Wildfire

Chapter 18

18. Recover

I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I didn't wake up until Charlie arrived back the following day. I heard the door slam shut, following by a quiet curse as Charlie walked into the room, her coat landing on her bed with a quiet whoosh.

It took me a few seconds to open my eyes, I was so groggy. I blinked wearily at her, waiting for my eyesight to come into focus. My entire body felt heavy, like I'd been buried under six feet of blankets, but I was absolutely freezing.

I forgot to set the thermostat, I remembered.

"It's like a fridge in here," Charlie muttered to herself, tugging unconsciously on the sleeves of her turtleneck sweater. Her nose was bright red and I could tell by the clogged quality to her voice that she wasn't quite over her illness yet, but she looked a sight better than she had all week.

A lot better than I felt, anyway.

I watched as she wandered around the room, grabbing an extra hoodie from her closet and wrapping herself up in a quilt as she settled down on her bed, laptop propped up on her lap.

As soon as I managed to muster up the energy to breathe, I croaked, "Hey."

Charlie glanced in my direction, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Hey, yourself." Her smile slipped slightly as she took in my appearance. Um... are you okay? You're not coming down with the bug I had, are you?"

I tried to shake my head, but all I managed was some cheek-rubbing against my pillow and a low moan. "No... I went out last night."

Charlie's brows rose. "Voluntarily?"

"Ha ha." I pulled my duvet up over my head, my shoulders starting to shake from the cold.

"Where did you guys go?" Charlie asked. "You were with Lexie, right?"

I peeked my head out from beneath the duvet and levelled a dark look in Charlie's direction. "That. Girl," I rasped.

Charlie's eyes flicked up from her laptop screen, her fingers pausing over the keys. "What trouble has she gotten herself into now?"

"I don't even know where to start," I admitted, my voice breaking a little. I swear I am never drinking ergot again! I could barely talk, my voice was so cut up, and the grogginess wasn't lifting at all. "Darren came here last night and said she was in trouble, so I went with him to get her and —"

"Wait wait," Charlie interrupted. "Darren? You went somewhere — on your own, I might add — with Darren?"

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "I'm the epitome of stupid — trust me, I know."

Charlie waved her hand impatiently. "We'll get to that later. What happened to Lexie?"

"Lexie," I said, "is currently god-knows-where with her new 'witch' buddy, Aiden. I tried to get her to come home with me, but she wouldn't leave. She said she 'belonged' with him, whatever that's supposed to mean. It wasn't, like, in a romantic way. She said they're not dating."

Charlie's brows rose. "She belongs with him? How creepy does that sound?!"

"Not as creepy as him," I replied. "He tried to —" My mind flashed back to the club last night. I remembered how he'd whispered the word, "tine" under his breath and how fire had erupted from his palm, coalescing into a small, concentrated block that hovered just above his skin. Now that the shock had worn off somewhat, I could admit that it had been kind of impressive — and oddly pretty. There was something about the wild way the fire had sprung to life in his hand that made me think that compressing the flames into that small, compact cube had taken a lot of control. "He threatened me," I amended. There was no way I could explain what he'd done to Charlie — it was too surreal.