Shattered (The Academy)

Chapter 15: A Fragil Line.

North touches my face when he's gone, looking into it like he is trying to find some cut or damage. "Sang Baby? Are you okay?" He asks, his hands in my face.
"Yes, I'm fine"
"Who the hell was that?"
"He's... an old friend of mine. He just passed by to say hi"
North frowns.
"You are the worst liar I have come across"
"What? Not true!"
Is then when he begins to smile. "Oh, Sang Baby. You lie and I can tell right away. Who is he, anyway?"
I smile back at him because I don't know how to tell him I have no idea.
"I met him once upon a time. Let me gather my things and take a shower before going to Nathan's, okay?"
"Baby, is better off if you get a shower there at night. Luke is already in the pool and he's waiting for you. I'm excited for tonight" He acomodates slowly a lock of hair that is in my face behind my ear.
I nod, always staring at him. He's so tall, beautiful and with that air of badass. Mother would have had a heart attack. I? I can't help but want to cuddle to him, but I don't know if that's okay.
"Then I'll collect my stuff" I say.
While I take my pijamas and teeth brush, I keep thinking on Eleazar. And Mina. Was it one of the names Elizabeth gave away to get away with hers or... No, Sang. Snap out of it. What are you thinking?
All these time it has only been Elizabeth with me. No one else. I would have noticed.
 Would I?
Ah, shit.
"All good, baby?"
"Yes" I can't even look at him at the eyes cause I don't want him to see the lie in it. It's enough that he can hear it "I'm going to get my teeth brush".
 In the bathroom, I stand in front of the mirror and lean onto the sink, taking a deep breath. 
"You're starting to doubt" A voice says in the silence. A voice that sounds awfully like mine. And when I open my eyes, I see my refleccion in the mirror, except that is not mine. Not really.
  She smiles.
I start to shake my head, but she doesn't.
"What? No!"
"It's starting" She says.
"Elizabeth? How?"
"What do you mean how, darling?"
"How can you do this? Show up like this?"
"How can I not? At the end, you're me, and I'm you"
"You are not me!" I hiss.
She shrugs, as if nothing.
"But I am. At the end. You shouldn't be scared of yourself"
"Stop talking!"
"You can't ignore it until it goes away, Sang" She tells me, serious "Start questioning, darling. Wonder why. Wonder how".
"I don't even know what you're talking about, Elizabeth".
"Are sure that's my name?" She asks me.
Then smiles.
I take a step back, looking horrified at the stranger at the mirror.
"Oh, come on, Sang. I'm joking. But really. I'm done taking care of you. So start opening your eyes!"
I feel the tears in my eyes, unshed.
"Oh, Elizabeth. Why do you punish me like this?"
She looks offended.
"Punish? Punish? You know shit about punishment, Sang!" She shouts at me "You little ungrateful brat, you're so lucky Mother was taken off your shoulders!"
 I open my mouth to answer back, when what she says stops me in my tracks. "What do you mean taken off?"
Elizabeth stares at me in silence for a couple seconds, then smile. That evil way of smiling.
"You're so lucky she's gone. Have you wondered why Marie left and your father can't look at you in the eyes?"
"Sang?"I hear North behind the door. I loot at it for instict, and when I look back in the mirror, my own eyes look back at me. The only thing left for me to do is staring into my face, waiting for her to come back and smile in that cruel way.

  Have you wondered why Marie left and your father can't look at you in the eyes?
The question bounces in my brain.
"Sang! If you don't open the door right now I'm gonna tear it down, do you hear me?"
I go and open the door for him, before he decides to tear it down. Father would kill me. He searches in the bathroom, but when he finds nothing, he looks at me.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Myself" Which, even when I don't want to believe it, it's true "I'm crazy like that".
I've told him now. It's disguided, but it's out there. I've given him a part of me, a secret that no one else knows about. The truth. 
 Or at least, as much as I can tell out of it.
He doesn't smile as I thought he would, he instead looks at me into my eyes like he... knew. I shake it off, because there is no way he knows.
"Let's go" I tell him, taking my teeth brush at least.
He holds my hand going downstairs.

North's Point Of View.

Arriving at Nathan's, Sang greets everybody and then goes to the bathroom to put on her bikini that makes me thing of all the inappropiate things.
  She is so beautiful.
I realize I'm not the only one who thinks that when,  next to me, Kota's eyes are still on the door she is behind.
"You fell hard" I comment.
His eyes find mine.
"I don't know what you're talking about".
"You know she doesn't even remember doing it. You can't stop pretending you don't like her"
He sighs.
"It's not that I don't like her. I don't know how to reach for her".
"Then try".
He smiles a little.
"Always giving good advices"
I punch his shoulder, and then we are both smiling.
"Have you talked to Mr. Blackbourne?" He asks me out of nowhere.
The fuck.
"No"
"Maybe you should"
"Maybe you shouldn't forgive so easily".
"We're a family, North" He reminds me.
"We are. And we need time"
  We haven't heard from Mr. Blackbourne since the whole set up. Kota being Kota has forgiven easy, but the rest of us feel conflicted. Dr. Green says he's incredibly sorry, but...
  Well. How do you look in the eyes at someone who has betrayed you?
I don't. I won't. Or at least, not anytime soon.
"Where is Sang?" Gabriel asks, like a lost puppy. I wonder if we look like that too.
"She's in the bathroom, putting on her bikini"
Silas, who is near us, grins.
"This is gonna be fun"
I throw him a pillow from the sofa and he laughs.
"Don't be perverted with my Sang Baby"
"Your?"  Kota frowns.
"Oh, shut up"
Silas is still grinning. "This is definitely gonna be a fun night"
"I hope so" A voice says. Sang gets out the bathroom wearing a strapless dress over the famous bikini.
"That color looks like crap on you" Gabri says, not able to contain himself.
I hit the back of his neck. "Watch out!" I warn.
Sang looks at her brownish red dress, looking conflicted.
"Oy! I was just making a point. She needs new clothes. I'll talk to Victor".
"Gabriel, I don't need new clothes" She says softly, smiling.
I have the urge of coming closer to her and kiss her nose.
"Yes, you do. And I'm dying to do something to your hair!"
"What's wrong with my hair?"
"Nothing, sweetheart. I love your hair. That's why I wanna touch it"
Her smike is back. "Oh"
I love seeing her smiling.
"Where's Cupcake?" I hear Luke yelling from the pool "Saaaaaang!"
I roll my eyes and Sang smile. Going out following her, I see Victor taking her in his arms in a big hug before letting her stripping down to her bikini and going to Luke, who smiles.
I know what the fucker is thinking.
"Hi, Cupcake" He says, opening his arms to her. Sang gets into the pool and walks to him, right into his arms.
"Hi"
Luke buries his nose in between her neck and shoulder, and looking around, seeing everyone eyes on her, I can begin to imagine the rest of our lives as family with her.
 If there is still a family left after Mr. Blackbourne.
We walk through a fragile line.


Sang's Point Of View.

I play in the water with the guys until Luke gets hungry and the sun is going down. I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life, and one more time I feel so lucky I found them.
  After taking a shower, while the guys play videogames and I watch them yell at the screan and go crazy, Gabriel insisted on braiding my hair, so now I'm getting sleepy after feeling his fingers go through my hair. I think he likes to touch it more than braiding it, and I have no complains. I would let him do anything, to all of them. And it's true they are in my mind all the time, but what Eleazar told me... And ID for a Clinic?  Elizabeth? The one who never really allowed me to have friends?
 Falling onto Gabriel's chest and cuddling up to him, I close my eyes while I fall asleep.
And I dream.
 Strings hold my hands and toes to a hospital bed, but looking around, I don't think it's an hospital. There is a glass in the other side of the room, and on the other side, I can see my parents. I can see my reflexion too and it's blurry, but clear enough to realize it's a younger me. A child. A scared child.
 A man is near me, looking at images of a brain on a screen. I think is mine.
 "It's not working" he says, the voice echoing the room. He sights and move to take an injection and fills it with liquid "Okay, Mina" He says "Lay still".
  I scream.