It felt like he has spent an entire day drifting in and out trying to get sleep. Realistically, Andre had probably spent the last few hours trying to pass out. Closing his eyes helped the headache, but he hoped for sleep so he wouldn't have to deal with the pain. Then again, the party was Saturday night and he didn't wake up in the hospital until Monday morning. Managing to fall asleep after 30 hours of hibernation was unlikely.
Andre cracked his eyes open, moving his hand that was covering his face, when he heard his door open. Opening his eyes fully, he managed a small smile when he saw Tori. "Hey you."
"Hey," Tori said in a soft voice, trying to mask a frown. She gently sat down on the bed beside where Andre was laying, hoping her weight on the bed didn't make him uncomfortable. "How are you feeling?"
"Been better," Andre replied, doing his best to smirk as if that would make everything okay.
"Yeah," Tori said as she nodded. Shifting her body, she faced Andre as she placed on hand on his chest. "Do you need anything?"
Andre shook his head as he tried not to act nervous. Partially awake or not, the girl he spent the last few years yearning for was on his bed, with her hands on his body. Trying to not focus on the obvious, Andre attempted conversation. "Where's everybody at?"
"Ummm," Tori started, keeping her hand on Andre's chest as she looked down. "Your mom called me towards the end of class to give me an update and tell me you were home. We all talked about it...and decided that you probably needed your rest and us all coming over wouldn't be a good idea."
"Ohhh," Andre said in an understanding voice. "So you're the liaison? Where's the get well cards and balloons?"
Tori managed a soft laugh. Finally, she removed her hands from Andre's chest. Shifting her body, Tori curled one leg until it was completely on the bed so she could face Andre. "Actually, we all agreed to give you the day to recover. We figured you would probably end up going to school tomorrow...and if you didn't...we would come see you then."
"Ohhh," Andre repeated. "But...you're here."
"Yeah," Tori said in a soft voice, finally bringing her eyes back up from her lap to look at Andre.
Scooting up, Andre opted to rest his head and upper back on the wall instead of the bed. "Why?"
"I mean," Tori replied quickly, thinking Andre held some of the same anger she felt towards herself. Tori eyes darted towards the door. "I can leave if you want. I probably shouldn't have disturbed you. I know you need your rest and you're not-"
"No," Andre said loudly. "Please stay. I didn't mean it like that T. I just..."
Andre gave up on talking as pain shot through his head and neck. Holding his hands over his face, Andre took a few deep breaths.
"Are you okay?" Tori asked in worried voice.
"Yeah...just a headache." Andre replied, not letting on to how much pain he was in. "I'm...glad you came."
Tori managed a small smile as she nodded her head. Still, the worry was easy to read on her features.
"Just...can we not talk now?" Andre asked.
"Yeah, I'll let you get some-"
Andre cut Tori off, "No, please stay."
"Okay," Tori replied. "I just feel like it's my fault. I'm so sorry Andre."
Andre kept his eyes closed as she shook his head. "No, shhhh...it's not." Andre opened his eyes slightly as he looked at Tori. "Can we not talk now though?"
Slowly, Tori nodded her head.
Readjusting his body, Andre placed his head back on his pillow as he scooted a few inches towards the wall and away from Tori. Andre opening up his body by placing his closest arm across the bed was all the invitation Tori needed. Cautiously, Tori adjusted her body until she was laying on her side beside Andre. For the first time since the bonfire, the worry and uneasiness in Tori subsided. Closing her eyes, Tori laid her head on Andre's chest. Gaining confidence, Andre placed his hand that was Tori on her hip. In response, Tori wrapped the arm she wasn't laying on top of across Andre's abdomen.
This was absolutely great. He couldn't get to sleep before. He had absolutely no chance now. Regardless, it was impossible for Andre to care any less.
LEGENDARY
"Ehhhhh!" Cat squeaked, placing both of her hands over her mouth as she jumped up and down a few times.
"Cat!" Tori exclaimed in a reprimanding voice as she slammed her locker shut and faced her friend.
"Sorry," Cat squeaked once more, doing her best to lower her volume. "But this is so exciting...you stayed at Andre's house in his bed!"
"Cat!" Tori replied again, as her eyes darted between her friend and a few fellow students that were walking by. She really hoped they weren't eavesdropping but she knew better. They were in high school after all. Honestly, Tori just hoped they didn't take it as out of context as Cat had.
"You didn't let me explain." Tori continued.
"Yes, explain please." Cat said in an excited voice as she nodded her head.
Letting out a sigh, Tori grabbed her friend by the upper arm as she walked towards an area of the hallway that was less crowded. Once they found a suitable place, Tori turned around to face Cat.
"Okay, he had a headache and he didn't want to talk. I told him I would leave...but he asked me to stay. I mean, he even scooted over to give me room and put his arm out." Tori leaned forward slightly as she spoke softer. She really didn't want people gossiping about her. Honestly, she was more worried about something getting back to Andre. "So, I'm like 99 percent sure he wanted me too."
"Adorable," Cat squeaked out in a soft voice as she held both her hands in front of her face. Spinning on her heels, Cat couldn't contain the smile on her face.
Tori continued explaining. "Not that I complained...okay...not at all."
"I bet not." Cat said in a serious voice as she narrowed her eyes.
"Oh hush," Tori replied as Cat let out a giggle. "Then, he fell asleep...that was it. I stayed for...a while...and then I left. I told his mom that Andre had fallen asleep...didn't think it was necessary to mention the cuddling...and left."
"Adorable," Cat repeated as she covered her mouth with both hands.
Tori shook her head, staring down at the ground. "Is that all you can say?"
"Ohhh, it's adorable and you know it!" Cat exclaimed, "You just don't want to admit it..."
"What's adorable?" Jade asked. Tori and Cat's eyes snapped to look at Jade, who had appeared out of nowhere. Jade was leaning against a locker, with a raised eyebrow as she inspected her two friends.
"Kittens!" Cat exclaimed quickly. In fact, it was almost too quickly.
"Kittens?" Jade questioned. Honestly, she could never tell for certain if Cat was lying or just being eccentric.
"Ummm, yeah," Tori added. "Cat was talking about how she went to the shelter...some of them were really adorable...and she was thinking about getting one."
"Yup," Cat replied, nodding at Tori before looking towards Jade and doing the same.
Jade let out a groan. Removing her shoulder from the locker, Jade walked past Tori and Cat towards Mr. Sikowitz's acting class. "You should get a dog. They know how to listen. Plus, they eat cats."
"Hey," Cat exclaimed, trailing after Jade as she followed in her footsteps. "You take that back!"
Once both females were a few strides away, Tori let out a sigh of relief. It was a blessing that Cat had become better at lying since she met her. Honestly, Tori wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. All she knew was it saved her in this circumstance.
LEGENDARY
Andre's parents had decided to let him stay home from school for the day. He didn't complain. Instead, he went back to bed immediately after they both left in the morning and didn't wake up until the early afternoon. He didn't know how he managed to sleep the majority of the last 48 hours. Still, he figured he needed it and didn't question it. Honestly, he tried not to question much. He knew Saturday night was straight out a science fiction movie. Andre simply wanted to relax, enjoy his day off, and put that hole in the ground behind him. Hopefully, it wouldn't give him nightmares.
Andre tried to stay busy when he noticed a few cards on the table. Rummaging through the pile, he wasn't surprised to see most were of the 'get well soon' variety. Most were from family friends, friends from school, and teachers. Andre got on his laptop briefly, but quickly lost interest. His headache was much better than yesterday, but Andre could start to feel his heartbeat through the temples of his head as he stared at the computer screen. Luckily, he closed the screen and headed out towards the living before his headache came back in full force.
Andre's cell phone had the same effect on him. Still, Andre managed to read a handful of texts from friends, including one from Tori explaining she left after he fell asleep and hope he felt better, before he had to put the phone down. Rubbing a hand through his hair, Andre used his free hand to grab the remote as he sat down on the couch. Andre kept the volume low and closed his eyes. This didn't make his head hurt.
No matter how hard he tried otherwise, Andre thought back to Saturday night. Keeping his eyes shut, Andre laid down on the couch as his mind drifted. Even while safe in his house, panic immediately sunk in as Andre thought back. He didn't know why he touched that thing. It looked like a mix between a giant hunk of dirt, a rock, and a crystal formation that could probably be sold for more than most celebrities' net worth.
The object emitted soft hues of colors. First, it was blue, and then it would slowly shift to green, and then shift once more. Andre remembered how the noise that the object made would change slightly in frequency or pitch as is shifted between colors. Truthfully, that was probably why he touched it. It was similar to one of those mood rings little kids would buy, that never worked, except it was much larger and more beautiful. Even better, the humming noise was almost soothing as he stared at the crystal fixture. Part of his brain told him he shouldn't have, but Andre still reached out and touched the object.
Things turned for the worse rather quickly. The soft blues and green were immediately replaced with dark red and black. The black seemed to appear and disappear, and looked as if it was water inside the crystal. Honestly, Andre remembered thinking for half a second that the object was alive, and the black he could see moving around on the other side of the hard surface was the equivalent of blood or bodily fluid. Next, the soft humming became piercing a few seconds after his hand touched the object.
Andre had no choice but to double over as he covered his ears. The sound was deafening, and Andre's felt like it had blown out both of his ear drums. The soft humming and ringing in his ears that had come and gone since he woke up in the hospital was definitely a direct result.
"Stop!" Andre remembered screaming, out of instinct as he almost pleaded with the object.
The crystal structure didn't listen to say the least. No matter how tightly he clasped his hands over his ears, Andre couldn't think from the sheer volume of the screaming noise. Finally, Andre moved his hands down from his ears and put his right hand against his face when he felt moisture. His nose was gushing blood. His eyes burnt and he was pretty sure they were bleeding as well. Again, Andre doubled over as he coughed and spit blood onto the hard ground at his feet. Everything was different shades of red due to the lighting from the crystal and Andre couldn't clear see the color. Even so, Andre knew without a doubt he had spit up blood.
Andre remembered thinking he was going to die as it felt like his head was going to collapse. The most frightening part was when Andre looked up at the roof of the cavern and saw the dirt and small rocks falling from the ceiling. His head wasn't the only thing that was about to collapse. Adrenaline is an amazing thing, and as Andre made his way as quickly out of the tunnel he didn't feel the pain in his head, his ankle, or any of his extremities that were leaking blood.
Somehow, Andre managed to jump and climb out of the hole a few seconds before the entire tunnel collapsed. Scrambling to his feet, Andre barely had time to jump as one wall of the first hole he landed in collapsed. The first hole may not have been fifteen feet deep, unless Andre had the natural ability of a Harlem Globetrotter, but it was still much deeper than the tunnel. Andre managed to reach the top of the hole, his fingers landing on the soft grass above as his palms were still against the cold dirt of the wall. Hanging on by his fingertips, Andre only lasted a second before his grip gave out. He only fell about five feet as the dirt from the desolated wall filled in the majority of the hole. Adding injury to insult, Andre covered his face as the wall he grabbed onto collapsed on top of him.
Andre knew he was lucky. Sure, he was covered in dirt and blood and had to push his way through probably a hundred pounds worth of soil as he clawed to the surface. Still, if Andre would have been a couple seconds slower he would have been under fifteen feet of dirt instead of five, or still in that tunnel.
Andre snapped up from the couch, his heart skipping a beat as the sound of the front door brought him back to reality.
"Andre?" Mrs. Harris said from the hallway.
"In here," Andre replied.
He still wasn't feeling great, but Andre didn't want his mother to worry. He got up from the couch, and gave his mother a big hug as she entered the living room. Mrs. Harris smiled at her son as she put her purse on the end table beside the couch. "How are you feeling?"
"Not great," Andre said honestly. "But, a lot better. The headache is almost gone..."
Mrs. Harris nodded her head, looking much less worried than she had the previous day. "Good, now sit. I'll make dinner."
"Do you need help?" Andre asked politely.
"No," Mrs. Harris replied as she shook her head. "Thank you...but sit down and relax. You're going back to school tomorrow so you might as well be lazy while you still can."
Andre let out a short laugh as he looked at his mother. Nodding his head, Andre said, "Okay."
A moment after her son sat down, Mrs. Harris spun back around to face him. "Andre?"
"Yeah mom," He asked as he put his arm over the back of the couch and turned to look at her.
"Did you lie to me?" The middle-aged woman asked.
"About...what?" Andre responded, not sure what his mother meant.
"Call it mother's intuition...I don't know." Mrs. Harris took a step forward as she stepped out of the kitchen and back into the living room. "I just feel like you weren't being completely honest with your story yesterday."
"I swear mom," Andre replied, "I didn't drink...and I seriously...not lying...fell in a giant hole."
"I believe you," She replied in a slightly sad tone. She wasn't accusing her son of lying, merely leaving out a few details. "I just felt like you didn't tell us everything."
"Honestly, I probably didn't," Andre replied smoothly. He had expected this conversation from at least one of his parents, and already thought about how he was going to respond the previous day. "It was really scary...I think the only reason I made it out of that hole before it caved in on me was adrenaline. Plus, I did hit my head. I'm sorry if you think I'm lying...but it's really hard to remember every little detail."
"Okay," Mrs. Harris said with a nod as she looked at her son. After a moment, she nodded again. "I believe you."
Andre nodded his head and gave his mother a smile before turning around to face the television. Grabbing the remote, Andre left the volume relatively low as he flipped through the channels.
"So," Mrs. Harris called from the kitchen. "How do you feel about tacos tonight?"
"Sound good," Andre replied as he flipped through ESPN, a soap opera, and an infomercial. Andre dropped the remote on his lap once the television landed on a college preseason football game. It was UCLA's gold vs. blue game. In other words, the starters on the team playing against the back-ups. Turning his head to talk towards the kitchen, Andre said, "We haven't had tacos in a while."
"Okay hun," Mrs. Harris replied as Andre could hear her going through the refrigerator.
Andre turned his attention back to the TV as he watched a huddle of athletes discussing a play and listened to the color commentary. Andre squinted his eyes and shook his head as his head felt slightly clouded. "Ummm," Andre asked as he turned his head slightly. "What mom?"
"I didn't say anything Andre," Mrs. Harris replied from the kitchen.
"Ohh," Andre replied in a slightly confused voice as he looked back at the television. Again, Andre squinted his eyes as he suddenly felt dizzy. Next, he felt like he was going to sneeze as he squinted his eyes. Just as quickly, the sensation passed from his face to the forehead and then down through his neck. Closing his eyes, Andre let out an loud grunt as he shook his head.
"What?" Mrs. Harris questioned, not clearly hearing what her son had said.
Squinting his eyes, Andre looked back up at the television. Immediately, the pain returned as he heard a high-pitched humming coming from the TV. Andre's only thought was turning the TV off as he reached for the remote that was now right beside his hip. Andre managed to grab it but it quickly slipped out of his grasp and landed on the floor. Andre let out another grunt as he looked at the television. The humming had hit a crescendo that was worse than nails on a chalkboard as Andre bent over and fumbled for the remote.
"Turn off, turn off, turn off!" Was Andre's only thought as he reached down for the remote. Still, the screaming coming from the television managed to grow louder. Again, Andre's hand bounced off the remote but he failed to pick it up as all his senses being flooded at the same time made basic motor skills difficult.
"Andre?" Mrs. Harris questioned as she made way around the kitchen wall and back into the living room.
Not able to form words, Andre continued screaming internally. "Turn off, TURN OFF!"
The entire screen crumbled with a loud pop as a few sparks and small pieces exploded from the inner workings of the television. Andre immediately jumped back towards the back of the couch as his mother let out a scream.
"Andre," Mrs. Harris exclaimed as she made her way around the couch. "Are you okay?"
"Ummm...yeah," Andre lied as he looked towards his mother.
"Did anything hit you? Are you okay?" Mrs. Harris said again.
"Uhhh...yeah," Andre embellished," I think something did." He didn't like the fact he was lying to his parents, but it was quickly becoming habit.
Mrs. Harris gave the broken TV only a momentary glance as she turned towards her son and sat down beside him on the couch. Her son's well being was much more important than an expensive piece of technology. "Stupid TV, I told your dad months ago that- ...Andre, look at me please."
Andre obeyed as he dropped both of his hands that were running over his face. He struggled to open his eyes and focus on his mother's face. Slowly, his awareness came back as the humming completely went away.
"Oh my, you got another nose bleed." Mrs. Harris said, "What hit you?"
"Don't know, it happened too fast." Andre said as he put the top of his hand against his nose.
Mrs. Harris let out a concerned sigh as she looked at her son. "This really isn't your day is it? Hold on, let me go get you something."
"Week," Andre mumbled as his hand covered his mouth as well.
"What?" She questioned.
"This really isn't my week." Andre explained.
"Hush," Mrs. Harris said, "I'll be right back hun."
Andre nodded as Mrs. Harris jumped up from the couch and headed towards the restroom.
Staring back at the completely destroyed television, Andre held his breath. The humming sound was gone and was replaced by all the hairs on the back of Andre's neck standing up.
"Did I do that?" Andre whispered to himself.
