Carnal

Chapter Nine - Whiplash

I was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling when I heard the ringing.

I rolled over to see Zak's contact picture flashing on the screen of my laptop as he called me.

Sitting up, I ran my fingers through my tangled hair, and answered the video call.

Waving at him as he answered, I saw his brief smile before it dropped and morphed into a look of concern.

It occurred to me as I caught a glimpse of myself in the upper corner of the screen that I had a deep cut and bruise on my face that came with an explanation I didn't want to give.

I cringed.

Here we go...

'What happened to your face?' He signed fervently. 'Why are you hurt?'

'Calm down,' I signed back. 'It's just a cut.'

He gave me an exasperated look.

'How did you get it?'

I bit my lip before sighing.

'I got hit in the face with an iron stick.'

Zak closed his eyes and I knew he was probably counting up to ten and back down again.

'Who hit you in the face?' He asked.

I shrugged and he rolled his eyes.

'Was it an accident?'

I slowly shook my head with hesitation and his eyes widened.

'Why would someone hit you on purpose?' He asked, his hands flailing quickly.

'Look,' I signed slowly. 'Things are weird here. Really weird.'

This only seemed to annoy him more.

'You're being vague,' he signed.

'Someone broke in, okay?' I said. 'I was the first person the guy saw and I tried to defend myself and got hurt in the process. It was nothing more and nothing less than that.'

Zak just shook his head.

'I tried to warn you that it was a bad idea to go,' he signed. 'And now you've been hurt. Can you please just come home?'

I bit the inside of my cheek as I shook my head in disbelief.

Zak was someone who had colored inside the lines his whole life. He was smart and cautious and, most importantly, predictable. Anytime anything was just slightly out of his comfort zone, he backed out. Being adventurous and bold meant risking happiness and comfort to Zak, which was a point we disagreed on constantly.

Because of this, I knew he was going to try and talk me out of staying; this wasn't the first time he had done so. Whenever we first arrived, I had texted Zak to let him know I was safe. He proceeded to offer to buy me a plane ticket home and asked me if I was sure.

'I'm going to find Grandpa before I come home,' I had told him.

And I told him this again this time, at which point he drew in a deep breath.