Insanity Bites |z.m| |h.s|

Chapter 61: Strike Two

I've never been so tired to a point where I couldn't sleep. As I lay on the floor watching a small group of people surrounding me disappear and then appear after a few moments of darkness, all I could think of was closing my eyes and being whisked away into dreamland.

However, every time I closed my eyes they ended up fluttering wide open again. The feeling was utterly unbearable.

Melanie was crouched by my side. Through my hazy vision she was the only person I could focus on but her words escaped my ears as she spoke to me. All I could see were her lips moving. 

My head throbbed with even the minutest bit of movement. Even moving my eyes caused a massive headache but I looked around anyway searching for another familiar face I wanted to see.

Among the paramedics who were setting up a stretcher, the school nurse, a tall withered looking man whom I presumed to be Principal Wilson, I had expected to see a tall boy with shoulder length brown hair.

I always expected to see him when I was in trouble and I was sure if he had heard about what had happened to me he would be right here by my side by now. My heart sank at the realization that he wasn't here and the worry soon returned, it seemed to worsen the pain in my head.

My eyes fluttered as I watched two paramedics drape a piece of cloth over my torso and then they lifted me up onto the stretcher. 

"Where's my mother?" I mumbled through numb lips. They were carrying me towards the back entrance of the basketball court and it felt like my body was bouncing on top of the stretcher. My head lolled from side to side making me dizzy and the ceiling seemed like it was dancing.

"We called your parents. They were told to meet us at the hospital. Your head's hurt and the sooner we get you to the hospital, the better." A sturdy looking brown haired lady replied as she looked down at me pitifully. 

I looked away not wanting to see that expression on her face. My eyes focused on Melanie instead. She was walking with us and her hand was wrapped around mine tightly, desperately. Despite the pain I managed to focus on her face and I could see the fresh tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Would you like her to accompany us to the hospital?" The same lady who spoke before asked me.

I nodded silently.

Once we were outside the building they placed me onto something that felt more secure and rolled me into the ambulance. The striking fluorescent lights from above glared at me and the closed space made me feel trapped, bringing me back to the locker rooms with Derek.

A surge of panic ran through me and I started wriggling in an attempt to sit up. Melanie sat beside me and froze as she stared at me in alarm while I struggled to move. The nurse inside was quick to react though.

She held me down and I could feel someone else strapping something around my arm. 

"Her pressure is spiking and so is her heart rate. She's going into tachycardia." Somebody said in the background but I barely registered it. I felt trapped and someone holding me down made the anxiety so much worse.

I needed to move, I needed to get out of here. I couldn't breathe. 

I gasped for air but nothing went in. It felt like I was suffocating in this small space with people trying to restrict my movement.

"Rosalie, calm down." I heard voices but I couldn't concentrate. It felt like I was dying.

A mask was clasped over my nose and I felt something sharp in my arm for only a second. After that my body slumped in defeat and my breathing returned slowly. I took a deep breath, taking in all the oxygen I could.