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Back The Lighthouse Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. PART ONE
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. PART TWO
  13. 12
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 18
  18. 19
  19. 21
  20. 22
  21. 23
  22. 24
  23. 25
  24. 26
  25. 27
  26. 28
  27. 30
  28. 31
  29. 32
  30. 33
  31. 34
  32. 35
  33. 36
  34. 37
  35. 38
  36. 39
  37. 40
  38. 41
  39. 42
  40. 43
  41. PART THREE
  42. 44
  43. 45
  44. 46
  45. 47
  46. 49
  47. 50
  48. 51
  49. 52
  50. EPILOGUE

His voice was barely a whisper and failed to elicit a response, so he tried again, this time a fraction louder.

“Excuse me. Hello?”

The girl remained motionless. He took a step closer. He could see that her skin was pale and her lips tinged purple. The tension inside his chest ratcheted up even higher. Fearing the worst, he spoke much louder, projecting his voice high above the roar of the taps.

“Are you all right? Wake up. Please, wake up!”

10

10

Amy had only a vague awareness of the emptiness surrounding her. Nothing made any sense. Thoughts were indistinguishable. They flew in and out of her head without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. There was nothing she could latch on to. Nothing seemed real, nothing except for a faint, distant sound, shapeless and obscure . . . a voice.

She didn’t know where it was coming from or to whom it belonged, but through the darkness, with words that weaved in and out of her ears like ghostly ribbons, Amy was sure the voice was calling to her.

“Hello,” the voice said. “Are you all right?

Scraps of thought began falling like confetti, fleeting images, fragments of memories. Amy could see her pendant, could remember ripping it off her neck, and she could also see a lighthouse: a dark tower with a golden beam that was slowly glowing brighter and brighter against an inky black sky. Then, suddenly, as though she was stumbling out of a cave, the darkness began to recede.

•••

Ryan was about to flee the room to call for help when he spotted the girl’s eyelids twitch. He inched closer and saw her lips begin to move, saw her cheeks begin to redden and fill with color.

Oh, thank God.

Not wanting to do anything that might startle her, he tiptoed back to the doorway, unsure whether to make a discreet exit or stay to make sure she was okay. But before he could decide what to do, the girl was opening her eyes. A second later she was gripping the rim of the tub and trying to pull herself up. Had she looked to the right, she would have seen Ryan standing by the door, but she was too preoccupied with the sight of the overflowing tub and running faucets.

Ryan had no choice but to announce himself. He leaned forward slightly, hoping to alert her to his presence in the gentlest way possible.

“Hello?” he softly called out. “Are you all right?”

•••

Amy twisted her head and locked eyes with a figure standing by her door. She had no idea who he was. Had no idea where he’d come from. How did he get in their room? And why was he just standing there in her bathroom . . . watching her !

“What the hell . . .”

“Hey, my name is—”

“I don’t care what your name is! What are you doing in my bathroom?”

“No, wait, this isn’t what you think . . .”