Shadows and Lights

Chapter 28

"Didn't want you guys to get hurt." It hurts when I speak. "You're my teammates. Teammates are people who have your back. You've helped me a lot." 

Seijuurou sighs. "You're loyal to a fault, Alex." He says with a sigh. "How's this. Don't worry about us, do you understand me? I can do that. Do as I say, and I won't let anything like this happen to you again." Sei's eyes look honest and promising. "Do we have a deal?" 

I nod my head. "Yes." 

My head hurts when I get up, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's got nothing to do with how I've slept. I feel heavy and tired, like I'm tied to a ball and chain and haven't slept at all. My body aches in ways that should be illegal, even though I'm not uncomfortable and I haven't done anything strenuous. I don't want to go to school today. 

It's then that I realize light is streaming directly into my eyes, a signal that I've overslept. I bolt upright, panic sending my heart into a frenzy. "Daiki, we overslept!" The bluenette peers up at me from tapping away at his phone, lounging on his futon. 

"It's Saturday, idiot." I blink in surprise. 

"I see." I reply. I then thump back onto my bed, my head throbbing. I try to stifle the light, but the pillow offers limited coverage, and my blanket could suffocate me. I sigh with frustration. "Daiki, do we have any painkillers?" I hear a shuffling noise and then silence. 

"No." I groan and curl into myself. "What's wrong?" Pulling the blanket over my head, I do my best to stop offending my muscles. 

"Nothing." I reply. It feels like barbs are being placed under my skin, ripping at my muscle and shredding at my skin. My stomach is threatening to relinquish its contents, and my heartbeat pounds in time with my head. I'm starting to break a sweat. 

"Alex." Daiki's voice is low and suspicious. I do my best not to shudder. 

"Yes?" My voice sounds strange, strangled, smothered, like my vocal cords are beginning to stop working. 

"Tell me what's wrong." Doesn't he know I don't take orders? My insides feel like they're quivering, like they're shivering. 

"Nothing. I'm just tired and had a little bit of a headache, that's all." I'll indulge Daiki this time, if that's what he wants. The edge of my bed dips a bit, likely from Daiki's weight. I'm tired now. All I want is to sleep this strange sensation away, so it's like it never happened. That's it- all I need to do is sleep, and everything will work itself out. Sleep sounds like a blessing. 

"You're not sick, right?" The bluenette asks. I shake my head. 

"Of course not. I don't catch things easily." I reply, flipping over so my head is buried in my pillow and the light is kept from my eyes. This sensation isn't entirely new to me. I've had it once or twice before, but this time it's worse. I can't make myself pass out, even as time flies by and the blue wunderkind doesn't move. 

"I'll be back in ten minutes. Don't go anywhere." Daiki says after another twenty. I make a muffled groan that I hope shows him I have no intention of going anywhere right now. Within a few more minutes, and after the sound of the apartment door closing, I manage to drift into a hazy half-sleep that leaves me feeling like I'm floating. My body feels heavy, but my head feels light. It's like part of me is going to float away. 

I don't know how long that lasts. I don't know how I manage to get to the bathroom in time to throw up. I don't know how I try getting back into bed only to trip over the floor. I don't know how I do it, but I make myself hurt all the worse and all I have for company are creaking wood floors and glaring white walls. My chest contracts as I pull myself together and stumble back toward my bed. My heart is racing. My body hurts and hurts and hurts.