Hello friends! I am so unbelievable sorry for not uploading sooner! I've been under quite a bit of stress but hope to push that off and upload as soon as I can. Writers block is not helping the situation, so if you have any ideas, I'm open to them! Thank you for being so patient! Now to respond to you!
Marina Ka-Fai: Thank you so much for the review! They really keep me motivated to keep on pushing through the characters rebellion. I'm happy you are enjoying it! There's not so much cuteness here, just lots of bad dreams :P.
Have a great weekend and family day! Hugs to all! 3
I stared at the clump of black hair in my hand, tears flooding my eyes. My chemotherapy had begun, and I was losing hair every morning and losing weight. Jerome, who was sitting next to me, placed a hand over the hair, covering it from my sight.
"It'll grow back," he said, lifting my chin with his fingers.
"I know," I said, dumping the piece of hair in a nearby trash can.
Just then, my parents walked in, with fake smiles on their faces. I knew it hurt them to see me like this, thin, frail, and half bald. Jerome shifted over to a different chair and my parents sat down in the empty chairs.
They greeted us, giving me hugs and patting Jerome on the back. He, in turn, smiled. He once told me he liked my parents, that they gave me a better childhood than he had.
"How are you feeling sweetie?" Mom asked, fiddling with a piece of hair that was tucked behind her ear.
I shrugged, noting how similar our gestures were. "Alright," I lied, not wanting to worry them. In fact, I had been feeling sick all morning, my stomach twisting and turning. The nurses told me that was normal, but it didn't make me feel any better.
After a few minutes of pointless chatter, Jerome left. I could see by the way he walked and reacted that he was tired, and that he was worried about me. Before he left, I gave him a quick hug. "I'll be fine," I whispered in his ear after brushing some hair away from his face. He nodded, his eyes sparkling.
PAGE BREAK
Frustrated, I squeezed my blankets tightly until my knuckles turned white. I was sitting alone on my bed, my leg propped up in a pile of pillows that I had gathered. The other residents of Anubis house were downstairs, either helping Trudy or bugging each other. Amidst the chaos on the main floor, I had made my way to my room, wanting to be isolated.
It hurt me to see Samantha in a hospital bed, medication keeping her alive. She looked weak, and reminded me of my mom and of myself. I lay back against my pillows, closing my eyes.
Colours floated past my closed eyelids, combing and making shapes. The tendrils of green, purple, and light blue twisted together like a puzzle. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep and began to dream.
I looked around myself. I was in the same black room as before, but this time standing in the centre. There was no chair, no Rufus, and no Samantha. For a while it was quiet, until the darkness shifted around me. A single ray of red light illuminated the room and took over. The walls, which I could now see, were blood red and covered with small scratch marks. The floor was concrete and cold underneath my shoes. I looked up, surprised to see no ceiling. The red light only reached so far, stretching up until the darkness took over.
Confused, I turned in circles, feeling defensive. The scene changed, and I was in the barn with Rufus. He once again sneered at me, and I noticed one thing had changed. Instead of his eyes being a pale blue, they red, like the walls of the enclosed room.
"Hello Jerome," he said, spitting at me. I reached up to defend myself and noticed my hands were tied behind my back. Only then I realized I was sitting in a metal chair, it's back digging into mine.
"What do you want?" I growled, pulling at the ropes violently. Rufus gave a short, menacing laugh that bounced off the walls, surrounding my ears. I wanted to shield them from the piercing noise, but couldn't. Instead, I placed my chin on my chest and rubbed one ear into my shirt.
Eventually the noise stopped, and its absence left my ears ringing. He took my chin tightly in his hand, squeezing. I grimaced, knowing that bruised would appear later.
"I want you,"
PAGE BREAK
My hands were now soapy and sore from scrubbing endlessly at a cookie sheet. No matter how hard I swiped the cloth across its metallic surface, the leftover bits of cookie refused to come off.
"Having trouble Alfie?" Patricia asked, handing me a towel. Frustrated, I shook my head and wiped my hands off. Patricia took over and began to work at the sheet.
"Thanks," I said, after a few moments of silent scrubbing. Patricia nodded in acknowledgment, placing the now clean sheet on the counter.
"You owe me one," she said. Suddenly, there was a loud crash coming from the hallway. Patricia and I looked at each other in worry.
"Jerome," I said, dropping the towel and running to his room. Patricia followed behind me, our feet padding on the wooden floors. I quickly opened the door to Jerome's room and gasped at what I saw.
Jerome was lying on the ground, his lamp knocked over and his blankets wrapped tightly around him. He thrashed, his eyes squeezed shut and his face covered in a layer of sweat. He was stuck in another nightmare. Immediately, Patricia sprang into action, falling next to Jerome. She placed her hands on his shoulders, attempted to keep him from hurting himself.
"Stop…" Jerome said, swinging one hand up in defense of whatever was hurting him. "Please! I'll do anything! Just… just leave her alone!"
Patricia shot me a worried look as I sat next to him. I placed my hands over Patricia's, helping her hold the surprisingly strong teenager down. Soon, Jerome began to thrash less and lay still. Patricia helped me untangle the blankets from him. I imagined the long pieces of fabric as arms, trying to squeeze him.
After a few moments of silence and heavy breathing, his eyes slid open, unfocused and tired looking. I placed a hand on his shoulder, and his eyes slowly met mine. His were filled with fear, and he began to violently shake.
"It's okay Jerome, you're safe now," I said, helping him sit up. I embraced him, wrapped my arms around his body. Patricia sat next to us, placing a hand on Jerome's knee.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Jerome shuddered and pulled back from me, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
"Sort of," he said, moving to sit on his bed. I helped him up and he sat down, resting his casted leg on a pillow that Patricia supplied for him.
"Now, tell us what happened," I said, opening my ears up to him.
PAGE BREAK
Patricia and Alfie looked at me pleadingly, and I took a deep breath. I retold my dream to them, watching as expressions of shock and worry crossed their already strained faces.
"Then Rufus threatened he would hurt Samantha. I didn't know what to do. He kept on hitting me, and I couldn't do anything about it." Embarrassed, I looked at my folded hands in my lap. They were bright red and had small marks where my fingernails had dug in. Probably trying to defend myself, I thought, massaging them slightly. "I'm alright now," I said when they sat in silence.
I looked up to see Patricia giving me a weird look. "Are you sure, Slimeball?" she asked, nudging me gently with her elbow. I laughed in response, trying to make it seem as genuine as possible.
"Okay mate," Alfie said, standing up and handing me my crutches. "Want to join us for some half burnt cookies?" He asked, flashing me a goofy smile. His teeth caught the light, and his grin was so contagious I returned it.
"I guess so," I said. As we sat down in the living room and crunched on cookies, the dream ran through my mind again and again, from the blood red walls to Rufus beating me to a pulp. I held down a shudder that tried to rack my body and took another cookie off the plate in front of me, trying to drown my worries in gooey chocolate chips.
Thank you for reading guys! After 21 chapters and two whole months of being a fanfiction writer, I'm happy to the endless amounts of support from all of you who have reviewed and followed. So, in celebration, I am giving you all a free piece of virtual cake and a thing of Nutella! Enjoy! I love you all! Until next time!
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own HoA. Only Samantha, the multiple doctors and nurses, and Samantha's parents. Oh, and my thing of Nutella.