A fresh start is exactly what London McLaren needs in order to forget the demons of her past. A new last name, a new town and a new school.
She's about to start her final year of high school, ready to obey her parent's orders to keep her head down a...
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you," I apologise.
She smiles solemnly at me like she understands what I'm going through. I really hope she doesn't.
"I get it. Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep and it's hard to function when we only get a minimal amount. But what do they expect? These are the most important years of our lives. We have to live them."
I wasn't sure if I agreed with her about these being the best years of our lives, but she was distracting me from listening to the lesson nonetheless.
Then Sydney gets in trouble again. Mrs Montgomery gives her a warning this time and then everything comes tumbling back.
Mrs Montgomery is projecting two brains, side-by-side. One from a person seen to have a normal, functioning brain and another from a serial killer.
"Scans of serial killers show low Orbital Cortex Activity. The scans have also shown that serial killers are less likely to develop a sense of attachment, meaning that they aren't likely to empathise with their victims."
"Did your brother ever harm you in any way, London?"
"No. Well...no not psychically and no more than any other sibling. Sibling's fight sometimes. It's normal."
"Was his behaviour towards you normal?"
I can't take anymore. I already knew all this. I'd researched after Nix died, looking for signs that I may have missed. I never found anything that helped me.
My shaky hand goes up in the air and Mrs Montgomery looks over at me, smiling. She thinks I'm going to ask a question.
"Can I— can I get a drink, please?"
Sydney looks over at me, her expression grave. I must look even worse than I feel.
"Alright, London. Hurry back though please."
I try to nod, but my head feels fuzzy. I must stand up too suddenly because before I know it, I'm on the ground. Sydney shouts my name and my vision goes black.
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The room is all foggy when I try to sit up. My head is pounding. I have to squint, my eyes burning from the white lights above.
"Easy does it, London," a voice soothes. A woman comes into view, smiling at me. I don't recognise her.
"What...happened?" I croak.
"You fainted. Accelerated heart rate. Possibly low blood sugar levels, but we can't test that at school. I've rung your parents but they haven't picked up. Are they at work?"
I nod but stop when I feel dizzy.
I must have been in first aid by the looks of it. The room was covered with hospital and health-related posters. There was a big red cross painted on the door, the words nurse's office printed underneath.
