Crimson Echo by Dusty Burns

shelf in my closet and shoved a few pairs of jeans and a handful of shirts into the bottom of the bag. I didn’t know how long I would really be gone, so I wanted to be prepared for anything. I started to feel the searing pain of reality settling in again and I fought to keep the hysterics at bay.
                I knew I had to hold it together for Kane, so I sucked it up and continued shoving random necessities into my duffle. I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I absolutely hated lime green, it made me nauseous— it was too cheerful and colorful for the somber mood I was in. Black or charcoal gray would have suited the feel of the scene much better. 
                As I pulled myself together Kane came back into the room and handed me my toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste along with a hair brush and some other odds and ends he thought I couldn’t live without .
    “I couldn’t figure out what you would need, so I just brought it all.” His smile wasn’t as bright as usual— I couldn’t expect it to be given the circumstances.
    “This is fine.” I opened a side pocket for him to drop the handful of toiletries in.
    “Are you alright?” He asked reading my face.
    I shook my head. I didn’t speak, I was too scared my voice would crack and give away how truly terrified I was.
    “Nothing is going to happen to you, I’m just being overcautious. It’s probably a big misunderstanding and I’ll sort it all out, but in the meantime I would feel better if you were somewhere safe. I promise I’ll come and get you as soon as it’s all settled.”
    “What if it really is something bad, how will I know you’ll be okay?”
    “Nothing will happen to me, I won’t let it.” He grabbed my bag and headed downstairs.
                I let Kane go ahead of me and wait in the living room. I lingered in my bedroom as long as I could and then slowly I walked the short hallway to the stairs. Everything was in slow motion now. The pictures on the walls were only noticeable in my peripheral vision. The flowered wallpaper in the bathroom was slightly hazy and my parents bedroom door only made me that much more homesick and I hadn’t even left yet. The light hanging on the wall flickered and began to spiral as my knees gave out. And then it went dark.
                When I woke up the change in scenery startled me. I was lying on a tan couch and the room was too bright. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been there. I peeled myself from the sofa and sat up. The swift movement made me dizzy again and I had to put my head between my knees and focus on my breathing.
               When the nausea subsided I looked around the room and realized I was at Faith’s house in her living room. By the strong scent of cinnamon overpowering my nostrils I should have known exactly where I was. I stumbled slowly toward the window to look outside. It was just after sunset, the ending of another day.  Just then I heard a set of footsteps approach from behind me.
    “Hey, it’s about time you woke up. Are you feeling better?” Faith asked, sitting a glass of ice water on the coffee table.
    “Where’s Kane?” I stared down at the glass; it was already sweating and leaving a ring on the dark wood.
    “He rushed out of here so quick, he hardly said two words. What’s going on with you two?”
    “Nothing’s going on with us.” I admitted morosely.
    “He was in a hurry to get somewhere. Are you sure he didn’t tell you before you passed out?”
    “He may have mentioned something about a family emergency.” I lied. There was no use in Faith worrying as much as I was and beside that I wasn’t completely sure what was going on yet.
    “What kind of family emergency?”
    “He never said.”
    “ Be honest, are you and Kane together? It seems a little sudden, don’t you think?”
    “No! We’re just friends.” I scowled. “I hardly know him well enough to be with him.”
    “He sure seems