My Soul to Keep

Chapter 8

When Leilani woke up the next morning, guiltily excited about hanging out with her friends, she was surprised to find that Hexander wasn’t there. Every morning since she could remember, he was always next to her or sitting in her desk chair waiting to tease her about her bed head or rush her to get ready because she overslept. But that morning he was nowhere to be found and she couldn’t help that nagging pit in her stomach that said he had left her for good for choosing her new friends over him as she called out to him as loud as she dared and got no response. Trying to keep herself calm, Leilani tried to control her breathing as she mechanically went to her bathroom to prepare for the day. He’ll be back, she chanted to herself. Hex will be back. He wouldn’t just leave me like that. He cares. He’ll be back. She repeated it to herself as she brushed her teeth, throughout her shower and as she dressed, braiding her hair behind her head. She repeated it so much that she thought she was only imagining him standing in her room when she stepped out. And his appearance didn’t help make it more believable.

“Hex!” she said happily before fully registering her best friend before her. His pale skin was even paler than usual; almost as pale and lifeless as she would expect to find on a corpse. There were dark hollows on the skin surrounding his eyes and his eyes themselves looked glassy rather than their usual piercing blue. Normally he stood tall and confident before her but just then his shoulders were slumped over with his hands self-consciously shoved in his pockets and his hair in a disarray around his face. Even his blue shirt looked thrown on haphazardly and his boots were untied. Taking him in in silence, Leilani’s eyebrows drew down in concern. “Hexander, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he answered shortly but she could hear the tired strain of his voice.

“You’re lying,” Leilani replied, tossing her things on the end of the bed and staring at him unblinkingly. ‘You sound like crap and look even worse. So what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Hexander remained silent for a minute before sighing and looking away from her. “Yes,” he said grudgingly. “But nothing serious. Nothing you need to worry about.” He moved to sit on the edge of her bed but tilted off balance causing Leilani to gasp in surprise before rushing forward to grab on to him and help him sit.

“Really? You’re trying to tell me it’s nothing serious and you all but passed out?” Leilani tried to look Hex in his eyes but they stayed fixed on his hands which felt cold under hers as she grazed over them while standing straight with a sigh. She walked over to her desk where her phone was charging and picked it up. Hex looked away from his hands to her and narrowed his eyes.

“What are you doing?’ he asked her.

“Calling Anthony,” she answered. “I’m not leaving you alone like this. You could hurt yourself.” Hex laughed bitterly and Leilani turned to glare at him. “Don’t laugh at me like I’m being ridiculous.”

“Difficult for me to do since you are being ridiculous.”

“Hexander, you’re sick-”

“I’m sick, not lying on my death bed,” Hexander said with a roll of his eyes. “I’m not going to die if you leave me alone. In fact, the rest could do me well. I could be completely better by the time you come back.”

“If that’s the case, then me staying here to make sure shouldn’t be an issue,” she said.

“Except that I don’t want you staying to make sure,” Hexander snapped harshly.

“What?” Leilani asked, eyes wide with surprise and a little hurt. Hexander sighed again, feeling more and more drained by the second.

“I don’t want you staying,” he repeated, more gently this time. “I’ll be fine. Just go hang out with your new…friends.”