Orphaned

Chapter 9 : Pills?

Chapter 9

Later that night...

Riker POV

Ell was still at the nurse. And it was bedtime. I was panicking slightly inside. What if I wake up and have a nightmare, and Ell's not there!? What if all those boys come beat me up!?

I slid into bed, and tried to fall asleep. But I couldn't.

My mind drifted to that pill on the top shelf.

No.

But I can't sleep!

Drugs are bad. Don't do it. You know better, Riker.

I sighed. I turned over on my side, and desperately tried to relax myself enough to fall asleep. My mind was racing though.

I suddenly jumped up, and grabbed the pill. I took my water bottle, and swallowed it quickly. I laid back down, and a little while later, I fell asleep.

Morning...

Riker POV

"Wake up. Time for breakfast!"

I groaned as the covers were pulled off of me. I looked up and saw Ell.

"You're back!" I shouted, sitting up.

"Yup."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yup!"

"Good."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Oh um... Yeah... I actually feel really good. I actually feel rested."

"That's good. Maybe you're starting to get over everything."

Or maybe it's because I took that pill. But it worked good! No nightmares, I didn't wake up in the middle of the night, I fell asleep quickly, and I feel like I actually got rest.

Ell took me to breakfast. I couldn't stop thinking about those pills... They worked so good! And... I wanted more!

After breakfast, I told Ell I had to go to the bathroom. But instead, I went to room 15, and knocked on the door. The guy answered.

"Ah, back for more, I see."

"Yeah," I said, quietly.

"You're going to have to pay."

"I have money in my bedroom."

"Alright. How many do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Well how much money do you have?"

"Some..."

"Go get your money, and then we'll talk."

I snuck back to my room, trying to be quiet so Ell wouldn't hear me. I raced back to room 15.

"How much can I get for 20 bucks?" I asked, taking out the bill.

"I'll give you enough for 2 weeks."

"Ok."

I handed him the money. He put my pills in a second bottle, and then handed it to me.

"How do you have these?" I asked.

"None of your business. Now out!"

I quickly jumped back out into the hallway. I put the bottle of pills in my back jeans pocket, and went back to my bedroom. Ell was in there, and I knew I was going to have to be careful.

I pulled my shirt down a little, and covered my butt with my hands. I sat down on my bed, which actually hurt a little. I'm sitting on a hard plastic bottle!

"So what do you want to do?" Ell asked.

"I don't know."

"I could show you around outside."

"Ok."

I let Ell leave the room first. I quickly took the pill bottle, and shoved it under my pillow. Then I followed Ell.

We went down some hallways and stairs.

"Ok, so this is one of the courtyards," Ell said, pushing the door open.

I followed him outside. There were trees, grass, and a bunch of plants everywhere.

"One of the head people here likes to garden, as you can see..." Ell mumbled.

"Yeah... Wow..."

"Alright, and I'll show you the backyard area."

I followed him back inside. We went down more hallways and stairs until we came to this other door. Ell led me out. There was a fenced in area. The fence was kind of high, obviously to prevent kids from leaving.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"I don't know. Whatever you want to do."

"Let's go to your room and play cards."

"Ok."

Later...

Riker POV

I took another one of those pills before bed. And then I took the pills and my money, and slid underneath my bed. I was able to sort of put both in my bed. There was a ledge under there, and that's where I decided to hide everything.

"Riker?"

Crap!

"What are you doing?"

I slid myself back out.

"Nothing! I thought I dropped something under there."

Ell looked suspicious.

"Um..."

"I didn't drop anything. It's ok. What are you doing here?"

"I just came to say goodnight."

"Oh. Well goodnight!"

"Yeah, um... Goodnight..."

Ell left, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I got in bed, and fell asleep within a little while.

The next day...

Riker POV

I couldn't believe how good those pills worked. No nightmares, and I stay asleep all night. I was feeling better than ever! I actually felt rested, and I mostly just pushed all the memories out of my head for the time being.

Ell kept cracking jokes, asking if I dropped something, since he still remembered me under my bed last night. I felt really weird inside. Do I tell him, or do I not? What if he's mad at me? But what if he's taking secret pills too?

Don't be stupid, Riker. Why would Ellington be taking pills?

I don't know...

I decided maybe I'd keep it a secret for now. I didn't know what his reaction would be, so keeping it a secret seemed like the best choice.