Bitten

Chapter Five

             I found myself going home "sick." I couldn't be in that school anymore. I walk through the door of my house, and sigh heavily.
"Why are you home?"
"What the hell Atlas, you're supposed to be in school!"
He laughs a little before I a girl following him down the steps, he puts his finger to his lips as a shh symbol. I give him a "She needs to go look" and he nods. "Hey Ally, you gotta go." She looks at him with a shocked look before storming out of the door. "Atlas you could have been nicer."
He laughs, "Come in now sis, being nice isn't how I get girls to skip school with me." He picks up an apple taking a large bite out of it. Atlas used to be the sweet boy, but after our parents he's been going out of his way to get in trouble.
"What are you doing home anyways, you never skip school." He states matter of factly. I plop onto a chair and say, "It's happening again A." His eyes soften and he pulls out a chair sitting down next to me. "The nightmares?" I shake my head in response.
"The delusions?" I lower my head in shame. He places his hand on my back and says, "Should I call Uncle Thomas?"
"No the last thing I need is him sending me back to that quack therapist." He nods slowly.
"Well, you went through something traumatic Lay. But at least you know it's not real." I nod slowly.
But it felt so real, all of it.
"I'm just tired of being some freak. You should have seen the way Kade and Sarah looked at me." His eyes narrow, "If they want to judge more than help then they aren't your friends Layla." I sigh, "But they are my friends, you should have heard what I was saying Atlas. I sounded insane!"
He sighs running his hand through his hair, "You have ptsd, they know that, and it's like everyone forgets that you watched dad murder mom and then himself. I feel like after time passes people get less lenient and understanding." I nod at his statement.
I don't even need lenience I need to stop acting and thinking like a freak.
"I'm here though, I mean if you ever want to talk that is. You know I got you." He pulls me into a hug, and I instantly felt better. Atlas just had a way with people. "Now I have to go, I have some errands to run. I'll see you later though?" I give him a half smile, "Yeah I'll see you later."
With that he stands up, and takes his leave. Maybe I'll just take a hot shower and try to clear my head.
Standing up, I push in my chair, and head upstairs. I grab my speaker, and go into my bathroom. I turn on the shower on full blast heat. Then I play my music. I suddenly had an weird feeling, I walk over to the window and look outside. No one is there Layla get your god damn shower.
I pull my close off stepping into the heat. The loud music drowned out my thoughts. I put my head under the water and sigh in relief. All of my stress and worries seemed to have gone down the drain. I sway softly back and forth to the music as I massage shampoo through my hair.
Suddenly I heard a scratching noise. Layla quit it you're just being paranoid.
I continue with my shower until I hear what sounds like a low growl. I freeze, and press my back against the shower wall. No Layla. There's nothing there. Your mind is just playing tricks on you. Even knowing this my breathing stops.
Don't be a coward Layla. I pull open the curtains quickly and what I see makes a horrified scream leave my mouth. A huge white wolf stands in-front of me with red stains all over its face. It tilts its ginormous head to the side and stares at me.
Layla it's not real. It's not real. That's when I say out loud, "When I close my eyes you will be gone." I slam my eyes shut, and start counting to ten.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
I force my eyes open to see the creature was gone. Now knowing that I am going completely insane, I shrink to the bottom of the tub. My tears disappear down the drain.
———
"Layla?"
A worried Kade calls through my phone.
"Yes Kade?" I reply softly.
"Where are you?"
"My house, I just took a nap."
"I'm coming over, are you alone?"
"Yes."
The truth is I've been laying in my bed crying for 3 hours. I couldn't get up. My head hurt.
What is wrong with me?
Why did this start?
I haven't had any delusions in two years but now their back?
             A few minutes later Kade walks into my bedroom. I try to quickly wipe away my tears as he sits on my bed. "Layla? What's wrong?" I shake my head quickly, "You're right Kade, it's happening again." His eyes soften and he says, "What do you mean?"
               I wipe the tears aggressively off my face, "Everything. I could have swore I saw Sarah get her throat slit. A-And then...."
             He looks at me nervously, "And then what?"
             I shake my head, "Nothing... Nothing never mind."
             He grabs my arms harshly and I could see something change in his demeanor, "Tell me what happened Layla!" I jump back, "Kade you're hurting me!"
             It felt like he was cutting my arm, "Ah Kade stop!" He lets me go with a shocked look.
             That's when I see 4 puncture marks. Blood spills down my arm quickly. He stands up as if I am some sort of disease, "I-I'm so sorry Lay...."
             How the hell did he cut my arm? His nails aren't even that long? "When I was in the shower I heard scratching.... And then when I opened the curtains I saw a white wolf. There was blood dripping from its mouth. But I closed my eyes and did my counts, and it was gone. I'm scared, Kade. It's getting worse."
              Without another word he gets up and rushes into my bathroom.