Page 68 of Wildwood

My eyes come into focus. She doesn’t have fur. It’s a winter hood that surrounds her beautiful face, and long dark hair spills out from the bottom.

“Joan,” I say. My first instinct is to shuffle back. But my head is throbbing, and I make a feeble attempt at movement and then stop.

“Stay still,” she is saying. Joan holds my face in her hands, seems to be inspecting my eyes. Then she gently pats down my arms and legs.

“What year is it?”

“2026,” I whisper.

“What’s your name?”

“Elinor Lin.” That’s not right. “I mean, Elinor Leighton.”

“Thank god,” she says, softly. “Here, take my arm.”

Slowly, she raises me into a standing position. “Can you walk?”

I take a small step forward. My head throbs, but I can hold my weight. “I think so.”

“You’re barefoot!” Joan exclaims.

“I was taking out the trash when I heard Hugo. I know, it was stupid.” I must look crazy to her.

Joan sits and takes off her boots and helps me into them. “I’ll be fine in my socks,” she says.

We start walking, slowly, with Joan supporting my arm. I’m so vulnerable out here, I don’t know if I should trust her, but I don’t really have a choice.

“How did you know I was out here?”

Joan keeps her eyes trained on the ground below us. “I was out walking, and I heard you calling for your dog. Then I saw you run into the woods. I don’t know. I just thought I should check on you.”

“I heard him barking.”

“How did you know it was him?”

“I’d recognize his bark anywhere.”

Joan nods, as though this makes sense.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” she asks.

“No!” I probably should. I think I hit my head. But I can’t. If Topher knows I’ve gone off into the woods alone and hurt myself . . . he can’t know.

Joan looks at me doubtfully. “I can drive you,” she says.

“Really, I’m okay.”

When we get back to the house, I consider inviting her in. I consider confiding in her and telling her that the barking was a recording. I think I can trust her. She’s an outsider, like me. And she saved my life. Who knows what would have happened if she didn’t find me?

But I hesitate. We look at each other, almost as though we are each daring the other to cross the line. To ask the unasked. Can I trust you?

Chapter 62

The face reflected back at me is hardly recognizable. I’ve got a goose egg on my scalp, my forehead has a greenish hue, and my cheeks are covered in scratches. I lean in close to the glass, almost mesmerized by the thing that stares back at me. I used to care what I looked like. Perhaps more than I should. Now I only care about minimizing the damage for Topher. I can cover the goose egg up with a winter hat and makeup can help with the face. Once I’ve made myself passable, I head downstairs.

I feel like death, almost as though I have a hangover. Everything feels blurry, everything hurts. It also feels like I’m not fully present in my skull, almost as though I’m observing myself from the outside. It’s a strange sensation. I’m sure it’s caused by my body being on high alert, from lack of real sleep for months on end, from the fall.

My phone pings. It’s a text from an unknown sender. I open it.