Blackout Read Online Free Page A

saving me.
    I pull out my phone and wipe away algae scum. It’s dead. The first thing I need to do is get a new one after I find a ride to the house. Who do I call? I used to have a best friend.
    On my way out of the Outer Banks Hospital, I borrow a phone at the front desk. The nurse gives me an odd look because from the waist down, I look like the Creature from the Black Lagoon . I smile at her, and she smirks back.
    My fingers tremble as I key in Kami’s number. Once upon a time, we went everywhere together. The worst part is we exchanged emails and texts for the first few months after I moved to Paris. Then I got busy, meeting new friends and putting the Outer Banks out of mind. It was easy to do, and the more I forgot the quicker the incoherent visions disappeared.
    Her little brother picks up on the third ring. He starts rapping in the phone, making noises that are supposed to sound like a bass but sound more like farts. “Dude, talk to me.”
    “Hey Dillon, can I speak to Kami?”
    “She’s outside laying out. If I bug her, she’ll punch me…again.”
    “Please give her the phone.” Should I tell him it’s Teal? Probably not.
    “Hello.” Kami sounds like Kami, cheery, sparkly.
    “Hi.” What do I say? Come pick me up? I totaled my dad’s Range Rover?
    Guilt itches my skin. When I moved to Paris, I cut my ties with everyone because it made me feel sane. As long as I didn’t think about home, I didn’t feel crazy. It was like I left whatever troubled me here, blowing its chaotic sand into the rustling sea oats. This is where the memories stir and lie buried deep in the bog of my nightmares.
    Yet I miss the Outer Banks, the beach, the rumbling sea, the smell of the ocean, and sneaking out at night with Kami to sleep on the sand and stare at the stars.
    “Who is this?” she asks, way too happy. She won’t be once I tell her.
    I squeeze my eyes shut in preparation of what she’ll say. “Teal.”
    “Teal? Teal who? The girl I haven’t heard from in over a year?” There’s an unmistakable tease in her voice.
    “Yes. The one and only.” I shrink down into the chair by the front desk. How do I ask now for a ride? I could walk the eight miles to the beach house or take a cab if he’ll accept euros, which he won’t. I do have a credit card covered in swamp that may no longer work.
    “The girl who quit texting me, quit calling me while flitting around Paris? The girl who was probably cuddling with hot French men while I had to settle for sweet southern boys?”
    “Yeeeesssss.” My word drags out for an eternity. “I don’t remember the boys being that sweet here.” My southern drawl I tried to hide while in Paris is back with a vengeance. Some boys were down right mean. I glance down at the single scar on my wrist, evidence of how vicious kids can be.
    “That’s only because those boys liked you, Teal, and it depends on what you give them on how sweet they are. Oh, Mademoiselle Teal, you must need me,” she tries to sound French, but her accent comes out sounding British, making me giggle.
    I let out a breath and say quickly, “I need a ride, and I’ll let you torture me.”
    “Oh, you do? Good. I can’t wait to leave you with my baby brother because you have to babysit him now.” There’s a pause so pregnant I think she went out by the pool to pop out a baby. “I can forgive you on one condition.”
    I hold my breath. “What’s that?”
    “You have to tell me about all those Parisian boys you seduced instead of calling and texting me,” she squeals.
    I let out the breath I was holding. She’s not too mad. “I can do that, though you might be bored at my lack of conquests, and I promise to babysit your brother for free.” I may regret offering that.
    I look forward to seeing her. From our conversation, she hasn’t changed. She’s still wild and crazy Kami.
    “Not as boring as it is around here, but when you see the college boy I’ve been kissing, you’ll go weak in the knees