Obsession

15. Strong

Ellie's POV

I blankly stare at the white walls. Not a single tear comes out of my stinging eyes- as if I could even have it in me to produce more. I haven't cried like that for years. The kind where you feel hopeless, miserable, and just plain shitty. With snot and all.

Fantastic.

Numb. That's what I was. Once I saw the picture of mom, my whole body went into panic mode. My crazed tantrum was so bad that Xander had to restrain me by lifting me up in his arms like a toddler.

Now, I was just numb. I couldn't feel anything nor could I cry no matter how much my heart was hurting. People give us curious stares and I couldn't give less of a crap. Even if Xander sat on a seat while I was sitting on his lap with my arms and legs wrapped around him for dear life. The only thing that's keeping me from falling apart is Xander.

"Princess you have to eat," he tries to pry my head off his shoulder but I wouldn't budge.

"No," I mumbled against his shoulder as my fingers twirled around his jet black locks. Mom is in there fighting for her life. I can't be selfish and leave just to eat.

"We're going to the cafeteria and look for something to eat. Okay?" He holds my arms and I tighten my hold in protest.

"Princess," he sighed rubbing soothing circles on my back. I bit his shoulder making my answer clear. Xander hisses at the sudden pain then sighed in defeat. My lips tug up to a tired but triumphant smirk knowing I won.

"Ellie the doctor said it's going to take at least 12 hours. You can't wait on an empty stomach. Plus at this point, you'll faint if you don't put anything in your system." I glared up at Logan who had Julia sleeping on his lap. Across from them were Collin and Skye sleeping soundly with their heads resting on each other's. To my other side Tessa snuggled up to Ace who sat silently played uno with Jaden.

If it weren't for them, I could've lost mom. The thought still haunts me. Who would hate me so much to the point of hurting my own mom?

Xander called all of them to help search for mom. As well as his other friends from his gang. We psycho analyzed the image and used everything to determine where she was. Skye being tech savvy, mapped where the image was sent making it an easier search. After screaming for my mom's name and driving everywhere like crazy, Julia and Logan were the first ones to find her. The police already assisting us wasted no time on getting her to the hospital as soon as possible. Which ultimately helped her as the doctors explained how if she were left out in the cold with all the injuries she sustained, she would've lost her life in a matter of minutes.

"Fine," I mumbled. Xander kisses the top of my head and began to get up hoisting me along. There was no doubt that I looked ridiculous clinging onto him like that but it was the only way I could even prevent myself from losing grip of reality. He walked down the never ending off white painted walls as I aimlessly looked behind.

"What will it be?" The cashier asked in a friendly tone. I randomly tapped my fingers along Xander's back as he chose snacks for us all to eat. He swung the plastic bag filled with the food and beverage he purchased behind him motioning for me to hold it. I held it over his back as we made it back to where everyone sat waiting.

"You have to get down if you're going to eat," Xander kissed my cheek and let go of his hold on my legs. I frowned but climbed off of him hugging the bag of goodies against my chest. He sat on the same seat as earlier and pats the next seat beside him which was also next to Tessa. I took a seat and leaned my head on his biceps as I shuffled through the items in the bag.

"Here," I pass the bag over to Tessa who mumbled a quick thanks and began distributing the food. I chose a little container of strawberry yogurt knowing how hard it was to keep the contents of my stomach from pouring out because of stress. My phone rang breaking the nerve wrecking silence around us. I glanced at the screen and went pale when it dawned on me that Keon was going to see Xander in such a horrible time.