Page 144 of Death is Familiar

“Delilah.” He took hold of the hand I laid on his stubbled face, and signed with the other, “You’re burning up.”

I was concocting a witty comeback when I saw it.

The crown of gently tousled raven-black waves.

“Oh my god.” My hand slid from his cheek to the side of his head, wrapping my fingers in the silken locks. “You’ve grown out your hair…”

Time jumped again. Both of my hands were fisted in his mane; he probably should have stopped me.

“It’s soooo soft.”

“You’ve got a fever. You need medical attention.”

Time warped, and I was in the back of Todd’s car. He was reaching for the seatbelt behind me. The instinct to hide my passenger was still alive and well as I grabbed a hold of Todd’s wrists.

“I’m fine, I’ll do it.”

As he grunted, the sides of his face shifted. Black hair blurred and morphed. Sharp, angry features softened⁠—

“You’re… pretty.” The worrisome words were out of my mouth before I could catch them. The Todd I knew didn’t have hair. He wasn’t pretty, he was frighteningly handsome. Todd—wait, had he signed the words? Or had he spoken them? Aloud?

Shivers wracked my body. Everything hurt, the roots of my hair hurt, as the world began to melt, Todd’s skin turning to putty beneath my fingers.

No, no, no…

Something was wrong.

Three had tried to warn me. Oh my god, Three, Three wasn’t here. She was still out there.

Behind Todd’s melting shoulder, I managed to spy a splash of hot pink within the tree line. Just one splash of color before my world went completely and utterly black.

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Beep. Beep. Beep.

The world slowly, but surely, came into focus. Even as my muddied brain recalled a worrisome series of events, it wasn’t fast enough to panic. Not yet.

I was in a bed. It was soft.

Beep.

The room was beige, the lighting dim.

Beep.

I was on my side, hand extended, fingers curled around air. Air that was sterile and thick with the sting of disinfectant.

Beep.

A little further away was another, larger, hand. It was set upon a knee. Which upon further inspection was connected to a man.

Beep. Beep.

A sleeping man with raven-black waves.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I snapped my hand away, then clambered to right myself, only to find I was connected to an IV. No.