Runes

14. MEMORIES

Why wasn’t I self-healing? My head pounded, and my lungs hurt, each breath sending needles of white-hot pain through me. Arms cradled me close, and gentle fingers pushed hair away from my face. I recognized Torin’s familiar scent, his voice. He was talking, but a ringing in my ears made it impossible to hear him properly. I only caught the tail end of his sentence.

“…be okay,” Torin vowed.

“No, she won’t. Heal her… start the transformation… together forever and...” Andris’ voice ebbed, but I didn’t mistake his words. Forever with Torin sounded great.

“No,” Torin snapped.

“Why deny yourself…” I didn’t hear the rest of Andris’ words. The ringing in my ears grew louder and louder. Then suddenly it stopped.

“It doesn’t matter what I need,” Torin ground out, his voice clear. “It’s about what she wants. The last time I healed her, she hated it. I won’t do that to her again.”

“You’re a fool. If you can’t heal her, then let her die,” Andris said. “At least then you can—”

“Damn it, Andris,” Torin swore. “Don’t you get it? I gave her my word. I won’t let her become like us.”

I opened my mouth to tell him I didn’t care as long as we were together, but Andris interrupted. “This is no time to develop a conscience,” he said.

“Go. Find Maliina and stay with her. I’ll deal with her later.”

“Heal me, Torin,” I whispered, my words slurred, my breathing shallow. A weird pressure started on my temple, but my eyes sought his.

He stroked my temple and shook his head. “No, Freckles. You can’t make a decision like that now. We’ll talk later.”

“It hurts. Make the pain go away,” I begged.

“I can’t,” he whispered achingly, before pressing a kiss on my forehead. “Don’t try to move. Help’s on its way.”

“Why can’t I self-heal?”

“Your injuries are too extensive.” His voice dropped to an anguished whisper. “You need new healing runes.”

“Do it. Rune me. Please.”

“Don’t ask me to do this. I can’t sentence you to a life like mine unless you know everything, yet I can’t tell you much because I’m bound by an oath.”

“I don’t care what you are. I trust you. Please…” Pain speared across my skull, and my vision blurred. There was pounding all around me like running footsteps. It grew louder and louder, making the pressure in my head worse. “My head. Make it stop.”

“What happened?” Eirik demanded, his voice echoing eerily.

“She was climbing the tree and fell,” Torin said.

“Did you call 9-1-1?” Eirik dropped beside me.

“What do you think?” Torin snapped.

“That you might have healed her again,” Eirik snarled.

How did Eirik know about Torin? I struggled to keep my eyes open. “How…?”

“Don’t talk,” Eirik said softly. “I’m here now.”

“Is she okay?” Cora knelt near my feet. “Where does it hurt?”

“My chest.” My eyes sought Torin’s, hoping he’d take the pain away. He shook his head. My vision grew hazy again. I blinked to clear it, my eyes clinging to his. There was so much pain and despair in his eyes. Part of me was angry with him for refusing to help me while the other just wanted him to hold me. Then there was Eirik. He knew about Torin healing me and never said anything. The shrill sound of an ambulance pierced the air, adding to the ringing in my ears.

“Why does she keep blinking?” Eirik asked.

Torin answered, but I didn’t hear his words. Darkness pulled me under again.

***

When I came around, someone was lifting my eyelids and flashing light on and off into my eyes. I tried to protest, but I couldn’t speak. I tried to sit up, but something held me down. I was trapped. Voices filtered through my foggy head, and once again, I strained to hear.

“CT scan… hematoma… broken ribs…”

A sob followed. Mom. I wanted to reassure her, but I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Voices came and went—Mom, Torin, Eirik, Cora. They urged me to wake up, told me they loved me. Then there were the three women. I wasn’t sure who they were or what they wanted, but they hovered in the background, silent, watching, waiting. It was impossible to see their features. They kept changing, hazy one minute, transparent the next. At times they looked ancient, other times young like regular teens. Something about them was familiar, but I couldn’t tell what.

It was dark when I woke up again. My neck was stiff, and my chest and head throbbed. At least the pain was dull. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t and panicked. A beeping sound went off.

“Shh, it’s okay,” a familiar voice said in the void. Torin.

I managed to open my eyes, turned my head to find him, and winced when a spasm of pain radiated across my chest. A bright light drew my attention to the corner of the room. The light came from the glowing runes on Torin’s face and body. He got up, the light from his body bathing Mom, who was asleep on a chair by my bed. No, not my bed. A hospital bed. I tried to remember how I got to the hospital, but I couldn’t recall anything that happened after Maliina hit me. Now beeping machines monitored my vitals, and my body felt like I’d been run over by a truck.

A nurse entered the room and fussed over me and the machines. She checked my vitals, flashing light into my eyes, asking if I knew my name and my pain level. She adjusted the IV and fed me ice cubes from a cup. My throat was dry and painful, and the ice felt nice, but I wanted her gone so I could be alone with Torin.

“Thank you,” I managed to say.

As soon as she left the room, my eyes found Torin again. The glow from the runes made his blue eyes hypnotic. He moved closer, scooped up an ice cube from the cup, and fed it to me.

“Why am I here?” I whispered hoarsely.

He frowned. “Maliina attacked you, but I pulled her off before she seriously hurt you.” He fed me another ice cube. “I shouldn’t have trusted Andris to watch over you. He’s completely useless.”

Memories of the events at the party trickled in. “No, he took care of me, Torin. He carried me from your place, but Maliina appeared out of nowhere and attacked.” I glanced around the room. There were flowers and ‘Get Well Soon’ balloons. “How long have I been here?”

“About thirty hours.”

“The gas leak at your place, was anyone hurt?”

He smiled. “No, but we cut things short. Actually, quite a number of students followed the ambulance here and camped in the waiting room until you left the operating room.”

“I had surgery? Where?”

“Your brain.” He stroked my forehead, but my skin felt weird. I tried to lift my hand to find out why, but Torin pressed my hand down. “Don’t. You’ve broken several ribs and mustn’t move too much. Do you want more ice?”

I searched his face. “I don’t understand. You said I wasn’t seriously hurt, yet I had surgery and broke my ribs. Why didn’t you just heal me?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked instead of answering.

“Maliina attacking me. I don’t know what happened afterwards, until I woke up just now.” Panic surged to the surface. “What happened? Why can’t I remember?”

“You had bleeding in your brain, which caused you to lose consciousness. The doctor stopped the bleeding and told your mom you’ll be okay, but some of your recent memories may be affected.”

He tried to feed me more ice, but I turned my head away, my mind racing. I couldn’t remember anything that happened after the attack, yet something about Torin and Eirik teased my mind.

“Was Eirik there?” I asked.

“Yes. He and Cora were here until a couple of hours ago when your mother insisted they go home. They have school tomorrow.”

I glanced at Mom. She was usually a light sleeper. She must have been up the last thirty hours to be so tired. Who was taking care of her?

“Don’t worry about her,” Torin said as though reading my thoughts. “She’s a lot stronger than you think. Go back to sleep, Freckles. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He put the cup of ice down and covered my hand.

He fell asleep before I did, his head resting on the bed beside my hip. I stroked his hair, happy despite my banged up body and missing memories. As the pain meds worked their magic, I relived every moment Torin and I had spent together just before Maliina attacked. The kiss, so beautiful and perfect. The feeling of completeness. He hadn’t said he loved me, but he’d claimed me as his. I planned to claim him too as soon as I broke off things with Eirik.

Thoughts of Eirik filled me with sadness. He loved me, but my love for him was not enough. It wasn’t comparable to my feelings for Torin. Maybe there was someone out there for him, someone who’d love him like he deserved. I was still thinking about how I’d break up with him when sleep tugged at my senses and I closed my eyes.

***

It was daytime when I woke up again. The first person I saw was Mom seated on the chair, a magazine on her lap. She looked so miserable. Torin sat in the corner, arms crossed, runes making him invisible to everyone but me.

He smiled and mouthed, “Good morning, Freckles.”

“Good morning.” I didn’t realize I’d spoken out loud until Mom looked up and gasped.

“Oh, honey. You’re awake.” She jumped up, and the magazine fell from her lap. “The nurses told me you woke up last night and talked, but I didn’t believe them. They should have woken me up. How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the nurse?”

I managed a smile. “No, Mom. I’m fine.”

Tears filled her eyes, and a sob escaped her lips. She covered her mouth. “I was so scared when they told me you were bleeding in your brain. Then they drilled a hole into your skull and… and… I’m sorry I’m going on, but I’m just happy you’re okay.” She sniffled and wiped her cheeks. Then she reached out with a trembling hand as though to touch my head. At the last minute, she stopped, fisted her hand, and gave me a tiny apologetic smile. “Look at me, crying like a baby when you’re finally awake. That cursed tree is being chopped down tomorrow. I already made an appointment with a landscape company.” She turned to pull the chair closer to the bed.

I glanced at Torin in confusion.

“I told her you fell from the tree,” he explained. “It was the only explanation I could give her and the EMT.”

“Don’t blame the tree or cut it down, Mom,” I whispered. “Dad planted it.”

“Your father will understand. Every time I see it, I’ll be reminded of how close I came to losing you. You were right to be wary about climbing it all these years. It’s dangerous.”

There was no point arguing with her once she made up her mind. She could be as stubborn as me. I reached for the water.

“No, don’t move. The doctor said you must not exert yourself.” She picked up the cup and held the straw to my lips. “Are you hungry?”

I nodded.

“I’ll see what the nurses can rustle up.” She disappeared out the door.

Torin moved closer and stroked my hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

“You missed Eirik and Cora this morning, so don’t be surprised if they come back during lunch.”

Before I could respond, Mom came back. Torin moved back to the corner and watched us with a tiny smile as she fussed over me and talked about the surgery. She reassured me about my hair and the scar. Apparently, they had to shave an area near my ear for the surgery, but my chopped off hair was the least of my problems. The hospital food, when it finally arrived, was awful, and I could barely hold it down.

“Do you want me to get you something else to eat?” Torin asked.

Happy I could see him and talk to him without Mom knowing, I nodded. He left and returned a little later with breakfast—egg and sausage sandwiches and hot chocolate for both of us. By then, Mom had left for home to change. We ate. Then he left so I could rest. He came back hours later with lunch. A few minutes after he arrived, I heard the cheer chant for the Trojan swim team.

We are the Trojans. Oh Yeah

Kayville High top guns. Oh Yeah

When in the pool. Oh Yeah

We are so cool. Oh Yeah





When at a meet. Oh Yeah

We bring the heat. Oh Yeah

We’ve got the hold. Oh Yeah

On all the gold. Oh Yeah





I grinned, recognizing Cora and Eirik’s voices. Even though they weren’t yelling, I was surprised the nurses didn’t kick them out or tell them to zip it. They danced into my hospital room, both of them in Trojan crimson and gold swim pants, jackets, and T-shirts, swim goggles on their foreheads. They continued to chant.



Cause when we race. Oh Yeah

We set the pace. Oh Yeah

We’re number 1. Oh Yeah

The only one. Oh Yeah

Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah

They finished and posed. Torin stared at them as though they’d lost their minds, but he was trying hard not to laugh. They looked ridiculous, but it was Homecoming week.

“First day of Spirit Week is…?” Cora asked, hands on her hips, head cocked to the side.

“Sports Day,” I said.

Cora’s chin trembled, tears springing to her eyes. “Tomorrow is…?”

“Neon Day, then Wacky Tacky,” I added, my eyes welling, too. “Then my favorite… Character Day.”

“You remembered. That means you’re okay, right? Your brain is working fine.” She closed the gap between us, tears racing down her face.

I lifted my hand toward her, and she gripped it, both of us crying. “They might have drilled a hole into my skull, but I can never forget how crazy you act during Spirit Week. What floor did we get?”

“Second floor, west wing,” Eirik said, grinning.

“We decorated it with blue balloons and streamers, water-themed…” Cora swallowed a sob and glared at me. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. I thought I’d lost you and… and… I want to hug you, but I’m scared of hurting your ribs.” She swiped at her cheeks. “I’ll say it again. Don’t ever, ever scare me like that again.” She glanced at Eirik. “Okay, it’s his turn. I’ll wait outside, where I can sob like an idiot without making you cry, too.”

I stared after her and shook my head. She was such a drama queen, and I loved her to death. My eyes connected with Torin’s, but he didn’t make a move to leave. In fact, he leaned back and got comfortable, his expression saying he wasn’t going anywhere. Sighing, I ignored him and focused on Eirik.

Eirik planted a kiss on my forehead, then sat in Mom’s chair and reached for my hand. My eyes went to Torin to see his reaction. Blue ice flashed in his eyes, his annoyance obvious. I knew his display of jealousy shouldn’t please me, but it did anyway.

“Do you want me to get you anything? Something to eat other than hospital food? Bust you out of here?” Eirik asked.

“I have our food here, bonehead,” Torin said.

Once again, I ignored Torin. “That’s sweet, Eirik, but I’m okay food-wise and leaving right now is against the surgeon’s orders.”

Eirik’s smile disappeared. “I’m so sorry I screwed up, Raine.”

“You? What do you mean?”

“It’s my fault you were hurt.”

I frowned. “No, it’s not. Why would you say that?”

“If I hadn’t left you alone to play that stupid game, you wouldn’t have been bored and decided to go home.” He pressed a kiss on my knuckles, and Torin leaned forward as though he wanted to dive across the room and maul him. “You know that I love you.”

Torin growled.

I shot him a warning look, but answered Eirik. “I know.”

“And that I would do anything for you,” Eirik added.

“I know that, too.”

“I let you down, Raine, and I’m really sorry.”

I sighed. “Eirik, don’t—”

“No, let me finish. If you want to change our relationship and go back to being just friends, I’ll understand,” he continued.

Torin sat up and I could only guess at what he was thinking—here was my chance to cut ties with Eirik. But I couldn’t take the coward’s way out and blame Eirik for something he hadn’t done.

“You’re not my keeper, Eirik, and I won’t let you blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“You’re sure?”

I nodded. “I tried to climb the tree to get to my bedroom because I didn’t want to wake up Mom. It was my fault, not yours.” My gaze connected with Torin. He didn’t look happy. Eirik, on the other hand, sighed with relief and flashed his famous sunny smile.

“Good, because I wasn’t about to give up on us without a fight,” he said. Then he frowned. “Did Torin have anything to do with you leaving the party?”

“Why do you say that?” I tried not to look at Torin.

“Cora said you were dancing with him. Did he say or do something to make you leave his place? Because if he did—”

“No, he didn’t.” I shook my head. “We danced.”

“And kissed,” Torin added from the corner of the room.

“Was it Jess?”

I shook my head. “No. No one is to blame for what happened to me, Eirik.”

***

“I want to hold you while you sleep,” Torin whispered that night after everyone left.

I scooted to create room for him. Since the incision on my head was behind my right ear, I spent most of the time on my left side. He curled behind me in the narrow bed, his hand resting around my waist. “Let me know if anywhere hurts.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do.” His thumb touched my lips as though to stop me from speaking, but the effect on me was instant. My lips tingled. “I want to kiss you, but I’m afraid of hurting you.”

I wanted to kiss him, too. “You could never hurt me. Not with a kiss.”

He chuckled. “I’ll not want to stop, so let’s not try it. Go to sleep, Freckles.”

The next morning, I opened my eyes and looked into his beautiful eyes. It was still dark outside, and it sounded like the nurses were changing rotations. He cupped my face and gently stroked my cheek. Only one rune glowed on his forehead. He had an amazing ability to control them, I’d noticed.

“I’ll be back later with breakfast,” he whispered.

For the rest of the week, Eirik and Cora stopped by in crazy Spirit Week outfits. Eirik came during lunch and sat with me. In the evenings, he stayed after Cora left, did his homework, and even watched a little TV. Torin left whenever Eirik appeared, but he hated it. I saw it in his eyes, yet I couldn’t bring myself to tell Eirik the truth yet.

Night was my time with Torin. We spent every night together. I didn’t know if he used runes to stay invisible or if he enchanted my room so the nurses saw only what he wanted them to see. I didn’t care. I loved sleeping in his arms.

While he was at school, I tried to stay active by walking around. My doctor encouraged it. Often, I crossed from Surgical to the Women’s Center to see the newborns. It was as though a force I couldn’t explain pulled me there.

“Is one of them yours?” a man asked me.

I laughed at the thought of me with a child. “No. I’m only seventeen.”

“What happened to you?” he asked, his gaze on the bandage around my head.

“I fell from a tree and injured my ribs and head. Which one is yours?”

He grinned with pride and pointed to a puny baby in an incubator. “His name is Jeffrey. He came out early, but he’s a fighter.”

Tears rushed to my eyes. The pride in his voice made me think of my father. “I was a preemie, too,” I whispered. “My father said I fought to live, but holding and massaging me helped a lot. They say human contact is good for preemies.”

“Is that so?” The man thanked me and walked away.

On Friday, I got enough courage to approach the nurses’ station at the Women’s Center and asked for Nurse Guillaume.

The nurse behind the desk frowned. “Who?”

“Gabby Guillaume. I just wanted to say hi.”

The nurse shook her head. “You must be mistaken, honey. We don’t have a nurse by that name working at this center.”

I frowned. “Are you sure? My friend and I were here a week ago and talked to her. She was behind the counter and… and her aunt worked here seventeen years ago, too.”

“It’s okay. Calm down.” The nurse reached across the desk and patted my hand. “What floor are you from?”

“Not the crazy ward,” I retorted and yanked my hand from under hers. I was annoyed and, to be honest, spooked. Had I imagined visiting the hospital with Cora and meeting with the Gabby Guillaume?

“Just a second. Could you describe her?” the nurse called out.

I debated whether to keep walking, but I needed answers. Someone was messing with my head. “Medium height, brown skin, and braids. I think she’s Creole. Her cousin goes to my school.”

She quickly typed on her keyboard. “I’m sorry, but someone played a cruel joke on you, honey. We’ve never had the person you just described work here. Maybe she works at a different center.”

“Even seventeen years ago?”

“I can’t say for sure, but Records would have that information.” She gave me a smile filled with pity. Not only had the fake nurse lied to me, Marj had, too.

Puzzled, I turned to leave and almost missed the father of the preemie I’d spoken to a few days ago. He was with his wife in one of the rooms and in his arms was little Jeffrey. Smiling, I left the center.

That night, I told Torin what I’d learned about the fake nurse. “That means Marj lied to me.”

“Marj? Who’s Marj?”

“Marjorie LeBlanc. She, Jeannette, and Catie helped you with your party last Saturday.”

Torin sat up and came around the bed so I could see his face. “What are you talking about?”

“When Cora and I came back from shopping, Marj and her friends were helping you get groceries from an SUV.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I think your memories are a little off, Freckles. I used a catering company to help with the party. They sent three women, and if I recall correctly, not one of them was called Marj or Marjorie, and I don’t recall the names of the other two.”

“I talked to Marj, Torin,” I insisted, trying not to panic. “She’s on the swim team. The three of them are. They also helped Eirik with my birthday party at the club.” A foreboding feeling washed over me. What if all my memories were false and things I thought had happened never did?

Torin frowned. The next second, he was pacing room. He paused and said, “Describe them.”

“Marj is brown-skinned, Creole, I think, with dark-brown eyes. Catie has black hair, hazel eyes, and tan skin, and Jeannette has blonde hair and gray eyes. They’re about the same height, five-seven or eight, neither skinny nor fat. They all transferred to our school last year and became fast friends. I’ve never asked them, but I always assumed they knew each other before they came to our school.”

“Norns,” he whispered.

“What?”

He paused and looked undecided, then came back and sat on the edge of my bed. “I’m sorry there’re things I cannot share with you yet, but I promise to tell you everything once I know whether we’re dealing with good or bad ones.”

“Did you say norms?”

His frown deepened. “No, Norns. Don’t bother looking for the three nurses who took care of you when you were born, because you won’t find them. If we’re dealing with Norns, it might explain their presence.”

***

Armed with a list of instructions from my doctor, Mom checked me out of the hospital on Saturday. Eirik stood outside my house with flowers, ‘Welcome Home’ balloons, and a broad smile. My gaze went to Torin’s, but his garage was closed, which meant he wasn’t home. Had he found anything on the Norns—whatever they were?

The first thing I did when I got to my room was shower. Even though I’d showered at the hospital, using my own shampoo and soap made me feel a lot better. I studied the already healing wound on my head. The bumps of titanium plates and screws holding the bone together under my skin felt a little weird. At least the area was perfectly hidden by my hair and no one would notice it unless I put my hair up in a ponytail.

Standing naked in front of the mirror, I studied the yellowish bruises on my chest. It still hurt whenever I took deep breaths. Unfortunately, I had to take deep breaths as part of my daily exercise to prevent my lungs from collapsing.

Eirik was waiting in my room when I finished in the bathroom. Just like old times, he’d pulled out the spare bed from under mine and was lying on it. The thought of breaking off our relationship and hurting him made me feel terrible. I lay on my left side and tried to see his face as we talked.

“I want to ask you something,” I said as soon as I settled on my bed.

He cocked his eyebrows. “Okay. Shoot.”

“I know this is going to sound strange, but it’s a test to see if my memories are intact or not.”

He wore a skeptical look. “You remembered Homecoming week themes.”

“I’m serious, Eirik. The doctor said people tend to have short-term memory loss after a brain trauma. Homecoming is an old memory.”

He sobered up fast and sat up. “Okay.”

“Who helped you with my birthday at the club?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.

“You gave me a surprise birthday party, right?”

He nodded. “At L.A. Connection. Cora and I planned it.”

“Who else helped you organize it?”

“Some woman in charge of parties at the club. We worked with her and her friends.”

“What about Marj, Jeannette, and Catie?”

He frowned. “Who?”

“Marjorie LeBlanc, Jeannette Wilkes, and Catie Vivanco. They’re on our swim team.”

Eirik scrubbed his face. “Raine, there’s no one on the swim team called Marjorie LeBlanc, or Jeannette Wilkes, or Catie Vivanco.”

I swallowed panic. How could I remember them so clearly when everyone else couldn’t? Either I was going crazy or Torin was right. Norns, whoever they were, were messing with my head.

“Hey,” Eirik said, gripping my hand. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I thought we had three new girls on the team.” I described them and explained their arrival last year, but Eirik kept shaking his head. Two down. If Cora didn’t know who they were either, then I’d know for sure something was wrong with me. “I have a friend called Cora though, right?”

Eirik scowled. “That’s not funny.”

I grabbed his hand when he plopped back on the pullout bed. “I mean it. Do I have a friend called Cora?”

“Yes. In fact, I’m going to call her right now, so you can talk to her. I’m happy you remembered me.” He pulled out his cellphone and punched in numbers.

How many people and incidents had I forgotten or imagined? “You’re going to the Homecoming Dance, right?”

He shook his head. “Wrong. The whole point of going in the first place was for you to show me off. You can’t do that when you just came back from the hospital and your memories are messed up.”

“You can go without me,” I begged him.

“Not interested.” He brought the phone to his ear. “I’m going to pick up your favorite movies and something to eat. Then we’ll hang out. Here, talk to Cora.” He gave me a brief kiss, then left. I had a feeling that seeing me so confused and vulnerable bothered him too much.

As he walked away, part of me knew I wasn’t being fair to him. I still wasn’t sure how to tell him it was over between us. He loved me and just wanted to spend time with me, while I wanted him out of the way, so I could spend my first night at home with Torin.

I finished with Cora, who said she’d stop by later. Then I sat by my window, booted my laptop, and waited for Torin to come home. He didn’t. Not worried, I went online and started researching Norns. Mom kept interrupting me, wanting to know my opinion on one thing or the other. I saw through her excuses. She was still worried about me and was checking on me on the sly. In between her visits, I managed to do some reading.

Norns were Norse female deities in charge of the destiny of Mortals. They were like Fates in Greek mythology, only more powerful. They even decided the fates of the gods. The more I read about them, the more I could see why Torin had freaked out. While there were only three Fates, Norns were many but tended to work in groups of threes. They often appeared when a person was born to determine their future. The good ones were kind and protective, while the evil ones were behind tragic events.

We had to be dealing with evil Norns—Marj, Catie, and Jeannette. It explained why they were always there before something bad happened. The night of my party, they’d helped Eirik and we’d had a blackout. The night I got hurt, they’d helped Torin with his party. What if they were at the Homecoming Dance tonight?

Trying not to panic, I went back to reading.

Of the three Norns that appeared when someone was born, one was in charge of the past, the second one was concerned with the present, and the third was in charge of the future. If Marj and her friends were Norns, they might have messed with everyone else’s memories and left mine intact. It might explain why I remembered them when no one else did. They might also have been there when I was born. Had they saved my life or tried to kill me then? Everything was so confusing. If only Torin was around to give me some answers.

Cora pulled up before Eirik returned. She wasn’t dressed for the dance and didn’t carry her garment bag or makeup tote either. Weird. In a few minutes, I heard her voice and Mom’s outside my door.

“Look who’s here to see you, honey,” Mom said in a cheerful voice. “Eirik called. He’s running late, but he’ll be here with dinner. In the meantime, if you girls need anything, let me know.”

“Thanks, Mom. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the dance?” I asked as soon as Mom left.

Cora snorted and slumped on the window seat. “Like I’d go without you? So how are you feeling?”

“Fine. What about Keith? Isn’t he expecting you to go with him?”

“He wasn’t too thrilled when I told him I couldn’t, but he understood.”

My friends were annoyingly loyal. Sighing, I walked to the closet and removed the green dress I’d bought for the Homecoming Dance.

“What are you doing?” Cora asked, standing up.

“Getting ready for the dance. Did Marj swim this week?”

“Marj? Who’s Marj?”

“Never mind.” Three down, confirming I was the only one who could remember them, which meant I was the only one who could stop them from causing more mayhem. I chose a pair of shoes from my closet.

“Seriously, what are you doing?” Cora demanded.

“If you and Eirik insist on hanging out with me, we might as well do it at the dance. It’ll do me good to be up and about.” She stared at me as though I’d gone crazy. “Go get your outfit, Cora Jemison. Homecoming Dance, here we come. You can do my hair and makeup.”

“Hold up, crazy lady. You just came back from the hospital,” she protested. “You can’t just go to the dance. I won’t let you.”

“I’m not going to dance. I’ll dance vicariously through you.” I grinned. She frowned. “Look, I’ve been staring at the walls for a whole week, and Mom is beginning to drive me nuts. She uses some lame reason to check on me every ten minutes. I need a break or I’ll go crazy.”

Cora chewed on her lower lip. “She won’t go for it.”

“Oh, she will. Doctor’s orders. Go get your stuff.” I shooed her with my hands. “Oh, text Eirik and tell him about our change of plans. I have no idea where my cell phone is. Wherever it is, the battery’s probably dead anyway.” I waited until she left then went to Mom’s bedroom. “Is it okay if I go out with Eirik and Cora for a few hours?”

Mom frowned. She put down the book she’d been scribbling in and walked to where I stood. “Go where, honey?”

“The Homecoming Dance. I promise not to push myself.”

She sighed. “I don’t know.”

“But the doctor said—”

“That you shouldn’t sit for long periods of time, I know. I just hate the idea of you going anywhere right now.” She touched my cheek. “Every moment you’re out of my sight, I worry.”

“Mom,” I said and sighed.

“I know. I’m being everything I hate in a parent. Clingy and nagging.” She smiled then pressed a kiss on my temple. “Fine. Go, but if you feel dizzy or have any of the symptoms the doctor mentioned, you come straight home. No driving, no lifting anything, no alcohol, no—”

I laughed and kissed her, then walked back to my bedroom to change. Hopefully, Torin would be back before we left.