One Bite

Chapter 1-4

The books fell from her arms, abandoned in slow motion and crashed at their feet, as his nose brushed up her neck and tucked below her earlobe. The hard muscles in his shoulders and upper back tensed into angular shapes as his lips moved into words only she heard. She giggled again, then her eyes flashed a similar bright blue before she cupped a hand over her mouth. Her chin bobbed like she whispered back.

My palms braced the floor mats I was too familiar with, and I pushed myself up onto my backside. Bracing my weight in my hands, my own lips parted at how they moved and spoke as if they were the only ones around.

My face warmed from my staring at their interaction, and I looked away. With a push of my palms against the gym mat, I stood up. After brushing my hands over my pants, I cleared my throat and hugged my elbows because I wasn't sure what else to do.

I could have told them I'd forgotten to walk my goldfish and they wouldn't have noticed.

After a few more huddled whispers, I was obviously now a third wheel. I excused myself, not that they noticed, slid past them in the doorway, and entered the nearest bathroom. I removed the tape from my knuckles, and smiled at whatever interest that seemed to spark between them, and washed my hands at the sink.

Maybe this is the start of Cole growing a heart.

As I bent over to wash my face, I felt the light-headed onset rush of a headache. Just a dull sensation swelled in my forehead, around and in between my eyes. A pulsating sensation in the same spot grew stronger quickly, and an increasing pressure built up inside my skull, right behind my eyes and pushing them.

A flush of heat spread over my body, as if my temperature increased a few degrees every second.

"Oh..." I gasped, grabbing my head with both hands.

My damp, cold palms pressed into my cheeks as both my legs collapsed. Pain burst into my knees as they knocked into the cold, hard floor with a thud. My entire body now radiated in heat but the floor offered no relief. I squeezed my elbows to my knees and contracted my abdominal muscles tightly as a sensation of sharp, hot needles now stabbed all over my bones.

And then, instantly, I felt nothing but pain. Searing, red hot pain licked at and surged all over my body, shooting down my arms and legs into my palms and soles, locking my fingers and toes in splayed out positions. My shoulders wrenched up to my ears, where I even felt pain and pressure like my eardrums would bust.

As the pain reached an excruciating level, every inch of my body twitched, spasmed, and writhed. I opened my mouth to scream but the pain inhaled my words and constricted my breath. My throat choked down on itself and dryness coated my tongue.

Ear-splitting, stomach-wrenching sounds were chased by the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt.

Crack.

My spine felt like each vertebrae was snapped as my chest protruded and pelvis retreated. I arched backward, then the back of my head lurched into a hard contact point.

My feet.

My feet? This can't be happening.

Crack.

With gut clenching pain, my elbow and shoulder joints dislocated, followed by my knees and hips. Helpless, I witnessed my body moving and acting on its own accord. It attacked itself, leaving my mind paralyzed and unable to process what happened.

Fear of the unknown licked up the back of my neck until my head wrenched sideways and my chin met the sharp bone protruding from my left shoulder.

Crack.