Fifteen

FIFTEEN

. . . and jerked upright at the dining room table at home.

My vision throbbed and blurred, making me dizzy. Instantly overcome by a bone-deep fatigue, I yawned and stretched. Rubbing my eyes, I looked around, muddled, head fuzzy, trying to get my bearings.

I glanced at the sliding glass doors. Darkish outside. Early evening. A look at the clock on the wall in the kitchen confirmed it: seven o’clock.

I yawned again, ran a hand through my hair to the back of my neck and rubbed it there, working out the stiffness. Asleep. I’d fallen asleep at the dining room table. I must’ve dozed for a few hours, judging by how stiff and sore my neck felt . . . but what had I been doing that put me asleep? Not school work, obviously. It was summer. I did all my pleasure reading in my bedroom . . .

I looked down. An icy chill rippled along my spine at what lay open on the table before me.

A hardcover book with a yellow cover, its pages gilded golden-yellow.

I bit my lip hard enough to taste