee and Daemon, and she wants to do it with me. That's a huge a breakthrough regarding my plan to tag along throughout the plot.

Since the incident, Katy has invited me over twice, one time of which was to talk about the "twins." Obviously, I already know everything, and since I didn't interrupt in any major ways until the Arum incident at the library, everything she told me about was the same. Dee's arm faded in and out during gardening, Daemon swam under water for way too long, and she saw a weird flash of light during the bear attack, something she saw again the night Daemon saved us.

Everything about this is like a dream, and I'm so stoked to actually be living through this. The attack that Katy and I endured makes me think I'm incredibly unprepared to protect myself and others, but I'll work on it. I'm sure Kayla can throw some ideas my way as we come upon some more major events in the books. 

What I'm slightly worried for is the time when I've altered the plot in such a way that it's no longer predictable. At the library, it was pretty certain that the Arum would still attack whether I was standing right there with her in the parking lot or not. Did I handle it well? No. But did I know it was coming? Yes. 

Once these fixed events in the timeline aren't so fixed anymore, I don't really know how well I'll be able to handle it. Real life isn't like a book. Nobody really knows how to handle deadly aliens, gorgeous or not. Sure, I could go along with it and figure it out as I go, but I'm not sure if I can go all balls to wall with this stuff when I'm not sure how it will affect me in real life.

In other news, my mom has so far saved herself from the title of deadbeat mom. Turns out they got a hotel for the night, something I didn't realize was included in "meeting the girls," and she didn't realize until the morning that she left her phone in the movie theater. When she saw the missed calls and listened to the messages that explained what happened, she rushed right over to Katy's house.

Since then, she's been apologetic as all get out, and I've put it down to the fact that it was just awful timing for her to lose her phone and me to get jumped. No big deal. Maybe she'll be around for the next big incident that involves me, whatever that might be. Perhaps the changing of myself into a hybrid?

Ah. A girl can dream.

Mom has been hovering over me constantly, making me feel kind of smothered, and Katy is feeling the same way over at her house. The good news is that Dee invited both of us to The Smoke Hole Diner today for lunch, which gives a very good excuse to get away from our obsessive parents. I know our moms mean well, but considering that the severity of our injuries isn't actually so severe anymore, it's getting exhausting.

I've stuck with the idea that Dee or Daemon or both healed us the night of the attack. My arm could easily come out of the sling without any issues save for maybe some stiffness, and any scrapes and bruises literally anywhere on my body have disappeared entirely. I'm hoping that Mom will let me take the sling off before school starts in four days. I was at two practices during the week and wasn't allowed to even touch a volleyball.

With what should be a quick goodbye to Mom, who drags it out and gives my body a full checkup in the process, I walk across the street and knock on Katy's door. Kelly is the one to open it, and when she calls down Katy, she stops her before she can make a quick getaway. In the doorway of their house, I witness the same thing I went through with my own mother.

When she's finally released, Katy and I head over to Dee's house to see if she's ready. When she comes barreling out the door in a hurry, we catch a glimpse of a shirtless Daemon farther in the house, his arms folded across his chest and his green eyes unhappy. I do a quick once-over of his body, taking in the messy black waves of hair and the muscles that flex in his arms.