It's been five days since anyone has seen Lia. Four sleepless nights in my room with the absence of shuffling in the middle of the night that used to annoy me so much. Five dull days with the absence of a high-pitched voice trying to persuade me to go to the Garden with her.
It's driving me crazy wondering what happened to her, what they did to her. I haven't been able to eat anything since she disappeared, which is making me feel weak. I don't care about how I physically feel, I want my best friend back.
Nobody seems to notice Lia's absence except for me and Harry. Not even Louis. I can't even show how upset I am because they'll ask me why. I said too much when Harry and I had to tell them about the kiss. Lia know, and now she's gone. The Adults might take our other friends if we let them know what's going on. Obviously, the Adults don't want us to know things. If we do, we'll get taken away. It makes me wonder why they haven't done anything to me or Harry.
They took Lia because she knew things, they took Zayn because he would always cause problems. I don't know what the Adults are doing or why, and I don't think I want to find out anymore. It seems like it would be so much easier to forget about everything and move on, to just keep living each day like I did before I started questioning things. Questions are bad. Knowledge is bad. If we ask questions and gain knowledge, bad things are going to happen.
The lights go on precisely at 7 and I groan. There's nobody here to throw my clothes at me so I can wake up. There's nobody here to call me "lazy" when I don't want to get out of bed. There's nobody here to laugh with me while we plan our day.
I get out of bed, change into my day clothes, brush my teeth in the sink, and limp out the door. My ankle hasn't gotten any better. If anything, it hurts even more. I know I'm not supposed to walk on it too much, but I can't help it. As long as I don't have to run, I think I'll be fine.
I slowly make my way down the hallway, passing by the open doors. All I can see are rooms full of people and their roommates. Everyone has a roommate. Everyone except me and Nate. It doesn't seem to bother him that Zayn has been gone for a whole week.
Wow, it's been exactly one week since I last saw Zayn. It seems like it's been years, though. The memories of the paint fight, the search, and the realization that nobody remembered anything, all came flooding back to me as I limped down the seemingly endless hallway.
I remember Harry's face when I told him what I realized had happened to Lia. I recall the horrified look he gave me, the clear terror in his eyes. He seemed confused at first, then scared beyond belief. I wish I didn't tell him, he's been worrying nonstop since then.
Harry is acting different. He has more serious moments than fun ones nowadays. I wish I could take away his fear, he has so much he feels the need to do. He thinks it's his responsibility to make sure that Louis is always breathing properly. He won't stop scratching his hand, but I haven't seen it get any worse. I hope it hasn't gotten worse, for all I know, it could have spread. There's no way of knowing, his day clothes cover his arms all the way to his wrists. He's always preferred long sleeves over the day clothes with the shorter sleeves, like I wear. The blotches haven't spread, though, I think it would have been noticeable.
I finally make it to the South Wing for First Feeding, walking up to my usual table. Everyone is already seated and eating their bread when I find my seat across from Harry, with an empty seat next to me on my left between me and Dan. The seat that Lia should be occupying.
"How are you, Aimee?" Harry immediately asks me as soon as I sit down.
I shrug, "Exhausted."
