What A Year

Hard Feelings, Guadalupe’s pov

“Have you always gone poking in my head?” I ask Tonya after Victor and Zeke leave the room.

Small whispers of magic still trail along my fingers. How did I do all that?

And if I can do something so powerful… why couldn’t I find a single memory?

“Not at first, but during the coma I did, just to see if you would wake up.” She brushes hair out of my face. “I guess I formed a bad habit.”

“You always hated that I knew what you were thinking or planning. It always spoiled a surprise.” She smiles, staring off into a memory I can’t reach. “I figured if I did often enough, you would wake up to scold me.”

“Have I always had power like that?” I whisper.

She grips my hand. “I have never felt such power as what you unleashed in here.”

“Unleashed? You make it sound predatory.” I hold her gaze.

She squeezes my hand once, then lets go. “I’m going to see where the boys went off to.” She says quickly and walks out.

What is it about me that makes people run? I roll my eyes, who knows when they’ll return.

Am I always going to be left alone? Do I just sit here in my own silence? It’s deafening, but then Sherry walks in.

“I brought you a vanilla pudding.” She says in her southern drawl and sits next to me. “I noticed they left and thought I’d keep you company. Figure you’d be alone and maybe hungry.”

I take the pudding and spoon from her. “Do we know each other?” I say, eating the pudding. I inhaled 3 of these yesterday.

“Do I feel familiar?” She asks.

“I’m not sure if it’s familiarity I feel or if it’s just that you’re nice to me.” I say deflecting her question.

“No, we didn’t know each other before your coma. I started working here about 2 weeks before you came in.” She says as she begins to take my vitals.

“Hey, you tricked me. I thought you came to spend time with me, not study me.” I say playfully.

“I’m a woman of many talents.” She winks at me.” Well, let me go before the cavalry shows up.

She takes my trash and before she walks out she turns, “You have so many people who love you, Guadalupe. Muchas bendiciones, mija.” and walks out.

I plant my feet on the ground and stand. Slowly, I shuffle to the door to use the restroom.

When my hand touches the doorknob, an electrical current shoots into me. Instinctively, I move away from the door.

Did I do that? I look at my hand and step back to the door. Before I can touch anything, a stabbing pain hits me in the abdomen and I double over.

My hand latches onto the doorknob and the electricity from before shoots to my brain and as everything goes dark, I smell the ocean.

Beep…beep…

From somewhere comes that annoying machine in my hospital room.

I try to open my eyes and move some part of my body, but tiredness sweeps me back under.

Beep… beep…

There’s the machine again. How long have I been asleep? A cold sweat sweeps through me and again I’m pulled into the abyss.

My eyes open and I’m standing on the roof of a huge castle. I shield my eyes from the sun.

When my vision clears, I see I’m standing much too close to the edge and cautiously move back.

I hit what I assume is a solid wall, but when I turn around I come face to face with Sebastian.

His hand cups my cheek and I lean into it smiling closing my eyes. He’s like a bright light that chases all the dark fog away.

“Is this our date?” I jokingly ask.

I open my eyes when he never replies.

His flirty demeanor is gone and I see urgency in his eyes. He’s talking, but I can’t hear a word. He grips me forcefully at the shoulders and screams in my face.

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!!” He shouts and this time his voice echoes around me.

His screams beat at my eardrums and covering my ears doesn’t keep his voice out of my head.

After what feels like forever, I break free of his grip and run to the edge of the castle.

I don’t hesitate and I jump.

Beep… beep…

“Lupe?” Someone’s calling me, but they sound so far away. I open my eyes.

It’s my room and I hear someone or something whining so faint that only a dog could hear. Maybe.

Slowly the sounds get clearer and I can move my head around.

There’s a beautiful chocolate dog making cute noises by my ear. I don’t protest as they lick my face.

“Lola, come on girl. You see, she’s fine now. Let’s go back outside.” Victor says from the doorway. He doesn’t meet my gaze.

“Bye, Lola.” I call out as she gives me one last kiss. They both walk out and close the door.

“So, hopefully this time someone knows what happened to me.” I say sitting up, feeling soreness throughout my body.

Zeke comes to sit on my bed and takes my hand. Goodness, his hands are on fire or I’m freezing.

“Two days ago, Sebastian was in a terrible accident.” As he’s talking more warmth seeps from his hands into mine.

It’s not an unpleasant feeling, I’m just confused as to why he’d feel the need to comfort me.

“We’re not sure how long his car was out there on the road for, but that’s not the alarming part.” He takes a deep breath, “He hasn’t woken up and we think,” he points between him and Tonya, “that, somehow that has something to do with what happened to you.”

“Ok and what did happen to me?” I ask, not revealing any of the emotional turmoil happening inside me.

Would he wake up like me, with no memory. Was he still alive?

“I opened your door when you collapsed.” Tonya comes to sit next me as she’s talking. “I’d never been so scared or moved faster in my life.” She chuckles nervously.

“The doctors came right away, but you wouldn’t wake up. They ran tests like before and just like last time, no answers.” She smiles through silent tears and I put my arms around her.

At that moment, she needed the comforting and I knew I had to give it to her. In the end, she’s just a mom who keeps, almost, losing her daughter.

“Where is Sebastian? Can I see him?” I ask, breaking away from the hug, but keeping an arm around her.

“He’s a couple doors down, but I have to warn you, he’s banged up. The cops said his car flipped about 4 times and he was ejected from the driver’s seat.” I put my hand to my mouth as Zeke talks.

“How did he survive something like that?” I ask him.

“No one knows, but we have Laurie coming in tomorrow to get a reading on him.” He says.

“The seer Laurie? The same one Victor was talking about?” He flinches when as I say his name, but I pretend not to see it.

He nods his head yes, “But wait, how did I wake up?” I finally ask, forgetting my ordeal after hearing about Sebastian.

“I helped.”

Zeke moves from in front of the only chair in my room and reveals Lilah.