Marked (19 page)

“
A little,” I admitted.

“
Okay,” he said, scribbling with a
pen. “Now, your friends claim that you were bitten by either a dog
or a wolf, can you clarify?”

My heart pounded in my chest as Dr. Lenmark finally
raised his eyes to meet mine. “I’m honestly not sure.”

“
Hmm, okay. Well either way, both
of your friends stated that the animal seemed to be healthy, which
is good. This means I don’t think I’ll need to administer a course
of rabies shots. In fact, it looks like the only shot you need is a
tetanus shot because it’s been a few years since your last
one.”

Relief flooded me. “So this means I get to go home
soon?”

“
Soon,” Dr. Lenmark said with a
smile, just as mom and dad walked into the room. “I’m going to
write Tessa a prescription for some antibiotics and then she’ll be
ready to go. Who was her physician again?” he asked my mother while
flipping through papers on his clipboard.

“
Dr. Keller,” mom answered,
following him out the door.

“
How you holdin’ up?” dad asked,
moving to sit in the seat beside my bed.

“
Tired.”

“
I’ll bet.” Dad winked. “I’m glad
you’re okay, sweetie.”

“
Me, too.” I yawned.

“
Why don’t you go ahead and close
your eyes? These doctors always say you’re ready to check out but
they never mean right away. I’m sure you have time to get in a
little nap,” dad insisted and I nodded. “I’ll be right outside with
mom if you need me.”

I closed my eyes and in minutes began drifting off
to sleep easily. What seemed like moments later, someone lightly
stroked my arm.

“
Tessa, honey, wake up. Let’s get
you into this wheelchair so we can go home,” mom said.

My eyes fluttered open to blinding florescent
hospital lights. I squinted and rubbed my temples.

“
What’s the matter, headache?” mom
asked, concerned.

“
Yeah,” I muttered, slipping my
legs off the side of the bed.

Standing, a dizziness unlike anything I’d ever felt
before hit me. It was like I was attempting to walk in one of those
moving tunnels from the carnival, everything beneath my feet kept
spinning. Dad caught me before I lost my balance completely and
fell on my face.

“
I feel strange,” I said, sliding
into the wheelchair.

“
Maybe you need to eat something,
are you hungry at all?” mom asked.

“
No,” I muttered.

“
It could be a side effect of your
antibiotics or the pain medication,” dad offered.

“
It could be a lot of things,” the
nurse said. “It could even be that you just need some rest. You had
a traumatic experience.”

I dozed in and out of consciousness the entire way
to our car and then drifted off to sleep during the ride home. The
next time I woke, it was to a familiar room and bed—my own.

The lamp beside my bed had been left on, allowing a
dim light to fill my room, and a glass of water was sitting on my
nightstand. I watched the condensation slowly trickle down its side
and into a pool forming around its base. Sitting up, I pulled my
covers back to get a look at my leg.

A large white bandage had been taped over it, hiding
what I could only imagine to be a gruesome wound. Gingerly my
fingers brushed around the bandage; that was when it hit me
again—the same intense pain that felt like fire rolling from the
bite mark through my veins.

Slipping out of bed, I scrambled down the hall,
headed straight for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to search
for anything to kill the pain. Grabbing the little white bottle of
Tylenol, I twisted the lid until the two stupid protruding arrows
matched up, then dumped two pills onto my palm.

By the time I reached my room, the pain had
intensified, leaving a foggy dizziness in my head. Flopping down
across my bed, I reached for the glass of water and popped the
pills into my mouth before the pain had a chance to cripple me
anymore.

Lying back in bed, nausea crashed over me in waves
and I closed my eyes wondering what was wrong with me. I was asleep
again before I had time to think of anything more.

Hours must have passed, because when I woke again it
was to my mother’s hand smoothing my hair and bright daylight
streaming into my room.

“
Hey, sweetheart, I just wanted to
wake you for lunch. I ended up letting you sleep through breakfast,
but you need to eat something and then take one of these
antibiotics the doctor prescribed.” Mom smiled.

“
Ouch,” I grumbled, attempting to
sit up. “My body is so sore.”

“
Really, hmm,” mom said while
pressing her hand to my forehead. “You feel pretty warm,
too.”

“
Do I? I don’t feel
hot.”

“
How did you sleep last night?” mom
asked, concern growing in her eyes. “I wonder if I should call the
doctor.”

“
Awful, I woke up a few times,” I
admitted.

“
There’s a sandwich right there,”
she said, pointing to my nightstand. “I think I’ll call the
emergency room and see if I can get a hold of Dr.
Lenmark.”

I nodded and reached for the sandwich, starved. Mom
came back a few minutes later, holding the cordless phone to her
ear.

“
Here, take your temperature,” she
insisted, handing me a thermometer.

I placed it under my tongue, enjoying the cool of
the metal tip while I waited for it to beep. When it finally did,
mom pulled it out of my mouth before I could read the numbers.

“
It’s 101.4,” she said into the
phone.

I stared at her while eating my sandwich, listening
to her “Mmm hmms” and “Okays.”

“
All right, thank you, Dr. Lenmark.
Yes, I’ll bring her in if she gets any worse. If not then we’ll see
Dr. Keller on Wednesday,” mom said, before hanging up the phone.
“He thinks this could just be how your body is choosing to react to
the bite, that or else you may have caught the flu or a
virus.”

“
Great,” I said sarcastically,
chewing on the last bite of my sandwich. Mom handed me my
antibiotic and I washed it down with a gulp of stagnant-tasting
water from last night.

“
Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll
be back to check on you in a little while.”

Covering up, I closed my eyes and lay there
listening to my own even breathing. The dizziness and head fog I’d
felt before was now dissipating and the pain throughout my body had
died down to a dull ache. Maybe I was just sick.

For the next two days I managed to stay in bed,
resting. Mom took those days off, which apparently was something
you can do when you own your own shop, to check on me every few
minutes. Every time I’d tell her the same things: I’m fine and more
water, please.

But I wasn’t fine. I was far from it. I was so
thirsty I could feel my lips sticking to my teeth and my tongue
felt like at any moment it could be permanently glued to the roof
of my mouth. The bite on my leg continued to burn as if someone was
holding a lit torch to the skin there, and a sickness flowed
through my veins. I could feel it.

I was physically hot. I could feel my cheek burning
the palm of my hand, but I was also so cold that I couldn’t stop
shivering. My hearing seemed to come and go, literally. It was like
I was changing frequencies or something. And my eyesight, it had
become clearer somehow—especially in the dark.

On Wednesday afternoon, I woke to a sunlit room and
a seemingly empty house. A note sat propped up on my nightstand,
beside the pill bottle of antibiotics, from my mom.

Honey,

I had to get a few things done at the shop today
before your appointment with Dr. Keller. There’s some leftover
lasagna in the fridge for lunch. Don’t forget to take your
medicine! Call me if you need anything. I love you!

- Mom

I sat up in bed and for the first time since I’d
been bitten, I felt normal. A quick glance around my room showed me
how out of it I’d been. Three beautiful flower arrangements were
lined up on my dresser, inflatable balloons bounced across my
ceiling, and a stack of textbooks sat on my floor.

After stretching my arms high above my head, I
slipped out of bed and padded across the hardwood floor. A massive
bouquet of yellow roses stood out to me the most and I wondered if
they were from Jace. Plucking the tiny card from a little stand
buried within the flowers, I opened it and read:

Are you ready for me to explain everything?

- Jace

I stared at the card in my hand, rereading it over
and over and wondering what Jace had meant. Curious to see who the
other flowers were from, I sat down Jace’s cryptic card and reached
for another. One was from Rachel and the other was from my mom and
dad.

Standing at my dresser, I stretched once more. My
muscles felt tight and tense from hardly moving much in the last
three days. Grabbing some clean underwear and a fresh set of
pajamas from my dresser, I left my room and headed straight for the
shower.

Images from my attack assaulted my mind and more
questions than I cared to ask formed. I inhaled deeply, grateful
that I wasn’t feeling sick still. Jace’s strange card floated
through my mind and I struggled to determine what he meant.

After stepping out of the shower and toweling off, I
reached in the medicine cabinet for a fresh bandage and the
antibiotic cream I’d been given at the hospital. Propping my foot
up on the toilet, I gently began to peel off the old bandage. After
tossing the bandage in the trash, I twisted my leg and looked at my
wound intensely. It didn’t look anywhere near as bad as what I had
envisioned. I applied a thin layer of cream and covered it back up
with a new bandage.

My stomach grumbled while I got dressed and hunger
hit me. I headed to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge.
Nothing looked appealing to me besides a package of lunch meat in
the bottom crisper, so I grabbed it and a tall glass of water
before making my way back to my room.

Sitting in bed, eating thin slices of ham, I began
scrolling through all of the missed text messages and phone calls
I’d received over the last few days. The majority of them had been
from Rachel, but I was pleased to see that some of them had been
from Jace, too. I crammed another piece of ham into my mouth and
glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It was 3:07 pm, which meant
Rachel was just now getting out of school.

Hey. Sorry I didn’t answer any of your calls, I’ve
been a little out of it. ~ Tessa

A few minutes later Rachel responded back.

OMG, you are alive! I’ve been so worried.

I know, sorry. I’m just now feeling better. I’ve got
a doc appointment this afternoon, but I think I’ll be back in
school tomorrow. ~ Tessa

Cool. I brought you all your work, don’t you love
me? =)

I chuckled before responding back.

Always. Thanks for the homework and thanks for
getting me to the hospital. ~ Tessa

You’re welcome. That was freaking scary! I swear
whatever it was that bit you was a wolf. What happened?

I laid my head back against my pillow and sighed.
I’d thought it was a wolf, too, but I couldn’t be sure.

I don’t really know. I sat down on the steps because
I was hot, closed my eyes, and then saw something in the woods. I’m
not sure if it was a dog or a wolf, but it bit the crap out of my
leg! ~ Tessa

I’m sorry, hun. I’ve got to go to work now, but I’ll
call you later. Glad you’re okay!

Thanks. ~ Tessa

I flipped my phone around in my hand, wondering what
to say to Jace. I took a long swig of water and realized I’d eaten
the entire package of ham. Setting the empty container aside, I
sunk back down into my bed and began typing.

Well, I survived an animal attack. Call me when you
get this. ~ Tessa

Ten minutes later my eyes fluttered closed and I
fell back asleep.

* * *

Mom gently shaking me and calling my name woke me
about an hour later.

“
I’m running a little bit late.
We’re supposed to be at your appointment in ten minutes. I see you
woke up and ate something,” she said pointing to the empty ham
package on my nightstand. “Did you change out your bandage at all
today?”

“
Yeah,” I said, rubbing the sleep
from my eyes.

“
Good, let’s head to your
appointment then.”

* * *

Dr. Keller’s office was small and cramped. It
smelled strongly of a floral-scented Glade plug-in and his
secretary, old lady Webber’s cheap perfume. I’d never been bothered
by the way his office smelled before, but today… it was strong
enough to give me a raging headache. Thankfully we only had to wait
in the main room for fifteen minutes before we were called back
into a smaller exam room, leaving the overly potent scent
behind.

After being poked and prodded, asked a million
questions, and brain warped into knowing exactly how to take care
of my wound over the next few weeks, I was free to go.

“
Well, that went well. At least we
know you’re healing properly and that whatever you had was just a
cold or something,” mom said, as we climbed back into her van. I
nodded. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

I rubbed my forehead. “My head just sort of
hurts.”

“
Oh, are you hungry? It’s a little
after five now,” she said, glancing at her watch. “Maybe we should
pick up something for dinner on the way home. Any
requests?”