"Karawynn Long - Adjusting the Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Long Karawynn)

his socks, then his shoes, and Melanie began to panic.
"Jason, don't go like this. I'm sorry I pretended to like Chicago; it
was just that you kept saying it would be too hard to leave, and I just wanted
to show you that we wouldn't have to split up when school started."
He looked over at her, puzzled. "I kept saying what?"
She frowned. "'I don't want to fall in love with someone and then have
to leave them two months later.'" She said the words precisely.
Jason turned around to face her, looking at her oddly. "Melanie, you
need to go see a therapist or something. I never said any such thing. I
never even thought it."
She stared at him. "Yes, you did. You said you loved me, or at least
that you were falling in love with me --" Suddenly she broke off in
confusion. In her mind's ear she heard him saying, "I didn't say I loved
you."
"No," she argued, "You did say it. I remember." Suddenly a little red
light began blinking on her right, in her peripheral vision. She turned her
head towards it but it moved with her. "What's that?"
"What?" he said warily.
"That light. It keeps moving."
"Melanie, there isn't any light. We're here in complete darkness.
Don't do this to me."
"Yes, there is -- it's right there." She held her head still and held
out her right hand, trying to touch it. Trouble was, she couldn't tell if it
was close up or far away.
"All right, that's it." He bent and tied his other shoelace. "I'm
gone. I can't deal with this shit." He stood up and left the bedroom.
When she realized what he'd said, Melanie jumped up and followed him to
the front door, almost hysterical. "Jason, you can't leave."
"Watch me."
"No!" It was almost a howl. "It wasn't supposed to be like this.
You're not doing it right." The red light was still blinking insistently, and
she batted at it with one hand.
"God, I really know how to pick 'em." He looked at her disgustedly.
"They should make you people wear warning signs. 'Danger: Psycho-Bitch on the
Loose.' Protect a lot of innocent people." He turned and opened the door.
She lunged at him, grabbing at his arm. He felt her and jerked it up
out of her grasp, hitting her in the face.
The world went dark.
#
Something was removed from her head, and she could see again. Above her
was a black ceiling with two fluorescent fixtures in metal reflectors. She
squinted against the light. Her skin felt tight where tears had dried on her
cheeks.
"Are you all right? Miss Lynch? Melanie?" A face bent over her, one
that looked vaguely familiar. With great effort, she placed him: the helpful
tech. Then she knew where she was.
It was the same overwhelming relief she'd felt after waking up from a
nightmare, and realizing none of it had happened after all. "Oh God."
#
The next day was a Sunday, and Melanie decided she felt like cleaning.