Edited.
A flash of uneasiness surged through me from the anger rinsed in his voice. His fingernails dug into my skin ever so slightly and I drew my hand away with a sharp intake of air. A look of hurt flashed beneath his eyes but he quickly hid it by blinking.
"Nobody." I answered simply. It was a stubborn response, one that screamed dismissiveness.
His lips twitched, fading into a frown. "Did Isaac hurt you?"
At the sound of his name I stiffened, my joints locking. Isaac, the boy who tried to hit me. I narrowed my eyes. "What does it matter to you?"
Aarons eyebrows drew together in confusion. "I want to know if you're hurt."
"Why?" I snapped back, my irritation from my earlier argument with Mum swamping my current mood. "Why do you want to know if I am hurt when you barely know me?"
He looked taken back, as he blinked rapidly, stirring his fringe that trailed across his eyelashes. "Because I—"
"Care?" I didn't let him finish. "You don't care about me Aaron. You see me as just another game. I am just one of those girls who hide in the shadow without an identity and a sketchy past with a story to tell and you want to understand me, you want to waste your time figuring out what it is that haunts me before you grow bored."
His green and gold gaze searched mine, dilating in surprise. "Is that what you think this is?"
I took in the way his lips parted, his breath stirring the flyaway hairs near my neck. "There is no this." I said, blinking to clear my head.
"I've known you for what, a week, and you're acting like you know me." I continued, and I began to hear my voice. It was seething with frustration. A part of me realised the frustration wasn't aimed at Aaron.
"Renee," the word slid off his tongue delicately, so careful that it was barely above a whisper. "This is exactly what I'm talking about."
I stared at him.
He quickly continued, his voice gentle despite my own tone. "As soon as anybody shows they care you begin to despise them. You're afraid to show emotion because you think people will think of you as vulnerable."
I narrowed my eyes. "Don't patronise me Aaron."
He shook his head softly, his lips tilting into the tiniest of smiles. "There it is again."
I forced myself to keep my mouth shut, biting my tongue to remain silent.
He leaned closer, his face looming towards mine. "So I'm going to ask you again, who hurt you?"
I turned away to stare in the opposite direction to him, ignoring the sudden throbbing of my hand. I could feel his gaze on me, as gentle as his voice.
"You're persistent." I said after a few seconds of silence.
"I'm good at getting what I want." He answered and I could tell his lips remained in a small smile.
I turned back to his green eyes. "Except the truth."
Aaron opened his mouth as if to reply but then seemed to reconsider it. I took the time to study him. The green in his eyes was particularly eerie today. It was like looking into a jungle, vines hanging in thick, humid lengths while the sun beamed down on them without so much as a second thought.
"You're so invested in knowing who I am when I barely know you."
His smile faltered to fall into a confused line. "What do you mean?"
I ignored him to give him a slight incline of my lips. "Let me guess. You were head jock at your old school, and you had a gorgeous blonde girlfriend who cheered you on with the rest of her team when you landed the winning try during homecoming."
He let out a light laugh at this, the sound filling my ears.
I went on, "You prefer to stay awake through to early morning hours intoxicated then to remain in your 'confining' room and at one point in time you had a major crush on a young female teacher."
His dimples flashed at this, his eyes brightening. "A crush on my teacher?" He questioned.
I shrugged. "Its apparently the societal norm these days."
"So you think I'm a womanizer?" He mused.
I rolled my eyes. "I think you're a kid who talks too much and askes too many questions."
"What's that got to do with crushing on staff members?" He chuckled, his white teeth flashing in the dim light.
I examined him, ignoring the way his jawline sharpened as he smiled. "You have a habit of interesting yourself with the wrong people."
The smile fell off his face.
He regarded me before continuing, his voice dropping into seriousness. "I never participated in sport, I preferred to read in my spare time. I spent endless hours studying for schoolwork I found naturally easy. I hadn't had my first drop of alcohol until last weekend." He absently brushed a strand out of his eyes. "I've never had a girlfriend and never had the intention to. I find poems more intriguing then someone who values me for my physicality more than my personality. I think natural beauty is the greatest gift on earth and I prefer to keep company with silence than people."
I studied him, really studied him. His eyes were hiding something, a deeper meaning behind his words that could only be attained through unlocking his thoughts. I could tell he was grinding his teeth together, the muscle in his jaw tightening so a tendon along his neck stood out to line the surface of his skin. He had a story to tell, just like Isaac, there was something more to his raw gaze.
"Poems?" I finally questioned.
He shrugged absently, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly. "They preach the words often left unspoken."
"If I should die, think only this of me." I murmured however Aarons eyes sparked at this.
"You know Rupert Brookes work?" He asked, his tone one of surprise.
I mirrored his shrug. "I have a lot of spare time."
He stared at me, as if trying to picture me with a book in my hands. It would surprise him to know I relied on poems to create artworks. I visually describe the words, tearing them off paper to splatter them on a canvas. It was the only thing I felt capable of doing.
My hand suddenly sent another shoot of pain up my arm, but this time I didn't have the strength to stop the sudden gasp of pain that whisked out of my mouth.
Aarons face immediately changed, his lips declining back into a frown. A line creased in-between his eyebrows in concern. "Enough with the side-tracking Renee," he said softly, "I just want to know who did this."
I steadied my breathing, focusing on calming the beating of my heart. I could feel his eyes on me, relentless as always.
"Who do you think it was? Who else was in the room Aaron." I muttered.
From the corner of my eye, I saw his eyes narrow. "It can't be." He whispered after considering the possibilities.
I only responded with a light nod, glancing out his window to see how close we were to arriving at the school grounds.
His gaze seemed to steel over, his face hardening to match his hands that clenched into fists by his side. He turned away from my pointed gaze to stare out the window. After several seconds of silence, he finally glanced back at me.
"Why would she?" Was all he said, his voice matching his stony expression.
"Maybe she sees me as her own personal voodoo doll." I suggested but Aaron shot me a dark look that hinted to remain serious. I forced down a frown in response. "Aaron, its fine." I exasperated.
"It's not Renee. This is a serious injury it could've—"
"Aaron."
"She should be fired. Put into jail—"
"Aaron."
"I can't believe she would do that. How didn't I see, if only I saw I could've—"
"AARON!" My voice rose above his significantly, enough for several people to turn around curiously. His voice trailed away, his lips parting as if he was going to continue.
"Zip your yapping for one second and listen to me." I spat.
He watched me, clearly trying to decide if it was worth going against my word. I offered him a murderous look. As if sensing not to disagree, he finally gave up and mumbled an 'okay.'
"My hand is fine; I can still use it. I'm not going to die, it's just an infected wound. If it makes you feel any better, I'll go to hospital after school."
He glanced down at his clenched fists as if realising they were curled together and loosened them. Despite everything, I couldn't stop myself from admiring the way his hair fell over his face. I wanted to move his fringe away, to see his green eyes.
What am I thinking? I forced down the sudden prickle of self-disgust. Aaron was nothing to me, he was just someone who took the time to speak to me, who wanted to hear my story. He was bored, I told myself. But the way he was watching me, like there was nothing else he would rather do then protect me, then to wrap his hands around Miss Andersons neck, made me question his own motives.
His green and gold eyes weren't dancing with spirit anymore. It was as if someone flickered out that light and replaced it with a darker one. That spirit was crushed and tamed, transforming into an emotion of anger. I hated the way his flecks disappeared when he was mad. I hated the way his irises glowed with dislike.
I continued to try to fix the way his face was beginning to shift to a murderous expression. "Aaron, I am fine." I stretched out the word exaggeratedly to ensure he got the idea. It almost felt like I was talking to a child.
He didn't look happy with my response, his pupils narrowing to focus on mine.
"Don't worry about it," I finished.
Then the light in his eyes blazed. It was like fire being toyed with gasoline, bringing it to explode in a wave of fury. I'd said those words to him before, and I knew how much he hated me saying them again.
"I am worried about it," He gazed at me, his eyelashes skimming his messy fringe. "She could've aimed for your heart."
I felt my frown deepen. "Don't be ridicu—"
"Stop acting as if you aren't in any pain Renee." He growled. I immediately clamped my mouth shut, shock coursing through me. I had never heard him speak like that. His voice had always been light and soft, like a whisper. Now it was filled with anger – anger aimed at Miss Anderson. "You shouldn't even be here; you should be in the emergency room."
"I said I'm fine." I said back, irritation edging my voice.
"I'm going to confront her." His words made me blink rapidly, my thoughts trailing away so I was left to stare at him stupidly.
I managed to catch my breath. "No you're not Aaron. I can handle it myself."
But I could tell he had already made up his mind. He tentatively reached out to touch my hand again but this time his fingertips barely scathed mine. He didn't want to hurt me again.
I looked up to meet his eyes. He had leaned closer, and I could see the way his irises spread through his pupils, like gold spider webs reflecting in the setting sun.
"I should've been there when it happened. If I didn't get distracted with Isaac I could've stopped Miss Anderson."
I swallowed the sudden unexplainable feeling that rushed through me. "But you were and I don't blame you for it. What happened was a mistake, no one would've thought it could happen."
His voice dropped several octaves, causing my heart to skip a beat. "You don't deserve this."
It took me another few seconds to find my voice. "Nobody would Aaron."
His green eyes seemed to darken, his eyes flickering to my lips before spearing back to my eyes. I noticed the way his Adams apple rose and fell as he audibly swallowed. "With you and your Mum and Aleena—"
"How did you—"
"You don't need this." He finished, ignoring my comment to brush a strand of hair away from my eyes. I ignored the way his touch brought a shiver down my spine.
"You're putting words in my mouth." I replied, moving my head away so his hand fell loosely to his side. A stab of guilt shot through me once a flash of disappointment settled across his eyes.
He shook his head lightly. "I'm saying the things left unsaid."
The bus jittered as it entered the school grounds. I tore my gaze away to stare out the window again. "She won Aaron," I said, my voice thick with bluntness. "Just let her have her victory."
"He won too you know."
At this I turned back to him, confusion lining my face. "Isaac?"
Aaron stiffened at the mention of his name. A vein began to cover the corner of his temple. "He nearly killed you."
I let out a sigh. "Aaron he wouldn't."
He rose an eyebrow. "You don't know that."
I rose from my spot, reaching down to grab my discarded bag with my good hand. "You and I both know he wouldn't kill me. Don't be dramatic."
But Aarons lips pressed into a tighter line. "You would be surprised." His voice was barely above a whisper and I only just managed to pick up on it. I felt my eyes widen but he turned back to glare out the window. I took his silence as an opportunity to exit the bus.
As I stepped off, I couldn't help but remember the way Isaac had snarled at me. He had looked so different at that moment. His face had been disorientated in anger, his pupils lighter, coloured in fury.
A part of me couldn't help the sense of uneasiness that surrounded me like a cloud. Aaron spoke the thought I had shoved away. I had thought Isaac was going to kill me.
....
I sat at my desk, determinately ignoring the pounding ache in my hand and head but even I knew I was failing miserably. Both my hand and wrist had swelled up to the point where the sleeve of my jumper was cutting into my skin, slicing through the circulation as much as my swollen muscles were. The pencil in my hand simply slipped out of my fingers to roll across my untouched paper. Miss Steer glanced at me, pausing from her work of writing the equations up on the board.
"Renee, are you alright?"
Curious eyes turned around in their seats to look at me, people's pupils narrowing to take in my appearance. I prayed I didn't look as awful as I felt.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it." I muttered, growing irritated by how many times I had to repeat those words today. Lecturing Aaron was bad enough, but even Ned, the weirdo who sat next to Aleena offered to check my temperature after he informed me he was hoping to be a doctor when he graduated. I had declined the offer with a frown and he had skittered back to the library.
Miss Steer hesitated, clearly evaluating whether or not she should send me to the Health Centre. I gave her a reassuring smile that cracked my lips in the process. She seemed to believe it because she then returned to addressing the class and writing more mathematical equations.
"You look like crap." A soft voice hissed from beside me. I glanced to catch Aleena eye. She hadn't spoken much today; I didn't expect her to. I was sure she was still annoyed about my response about Amber. I knew not to bring these things up if I knew what was good for me.
"Nothings new," I mumbled back. Aleena didn't look impressed with my response, her brown eyes narrowing onto mine.
"The last time I saw you this pale was when you split your heel open." She remarked, her eyes trailing over me.
"Can't say I remember much of that situation." I offered her a weak smile but it hurt to move my mouth and I ended up wincing in pain.
Her eyebrows drew together, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Why do you keep stiffening like a cow going into labour? You're going to infect me if you stay at school and I'll be pissed."
Normally I would've shot back a sarcastic comment back but instead I hissed an apology.
"Renee," she growled, "stop acting like you're fine and tell me why you look like you'll drop dead any second."
I glared at her, growing frustrated with the sweat that trickled down my neck. It wasn't even hot in Brookefield, I was told it was only a cool day but I felt like I was drowning in boiling water.
I moved my gaze back to the front, my eyes blurring during this process. I saw Aleena flash me an angered look at being ignored but I was too focused on clearing my blurring vision. The lesson continued to drag on, and by every minute I could feel my skin becoming slicker with sweat, my hair clinging to the back of my neck. I pushed down the urge to take off my clothes as they rubbed against my clammy skin.
I would rather stab my eyes out with a fork then take my clothes off in the middle of class with the lacrosse team sitting right behind me.
But by the time the final bell cut through my thoughts, I was really considering it.
I swallowed down the rising bile in the back of my throat and sluggishly rose from my seat, staggering in the process. Aleena caught me, gripping my arm tightly.
"Renee—" She began, her voice seething with earnest.
"I'm fine." I snapped back, surprising myself with my hasty reply.
Aleena frowned, her grip slackening on me. I could tell she was forcing down a frustrated response. I brushed past her, ignoring the venomous look she shot after me.
....
I slumped into my regular seat, watching as Aleena slid into the chair beside mine. Her gaze was stony, matching her expression. Immediate emotions for her were hard to come by. She tried to come off as emotionless, a girl without a heart, a girl who instead remained determined to toy with others'. But I knew her. I knew the way she was worried for me. It was evident in the way she held herself, her usual crouched position straightened, her usual bored pupils now narrowed. A part of me loathed her for worrying. Why worry about me when Amber was out there, dying or dead. I had an infection, nothing more.
My hand throbbed again, as if sensing my thoughts and it took all my will power to force down a noise of pain. I had to blink repeatedly to clear my blurring vision and I was sure the girl across from me thought I was having a fit.
The wound was a bad reaction – I knew that. After all this commotion with Miss Anderson, Isaac, Mum and Aaron, I couldn't blame myself for falling ill. That was what I told myself. I was tired. I was exhausted. I was fatigued. But even I could recognise the way my body was reacting wasn't a sign of infection, but something deadlier.
I watched as Miss Opie trailed into class, looking flustered as always. She hastily rubbed out the board with jerky movements that left marker streaks.
"Morning everyone," she said cheerily, apparently oblivious to the feel of the room, "today we will be continuing our research on World War 1. We will start by addressing the events that caused the war. Would anyone like to guess how it started?"
There was a brief pause before anyone replied.
"Mainly due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand."
The voice that answered was familiar but my mind was too clouded to identify it.
"Thank you Mr Jackson, and was he the only catalyst?"
Swirling black dots lined my vision, flickering to and fro like shooting stars. I blinked to clear them but they only returned, growing in numbers until for several seconds I was staring into blank space.
"Miss Argent!"
I snapped into attention. "What?"
Miss Opie frowned openly. "I asked you a question."
All eyes turned back to me. The people who were in my last class glanced at each other uneasily. Apparently I did look as bad as I felt.
I swallowed down the sudden taste of bile in my throat. "Can you please repeat it?" My voice was raspy, like the sound of chalk being grinded on a blackboard. Miss Opie sensed it to because her annoyed expression flickered into one of concern. "You don't like very well Renee. Would you like to go to the Health Centre?"
Her words seemed to grow more distant near the end of her sentence, almost as if she had been shoved under water.
"I'll be alright." I managed to say. I felt slick with sweat, my hair clinging to my forehead and neck against the heat waves that rose from my body. I could feel each short breath that passed through my creaking lungs.
"Renee," I glanced to my left to see Aleena stare at me with slitted eyes. "Take the damn ladies offer and get some drugs in your system."
I shook my head, this movement causing my head to pound. My vision blurred and my world seemed to tilt in one exaggeratedly long movement. I gripped the sides of my desk as if it would catch me from falling. It was only after I blinked several times for several moments that I realised I wasn't moving in the first place.
"Renee, I think you should go get some medical attention." Miss Opies' voice was far away, nothing but a distant echo of reality. I forced my pupils to focus on hers. White spots covered her face, spearing across my eyesight. My stomach was knotting tightly, twisting and churning the little food I had consumed today.
I felt my eyes roll back into my head, my grip on the desk slackening. My spine relieved of tension and my body rolled sidewards to slid off my chair. I hit the ground with a dull thud, only numbness touching my body. I heard the sound of several chairs squeaking before light fingers pressed against my skin, alarmingly cold in comparison to mine. All I could see was black, all I was sense was numbness.
There were voices, light, humane voices. They didn't belong with me in the darkness, they shouldn't be here. I welcomed the wave of unconsciousness that hit me, only just managing to slit my eyes to see blurry faces hover over me. I saw a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes shake me, my recognition for her unapparent. But then I saw green and gold eyes. I knew those eyes. They were trapping mine, riddled with fear. He was shouting my name; I could tell by the way his lips carved out the word.
Another wave of darkness hit and this time I welcomed it, letting go of the faces to drift into blankness, drowning out the voices so I was left to delve into silence.
I saw snow. It was everywhere. It coated the trees, hugging leaves so they draped with the weight. I was in a world of white and the only stain of colour was the singular rose situated in the middle of the clearing. Its red petals danced in the wind, its thorns dripping with fresh blood. Bodies lay scattered around it, the skin of the victims prickled with stab marks the size of thorns. Their veins were sunken with the cold, their lips blue. The rose seemed to beckon me, its petals rinsed with silver from the full moon.
"A little rose asleep in the meadow amid the lupine," I whispered and then the snow whisked me away.
A dull beeping noise woke me, pounding loudly against my ear drums. Groaning, I ripped my eyes open, blinking away the sleep that faded my vision. Bright lights shone down at me, startling me into confusion. I cursed under my breath, narrowing my useful gaze onto anything familiar. I looked down to see myself in a bed; a bed I did not recognise as my own. My head throbbed but I was easy to ignore, its pain equalising to a dull headache. I lifted my arm up, feeling the soft linen sheets move against my skin. My limbs felt heavy, matching my eyelids. Discomfort in my hand caused me to look down at my arm. I took in a drip attached to my skin, coiling down from a fluid bag that hung above me.
I forced down a scowl. I despised hospitals. They reminded me how fragile life was, and how death pried on those who were weak.
But then something caught my eye, something that wasn't there yesterday. A long, thin scar that spread vertically across my injured hand. It was enflamed, but the bruising had gone down significantly and the swelling wasn't nearly as bad as I had remembered it to be. Scissor like markings surrounded the scar, indicating the last disdainful traces of stitches.
A small rustle caused me to jump and startled, I looked up to indicate the cause of the noise. Aleena rose from the chair opposite the hospital bed. She looked slightly ragged, her hair knotting at the ends, but nonetheless she appeared to be normal.
"Finally, I was beginning to lose my mind from your persistent snoring." She exasperated.
"Nice to see you too Aleena." I said with a small smile. She looked me up and done. Not like in the carefree kind of way she always does, but in the studious kind of way. The way where she doesn't say anything but analyses every detail. I'm sure she was picking up on how sick I felt.
She swallowed. "I have to say, it was amusing to hear you sleep talk." She walked towards me, her boots clicking on the floor. "Aaron love me, please I'm begging you. I want you so bad, please let me—"
"I did not say that!" I interrupt her mimicking voice, ignoring the sudden flush of heat that touched my cheeks.
Aleena shrugged with a smirk. "Your dreams not mine."
I went to hit her but the movement yanked on my drip and I pulled back, my smile vanishing. Aleena's own smirk disappeared and she resorted to sitting on the side of my bed. Her light attitude rinsed off her face, her eyes avoiding mine to stare out the window.
I took the silence to study her. She was wearing black jeans and a black tank top that matched her black boots.
Black, black, black. It reminded me of the world I was in only a few moments ago.
"Where's Mum?" I asked casually, picking at the loose ends in my blanket.
I saw Aleena's muscles clench in her jaw, her gaze remaining on the passing cars outside. "She said she's coming."
I forced down the flicker of hope that surged through me. "How long ago?"
I could see her hesitation, sense it in the way her eyes flitted shut. "Three hours ago." She finally muttered.
I couldn't force down the snort that came after her admitting's. "She won't come."
"You never know; Melissa is full of surprises." Aleena mustered, but even I could tell her joke held no light. She was stating something that we both knew wasn't true.
My mother didn't care, she never would. Even if my heart had stopped beating she wouldn't come and collect my dead body. I knew she would just be sitting in her usual chair, staring at the newspaper as she always did.
I pushed the concept of Mum away. "Do the doctors know what happened?" I asked gingerly. A part of me didn't want to know the answer to the question but another part seethed with curiosity.
Aleena tore her gaze from the window to meet mine. "They didn't say much, mainly because I was a minor," she admitted. "They performed surgery on your hand, apparently something was in there."
I frowned. "What was it?"
Aleena rolled her eyes, impatiently flicking a straightened lock of hair out of her eyes. "Does it matter? It sounds like a load of crap anyway. I think the doctors had to come up with some theory instead of admitting they have no idea what happened."
A stab of irritation surged through me. "Aleena, what did they find in my hand?"
Her pupils narrowed, her frown declining even further. But then, sensing my stubbornness, she sighed. "They found what they thought was a stick of lead in your hand. They took it out and did some tests but they came back saying the lead was made out of silver and coated with mercury."
I felt my eyes widen, my heart beat monitor beeping loudly when my heart jumped. Aleena glanced at it with an arched eyebrow. "A pencil was made out of that?"
Aleena shrugged. "Apparently. I told them there was no such thing but the nurse, Lola I think her name was, said pencils like that hold decorative purposes."
Puzzlement clouded my judgement and it took me a long time to register this. "But why did I react so badly."
"Because you're a baby."
"Aleena."
She sighed again. "Because the lead did serious damage to your veins and tissue. The mercury ruptured into your veins, clogging them." I could see my own reflection in Aleena's eyes, pale against my brown, raw gaze. My lips were cracked and dry, my cheeks no longer flooding with red. My hair was a mess, splayed out against the propped pillow that held me upright.
"Why would I react so badly to silver?" My voice was barely above a whisper but somehow Aleena managed to catch on.
She blinked casually. "You're allergic."
"Allergic?" I winced against the word. I thought I wasn't allergic to anything, especially not a random metal.
"You had a severe reaction to the silver, it broke off in your hand when it went through. It poisoned your blood, causing a type of virus to erupt around your body." Aleena's tone began to grow bored. I knew speaking of these things made her agitated. She usually would remain silent during these like this, calculating and establishing her own responses in her head. But considering my mother wasn't here and my father was dead, she was given the task of filling me in.
"Your body couldn't handle the substance in your bloodstream so it went into overdrive," her lips pulled slightly. "Then you fainted like an idiot in front of everyone."
I felt my cheeks redden. "I couldn't help it."
Aleena smirked, her irises suddenly dancing with amusement. "You should've seen Aaron. He was at your side so quickly. He even was the one who carried you to the ambulance van."
I couldn't stop the embarrassed moan that came as a result from her words. "Shut up, I don't want to hear what happened."
Aleena responded with a light chuckle. "He visited a few times." She nodded behind me and I turned in my spot to see a box rested on a large desk. I narrowed my eyes to see that the lid had already been open, a few tell-tale chocolate wrappers littering the floor.
I looked back at Aleena. "You ate them?" I said, appalled.
Aleena gave me a sorry-not-sorry look. "I was hungry," she grumbled.
"And I fainted for the world to see so give me my chocolate and let me regain my dignity back."
Aleena rolled her eyes playfully and reached over to grab the box. It was only then that I noticed the large bouquet of roses situated at the end of the desk. A memory stirred from the roses but I couldn't pin point it.
"Who sent this?" I questioned, shuffling over slightly to get a closer look.
Aleena frowned. "I don't know, they just appeared here the other day while I was getting a coffee from downstairs."
I wondered who it could have been, however my thoughts quickly pin pointed to a question.
"Aleena?"
She turned to raise an eyebrow at me, a sign to continue.
"How long was I out for?"
Her hesitation scared me but she finally replied with a plain voice. "Six days."
....
"Do I need to bless her with my presence to get her in a good mood?" Aleena offered, moving to pass me another bag.
I shook my head. "No its okay, I'll talk to her."
Aleena nodded and then bid me a quick goodbye before retreating back into the car. I stared at the roses at my feet, bending down to sniff them. They smelt amazing despite being in the hospital for over a week. Roses, beautiful but deadly.
I bent down to retrieve what was left of my bags and emptied them in my room before rounding the corner to the kitchen. Like I predicted, Mum remained in her usual seat, this time staring off out the window.
"I'm back." I said, my voice ringing in the soundless room. She jumped and spun to me. I watched as she took me in, more so the hand that hung loosely by my side. After remaining in the hospital for a further forty-eight hours, I was glad to be home but I had to admit my hand was still extremely sore.
"I never realised you left." She finally murmured.
I swallowed down a stab of remorse. "I was gone for over a week."
Mum said nothing back to this, she only nodded. She reverted her gaze back to the window, her face slackening of any emotion. I supressed a scream of frustration and instead stormed back to my room, throwing myself on the bed and earning a stab of pain to shoot up my hand. I ignored it to scream into my pillow, tears staining the fabric until my lungs hurt.
After several minutes of this I grew tired and turned over to stare at the ceiling. I switched off my thoughts to my wolf, my only beacon of happiness. I was worried for him; I hadn't given him meat when I was in hospital. I knew from the nurse's gossip that the weather was growing increasingly cooler. Nausea slid into my stomach but I quickly extinguished it down. It's okay, my wolf always returns. Even when I startled him, even when Mum came and even when I flashed my camera at him; he had still come back. Why wouldn't he now?
....
I sat down at the kitchen table, yawning loudly. Mum glanced at me and then back at the newspaper she was holding. It took me several seconds to realise it wasn't the one she usually held.
"You heard about those kids?" Her eyes remained on the newspaper that she was reading as she spoke. I was thoroughly surprised she was speaking to me. In fact, I was surprised I was letting her speak to me as if nothing happened yesterday.
"What kids?" My exhaustion vanishing for a split second.
"Three more kids were reported missing last week."
I was shocked, her words sinking deeply into my sleep deprived brain.
"Missing? Who?" Anxiety stabbed at my heart. Dear God, don't let it be anyone I know. I realised with revulsion how self-centred I sounded.
She paused for a minute, clearly scanning the text in the article. "Gabriel Hunnings, Francesca Pumin and Claudia Stanmid."
Relief washed through me before I snapped at myself. I shouldn't be relieved that those people weren't the people I cared about. They are my school mates none the less. I had heard of Francesca before and I was sure she was in my art class.
"How did they go missing?"
Mum shrugged silently, apparently still very much interested in reading the article in peace.
"Did they find Amber?" I questioned, trying to drill my voice into Mums ears. She shook her head dully.
"Do they have any leads?"
Mum continued to shake her head.
"What do you think happened?"
She sighed, ripping her eyes away from the newspaper to stare me down.
"Stop pestering me Renee and go to school."
I watched her in frustration, feeling her gaze bore into mine. "You were the one who asked me a question in the first place."
Her lips pressed together and she ignored me to read the newspaper again.
I didn't spare her a second glance as I rose to walk to school.