Page 98 of Finding a Melody

But then I got lost in a world of darkness, where blood seemed to chase me around as Lindie screamed over and over again. I tried to chase after my dad, to ask him for help, but no matter how many times I reached out to him as he walked away, I could never reach him, even with Lindie’s scream of pain nipping at my heels.

Then there was the roar of motorcycles all around, nearly drowning out her screams. The roaring circled me, getting closer and closer, and I knew it. This was the moment it was going to end for me.

“Cadence!”

I jerked awake, swinging hard and hitting something solid. Someone grunted as I fell back onto the ground, my butt screaming in pain as my spine felt like it was zapped with a million bolts.

“Shit,” Seth said as I groaned and rolled to the side. “Cadence, are you okay? How can I help?”

My eyes were screwed tightly shut as I curled into a ball, working through the pain that seemed to turn into a burning electrocution through my body.

“Breathe,” Bryan said, his hand running through my hair. “Just breathe through it. Do you have medication?”

I managed to say, “In my kitchen, the cabinet above the sink.”

“On it,” Seth said before his footsteps were thudding further away from me. Even Bebe barked as he came over and sniffed at me, trying to nuzzle his snout into my face.

“I’m okay,” I rasped.

“You aren’t,” Bryan snapped back in a tight voice.

I sighed and forced my eyes open, turning so I could see Bryan. He was hovering over me, kneeling by my head, his face pale, eyes wide, glasses slipping further down his nose.

“I was just surprised,” I finally said.

“You were crying in your sleep. You looked scared.”

I looked up at the dark sky, the sun nearly all the way set. I probably didn’t doze off for that long, but it was long enough. I rubbed at my face, suddenly feeling embarrassed for going through this.

“I’m okay. I promise. Once I take some medication, the pain will go away and I’ll be good as new.”

Bryan really didn’t look like he believed me. “Is this the wound from the summer?”

I sighed. “Yeah. I took some severe damage along my spine and all the doctors have for me is that it’ll take time and I’ll deal with the pain until it has a chance to heal itself. They’re hopeful.”

After nibbling on his bottom lip for a moment, his gaze taking in my expression, he finally said, “But you aren’t.”

I sat up slowly, Bryan helping me as I got back to my feet. I tried to hide my grimace but he noticed it right away, his jaw tightening. “Let’s get you back in the chair,” he said softly.

“Thanks.” My smile was a bit shaky, but I really was appreciative of his help. I was usually dealing with this on my own. This was the first time I had help.

“Got it!” Seth said, sprinting over, breathing heavily, looking a little sick as he sweated, but there was a bottle in his hand. He passed it over before running into the house. As I was getting a pill out, he came back with a bottle of water, passing it to me.

“Thanks,” I said before taking the medicine and a small drink of water. “What happened to your face?”

Seth was holding something wrapped in paper towels up to his cheek as he practically collapsed in a chair. He was the last person who should have been running around. “I ran my face into your fist.”

I gasped and tried to jump up, but Bryan pushed on my shoulder to keep me seated. “I punched you?”

“Not intentionally.” Seth gave me a comforting smile. “You were having a nightmare and I should have been more cautious when I was waking you up. Maybe threw a bucket of pool water at you instead. Or poked you with the pool net. Didn’t realize you’d wake up swinging.” He chuckled, trying to make light out of the fact that I just bruised his face.

“This isn’t funny,” I said and finally got to my feet despite Bryan trying to stop me. I grabbed the ice pack and carefully moved it away from Seth’s face to see the damage.

Apparently, I really clocked him good. His left cheek was already red against his dark skin, puffing out. It started high up on his cheekbones, going down to the side of his mouth.

“I really hit you hard,” I whispered, placing the ice pack back to his cheek. He grimaced. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, placing his hand on mine and applying a bit more pressure to let me know I wasn’t holding it up enough against his face. “This was purely an accident. Don’t feel bad.”