fragile time

~chapter 7~

"Perfect, thank you." She took the roll as soon as she finished spreading the cream over my shoulder. I held my arm out so it would be easier for her, and soon enough, I found my shoulder wrapped.

"So, he's okay now?" Taylor inquired while I put my shirt back on.

Lillith explained that I should be alright, unless it got infected. Then, I would have to seek professional help. She said she was going to check it in a few days to make sure it wasn't, but it seemed as healthy as it could get to her.

Once that was finished, we all decided to go ahead and head back to sleep for the night. Every single one of us was tired, as Blade woke everyone up in the middle of the night to hear "The one thing you told Micheal to not do!!" Sigh.

Xavier, Blade, and I all got into bed. Blade was the first one out, and thanks to his snoring I could not find sleep. Forrest, laying at my feet, could though. I assumed Xavier was asleep, too, until I heard a quiet whisper in the darkness.

"Hey, Micheal?" He asked in a small voice.

"Yes?"

"What did you find in the cave? Besides Forrest, was someone actually there?"

I frowned, realizing I forgot to tell everyone about the letter. Great, another reason for them to be mad. "No." I muttered, "But, I did..." I sighed, unable to translate my thoughts into words. "I... I'll tell you at lunch, okay?"

"Fine." Xavier huffed.

"I'm sorry."
"I know."

"Is there anything I can do right now?"

"Just... stop keeping secrets, okay?"

"Okay. I'll make it up to you, alright?"

"You don't have to worry about that." He sighed. "We should just go to sleep."

I quickly agreed before rolling over. I finally let my mind wander, and my exhaustion took over. My eyelids got heavier and heavier, before I finally drifted off to sleep— despite the intense snoring.

~✶~

The morning continued as normal. The classes, torment from Rambo; Not a single soul asked about my adventures in the cave. I believe they all decided to only forgive and forget. Still, there was something I hadn't told them: the letter.

As if everyone wasn't mad at me enough already, I was about to reveal that I not only went into the cave without letting everyone know and brought back an animal, but also left a letter there with several death threats inside (which was, by the way, in the open where anyone could find it). Uh-oh.

There was no way I was telling them anything. I had to go back and take away the letter. No point in telling them if I had already fixed the problem, right? But... if we do find the author in-person, my secret will likely be revealed. The plan was simple: sneak into the cave, find the note, dispose of it, leave. It would only take a moment.

Forrest and I sauntered over the school grounds as the sun held high in the air. Lunch had just finished, so I was supposed to be in English. Thankfully, I didn't have that class with any of my friends, so nobody should've noticed I was gone.

I snuck past the fencing class, praying nobody from there would see me, before I got to the tall black fence. I began to silently climb over, constantly checking my back to make sure I wasn't seen. I was in plain sight in the middle of the day, but I doubted anyone would be expecting a kid to be climbing over the fence. Unless I made a noise, nobody would care enough to even glance in this direction. People are always so trapped in their own lives that they don't notice others'.