The Hourglass Door Trilogy by Lisa Mangum

Author:Lisa Mangum [Mangum, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2012-12-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

When Natalie opened the door, she was on the phone. “Oh, wait, she just showed up.” She mouthed the words It’s your mom and moved to hand the phone to me.

I shook my head vigorously, waving my hands in front of me. I wasn’t ready to talk to my mom just yet. I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer her questions and I feared I would just make things worse.

Natalie slanted a disapproving look at me, then returned to her conversation. “Uh, can she call you back? . . . No, no, she’s okay. . . . I will. Uh-huh. I will. Okay. ’Bye.”

The instant Natalie hung up the phone, my words spilled out in a rush. “You know me, right? You remember me, and we’re friends, right?”

She looked at me strangely, and for a moment my heart stopped. “Of course I know you. And, yes, we’re friends.”

I rushed forward and wrapped Natalie in a hug. “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for still being you.”

Natalie patted me on the back. “Uh, you’re welcome. I guess. Abby, what’s going on? Your mom said you ran off—”

“I know. Listen, I can explain—well, not easily, it’s complicated—but I’ll try.” I peered past Natalie’s shoulder into her family room. “Is anyone else home?”

Natalie shook her head. “Robert’s off on a camping trip with the Scouts and Mom and Dad are visiting Grandma for the week.”

I sighed in relief. I was still shaken by my conversation with Zo; I wasn’t sure I was up to talking to anyone other than Natalie at the moment. “Can I use your shower?”

Natalie stepped back from the door, pulling me inside with her. “I thought you’d never ask,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “You look terrible. How long have you been in those clothes?”

“It feels like forever.” I picked at my T-shirt sleeve and frowned at the smell. I followed Natalie downstairs to her room. “I really appreciate this.”

She waved off my thanks, pointing to her bathroom. “Go. Clean up.”

I started to close the bathroom door behind me when Natalie called my name.

“I told your mom I’d drive you back home. Don’t be long, okay?”

I nodded. Closing the door behind me, I leaned my back against the wall. I could feel the burdens piling up on my shoulders. There were so many loose ends that demanded my attention. Dante was trapped in the darkness, and I couldn’t even start building the door that would free him for another week at least. Leo thought he knew how to help me stabilize the timeline and reduce the effects of the changing river, but not until this weekend. And now with Zo’s latest strike at my past and my present, I feared I was too late to fix anything. I shuddered, remembering my conversation with Zo and the feel of his lips on my wrist and how his black eyes had laughed at me.

Turning on the shower, I peeled off my clothes, stiff with sleep and sweat, and tossed them into the corner.

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