Chapter 437
Brandon’s room smelled more like him now than it did this morning, or at least I thought it did. I tossed my jacket and holster on the bed and pulled his blood-stained shirt off. I hated to take off the one article of clothing that smelled so much like him, but I couldn’t keep wearing it with Christian’s blood all over it. I needed to take a shower, too, but that would have to wait until after 7:00.
Most of their stuff was already packed. I just needed to gather up their toiletries and a few odds and ends Elliott, mostly, had strewn around the room. There was a half-eaten bag of Cheetos on the dresser. I unclipped it and stuck my face inside, inhaling deeply. It didn’t exactly smell like him, but his essence was there somehow. I ate one, even though I know he licks his fingers and sticks them back in the bag. I don’t exactly love Cheetos, but this one was better than most because it reminded me of him.
I cleaned up the rest of their stuff, zipped their suitcases, and set them by the door. I’d go ahead and take them down to the SUV later. If we really were attacked, we’d need to be ready to go. Then, I sat down on the bed.
I couldn’t help but think about the future. Brandon and I have never talked about getting married or anything. We’re both too young for that. Yes, I know he’s almost the same age as Cadence when she got engaged to Aaron, but still, we’re not there yet. I still think, in the back of my mind, I’ve assumed since we started dating that he’d be the one I’d marry, even if we never said it out loud. Whenever I think about my life, what I want in the future, he’s always in it. We have talked about maybe moving to another area, maybe being Area Leaders. We’d have the freedom to do whatever we want without anyone telling us we’re too young or too stupid. I’m not sure when I might be ready for kids and all of that, probably a long time from now. But if I ever did have any, I always just figured they’d look like Brandon.
Now, for the first time, thoughts about what it might be like if he wasn’t there came to mind, and it almost had me blubbering crying, like Ashley. I couldn’t imagine my life without him—not ten years from now, not five years from now, not even next week. I knew my sister was feeling the same way; she was supposed to be getting married this weekend. I wondered if it was anything like when the guys go off to war and leave their women at home, but I think the not knowing what could potentially happen in a portal revved the fear factor up even more, at least for me.
Telling myself not to sit there and stare at my phone wasn’t doing me any good. So I turned it on, not to anything in particular, and glued my eyes to the screen. It was 6:57. I had no idea if the clock the portal ran on was the same as my iPhone, but if it was, that meant I had three minutes to sit there and gawk at my phone like a crazy person.
My text alert went off, and I jumped so high, I could’ve easily stayed up there and levitated for a few minutes. It wasn’t from Brandon, though. It was my mom. “Call me when you get a chance, honey. I love you.” I still hadn’t talked to her at all since Brandon disappeared. I knew Cadence had told her, but I had remained silent. Maybe I’d call her later. Maybe I wouldn’t....
It took a full two minutes for my heart to stop pounding in my chest. How crazy that I was waiting for it to start pounding again. Hopefully, this time, it would be for the right reason.
I started counting slowly to sixty, thinking it would help somehow. Also a no. By the time I got to seventy-five and the clock hadn’t even switched over to 7:00 yet, I felt like it was never going to happen.
The time changed. 7:00. Nothing. Deep breaths, heart hammering, I waited. I heard a squeal down the hall and imagined that was Ashley getting a text. Still nothing. Surely, Brandon would’ve sent me one, once he knew they were capable of going through. Maybe he hadn’t set his phone up to automatically send. Maybe he’d broken his phone. If he just didn’t text me, I was going to murder him when he got home. How could he be so thoughtless?
My phone dinged, and I jumped again. It dinged four more times, quickly. Five texts. My hand flew to my heart, and I tried to breathe, seeing that my message also had just gone through to Brandon. I doubted he’d get it now, though. It would probably be at 1:00 in the morning. Still, I had a text from him. It was amazing and wonderful and terrifying all at the same time. I felt bad for thinking I would murder him.
“Hey, beautiful girl. How are you? I’m sure you’re keeping it together because you’re so strong, but if I was you, I’d be a wreck. I’m not though. I’m fine. It’s just... things here are so weird. I’m not even sure I can describe it to you, but I’ll try.
“So... everything is black. It’s like we’re in a cave or something. The ground is a little bit more like compacted dirt than rock, but it’s still jagged and can cut you. I sliced my hand earlier just getting up. Jamie healed it, so I’m fine. I hate to say it, but thank goodness he’s with us.
“The cave walls are also sharp and jagged, and so is the ceiling. There are these long tunnels that all come together in the middle, and there are passages off to the side. There are all kinds of crazy creatures in here, too, and none of them are very nice. So far, we’ve been fine, able to fight them off. They shriek and howl while they’re coming, letting us know an attack is headed our way. We have plenty of ammo, and Jamie can heal us if something does happen, so try not to worry, but it’s so bizarre. There are devil dogs and giant cats, birds with faces that don’t match.... They’re all black with red eyes, too.”
