Crave (Harlequin Teen)

thirst.”
    The words made no sense.
    Savannah seemed to understand though. Tears slid down her cheeks as she shook her head and whispered, “No. I won’t look at them. It’s not right.”
    “Look at them!” the voice shrieked, and Savannah’s hands darted up to fidget with the gold locket she always wore at her neck.
    “No, don’t, Sav,” I said, trying to walk toward her. But something invisible and hot, like heated glass, held me back. I pushed my hands against that barrier, willing it to give and let me through. “Savannah, listen to me. Do not look at them.”
    The boys snapped and growled, their patience wearing out. They bumped into each other, and the group inched forward almost as a single, seething mass.
    “Savannah!” I yelled. But she couldn’t hear me.
    Cursing, I hit the barrier between us. The heat burned my knuckles.
    She stepped toward the edge of the roof and looked down.
    Cold terror poured over me. “Savannah, don’t! Wait for me.” I hit the invisible wall again and again with my fists, my will and power, even ramming my shoulders against it. A monstrous growl rumbled in my chest.
    “You will give in to the temptation,” the evil voice whispered, already sure of its triumph. “You need them. You need the power.”
    “No. Never,” Savannah promised, her voice choked and hollow.
    And then she dived over the edge.
    “No!” My roar swallowed me up until I thought it would never stop. I could feel myself losing it, right there on the edge of crazy, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the pain slamming into me in waves that brought me to my knees.
    I needed her, needed her to be alive even if we couldn’t be together anymore.
     
    I was still yelling out the pain as I woke up the next morning, my body cold and aching in the wet grass of my backyard.
    The minutes passed as I sat there, teeth clenched against the need to keep shouting, my breaths coming out fast and harsh through my nose. My chest burned. My fists were on fire. The dew on the grass became a sweet relief to my hands, cooling the flames on my skin.
    Just a dream. But the dream had felt way too real. It had the same sharp-edged quality to it as the dreams I used to have of her in the fourth grade.
    I stared at my hands, holding them up in the light of the sunrise. They weren’t even red. But the pain had seemed so real.
    Sighing, I dried them off on my sweats then scooped up the charmed candy. Time to face reality and get ready for school.
    I couldn’t shake the memory of that dream, though. Its gut-twisting terror and pain stuck with me all day. I barely said more than “Here” and “Thanks” to Anne when I shoved the protective charms at her outside the main building before school. I wasn’t in the mood to even fake a smile for anyone in the hallways or my morning classes, much less talk.
    At lunch, I couldn’t eat, especially after seeing Savannah enter the cafeteria and join her friends. She’d worn her hair down today for a change. The ends looked wet, maybe from taking a shower after her pre-drill class. Seeing those red strands down and flowing with her every little move reminded me too much of the dream. And the way her hair had streamed out like blood as she’d flown over the side of the roof…
    “See you later,” I muttered to my sister before ducking out. I was tired for the first time in months, definitely in no need to do any grounding. Still, my feet led me to the same tree as yesterday for some reason.
    I leaned against its trunk. The rough bark scraped at my skin through my clothes, reminding me that I was awake, that this was reality. I tilted back my head and stared up at the branches, watching the play of light and shadow above me as the leaves rustled in the wind, making a sound like someone whispering. Whispering like that evil voice in last night’s dream as it drove Savannah to jump off the roof.
    I closed my eyes and swallowed the knot in my throat. I saw her again in that dream, giving up, stepping over the edge. Again and again I saw her fall. The repetition should have numbed me to the images. But the pain only grew worse, until I wanted to yell from it.
    I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to fix this.
    There was only one solution, only one way to keep myself from going insane here. I would stay away from her. Stop looking for her at lunch. No more staring at her in algebra or reacting to her laughter in the hallways. These crazy feelings she created in me were just