Essence

Chapter 8: Self-Reproach

"Eli, you look tired." I said.

"Heh, one thing that always happens at my house is getting high, so he's still dealing with the aftermath." Syd giggled.

"Essence, did you know your name is also a word?" Eli chuckled.

"Oh, gosh." I groaned as I patted his head.

"Ow." He whined as he held his head.

"How much did he have? And how long ago?" D questioned.

"Like four hits, and at like midnight." Syd answered.

"Bro, I'm so hungry. I need food." Eli sighed.

"You just ate two Dunkin' sandwiches! And a big breakfast from McDonalds." Syd hissed.

"Really? Nah, nah, you must've eaten it. Your tummy's a little plump." He chuckled as he squished her stomach.

She brushed that off as she sat down. The others began entering, and we were all focused on Eli. I was scared for him. Weed could either lower the risk for seizures, or trigger them, and I couldn't lose him.

"E-E-E, are you okay?" Syd asked.

"No, I'm not okay. Syd, he gets seizures, weed can be really dangerous for him. I'm scared." I cried.

She froze.

"Shit, shit, shit, how could I forget?!" She gasped.

Great, now she's panicking as well. She was even on the verge of crying.

"If something happens to him, I'll never forgive myself." She whispered.

I looked over at him. We all skipped the first period to make sure he was okay. And we stayed in the basement lounge.

"I think he's sleeping." I replied.

"No, no, no. Check him just in case." She demanded.

I walked over to him and shook him a bit.

"Eli?" I mumbled.

No answer.

I checked to see if he was breathing. Syd had her face buried in her hands. He was breathing, but I wanted to check his pulse just in case, since if he was having a seizure, his pulse could be wonky. I timed it for thirty seconds; it was at a steady pace, there were no off beats, he was fine.

"Syd, he's okay." I comforted as I hugged her.

"I shouldn't have done this." She sobbed.

"He's okay, he's okay." I whispered as I wiped her tears.

I forgot how emotional Syd could get when she's high. Well, to be honest, she's reacting like anyone would, which is emotional for her, 'cause she only cries when she's high.

By the time the first period was over, Eli was getting back to normal. During second period, Eli and I got called to the office.

"It's definitely Dad. Both of us didn't come home last night." He groaned.

"I know. You need to act as sober as possible, 'cause if Dad sees you were high, he's gonna kill the both of us." I hissed.

We approached the office and faced Dad. He dragged us outside, away from the others.

"You two wanna tell me why you didn't come home last night?" He snapped.

"We don't wanna be around you. You had a whole girlfriend while with Mom. I bet if that skank didn't die you would've divorced Mom and married her, then left us all alone." Eli barked.