Catch Me When I Fall by Vicki Leigh Read Free Book Online

yesterday, I stormed into the living room. Seth was passed out on the sofa. I smacked his feet, and he jumped.
    “Jesus, Daniel. What the hell?”
    “Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked.
    “Because we thought you could use the sleep.”
    “Damn it, Seth, you guys could’ve gotten hurt.”
    He rolled over and waved his hand at me like I was a pesky fly. “Relax. Tabbi’s temporary replacement showed up, so I helped Sam catch. There were only two Nightmares anyway.”
    I still couldn’t believe they would leave me. “I’m coming with you tonight.”
    “Fine, fine. But please shower first. You smell worse than Giovanni’s cigars.”
    Rolling my eyes, I left him to shower and change. Giovanni better give Seth and Samantha their own places soon. If Seth had to crash on my sofa, Samantha was probably on Tabbi’s. After a while, they were going to want a bed. And if Samantha was as messy as I knew Seth was, Tabbi would kill her the minute she tripped over a dirty shirt on the floor.
    I tried making myself lunch, but now that I wasn’t bogged down by anger or pain—or drugs—my thoughts returned to Kayla. What had happened after we left? Had Dr. Malcolm been able to calm her down? The memory of her writhing on the bed filled my mind, and food no longer sounded appealing. Shutting off the stove, I ran my hand down my face and glanced over at Seth who was out cold. He probably would be for hours.
    Damn it, Daniel
. I tried to remind myself I couldn’t get attached to my charge, but I knew nothing would stop me from checking in on her. Resolved, I closed my eyes and evaporated to Kayla’s room.
    Kayla sat in her chair, her feet propped on the seat and her knees under her chin. She wrapped her arms around her legs as she stared at the garden below. Her eyes were swollen and red, as if she’d cried so hard there were no more tears left to fall.
    She’d tied back her dark brown hair at the nape, and her ponytail ran halfway down her spine like a thick, dark brown stripe in her white uniform. She turned when a nurse knocked on her door.
    “Time to go to therapy,” the nurse said as she stepped into the room.
    Kayla frowned but rose from her chair and followed the nurse out the door. I stayed close behind, not wanting to miss a moment. My boots stomped on the floor, echoing down the corridor.
    Wait, why are my boots making noise?
    I caught my reflection in the glass of one of the doors—something that only happened if I were corporeal.
Shit!
After glancing down the hall to make sure no one was looking, I stopped walking and focused on making myself invisible again. In a flash, my reflection disappeared from the window. I ran my hands through my blond hair and let out a sigh of irritation.
Snap out of it, Daniel
. If I was still acting like a fool tomorrow, I’d ask to be reassigned. Or benched. I was tired, anyway. Maybe it was time I took a long break.
    Kayla was in a large room on the floor below. It was about the size of my living room and covered in brown shag carpet. White folding chairs were arranged in a circle in front of a large whiteboard, but the rest of the room was bare. Kayla took a seat as the others filed into the room. I stood near the whiteboard and watched the others join her.
    Kayla’s friend from the lunch room, Marcus, grabbed a chair next to her, and across from Kayla sat a girl with pink hair and braces. Two others sat in the empty chairs—one a very heavy-set man who kind of reminded me of a young Santa Claus, and the other a boy, maybe in his mid-twenties, who had burn marks down the left side of his body.
    Dr. Malcolm was the last person to enter. She closed the door behind her and took the chair opposite Santa Claus. She pulled out a notebook and pen and jotted a few notes.
    “Glad to see you all came today. Unlike last time, let’s make this meeting one where we all support each other, okay? Now, how is everyone doing?” she asked.
    Santa Claus answered first. “There was a rat in