Hell, I hadn’t even met my own dad. Sometimes, I appreciated that someone was looking out for me, particularly since my own family liked to make my life a living hell. Other times, like now, I just wanted her to be my partner in crime.
She must have seen it in the look on my face because she lowered the glass to the restroom counter and gave me a signature Bree grin. “Alright, I’m in. Let’s find out what he’s up to. But after that? You need to take your medicine.”
I let out a sigh of relief, which made me realize just how much I’d been hoping she’d say yes. The strange guy was more than just a random creep. I could feel it in my gut. There was a reason he’d told me not to take my medicine. There was a reason he wanted to see my ears. He knew something about what I’d been going through, and I was determined to find out what it was.
For the past few weeks, I’d felt like I was going crazy. Maybe, just maybe, there was reason to think I wasn’t.
Bree and I pushed through the restroom door to step back into the neon glow of the club. While I’d been inside, the space had begun to fill. The crowd had thickened, and the bar was surrounded by at least two dozen patrons in need of a drink. It made it almost impossible to pick out a single guy in dark clothes.
My eyes scanned the warehouse. There he was. By the door. He stood with three other guys, their heads bowed together as they spoke. Each of them wore those strange hooded cloaks, though all in different colors. Black, gold, red, and green.
As if they could sense my gaze, they all turned my way in unison, and my lungs tightened in response. Every single one of them was inexplicably gorgeous, just like the one who had cornered me in the restroom. Their eyes were bright and piercing, even at this distance. And their skin…they all had a strange sheen, though in differing shades of brightness. The one in red practically glowed like the sun.
“There they are,” I hissed to Bree, pointing across the warehouse. “What the hell is up with their skin, especially the one on the far left?”
Bree frowned. “Yeah, I see him with some other guys, but I don’t really know what you mean. Their skin looks normal to me. I mean, it’s crazy clear, which I’m jealous of, but that’s about it. I would kill to get rid of my damn acne.”
“No, I don’t mean that.” Frowning, I shot a glance at my friend. “It looks like they’re glowing.”
Bree’s eyes cut sideways, and her jaw flinched. “You sure you don’t want to take your anxiety meds? I feel like maybe it’s a bad idea not to follow the doctor’s instructions.”
“You think I’m making it up.” I took a step away from her, shaking my head. “You think I’m going crazy, even if you like to pretend you think otherwise.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy, Norah, but I think you aren’t quite yourself.” She gestured at the four guys who were still looking our way, watching our exchange with a strange detached curiosity on their faces. “You think they have glowing skin. Pretend for a minute that you weren’t the one saying that. Don’t you hear how strange that sounds?”
I blew out a hot breath and tried not to give in to the flicker of pain I felt deep in my gut at her words. Yes, I knew it sounded crazy. And yes, I’d be skeptical if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. And yes, maybe there was something very wrong with me. Normal people didn’t go around thinking people had glowing skin. But I didn’t feel crazy. This felt right. It felt real.
Though maybe no one ever really feels crazy, even if they are.
“Look, I have to talk to them, even if you think all of this is in my head.” I shrugged and blinked back the tears that were beginning to well in my eyes. “Hell, maybe I am imagining everything. But if I talk to them, maybe I can at least find out the truth. Don’t bother coming along.”
I strode away from her, knowing full well that she was staring after me with a conflicted expression of hurt and worry flickering across her pixie features. I’d told her not to come along, so she wouldn’t. Bree was