Chapter 20: Trouble At The Cafe

By the time we got to the cafe, there was a huge line of people waiting to get their food. Great... just what I need... I long line of patients... with me starving for food. My stomach growled again and luckily it was very quiet, or else everyone is gonna end up staring at me. Yes, you may have already guessed, I don't like to be the center of attention ever since I was laughed at for trying to tell my 'classmates' about the Goosebumps book that I was reading. Another one of the reasons that I'm always avoiding people of my age besides adults because I know that grownups won't judge other people for the things that they like.

I leaned against the wall, crossing my ankle over the other one. It's gonna take a long time before me and Jackson can barely get out food unless they plenty. Geez... there wasn't a line when we had breakfast and lunch. So why do have a long line now? I can already feel the anger come on inside me. Too bad I didn't bring my violin to let out my feeling that I'm having now... I hate waiting for long periods of time.

The line seemed to move slowly to me and I began to get frustrated, wanting to cut in front of the line. Although I wanted to, I can't risk the fact of getting in trouble or else I'll be kicked out of this building. That is, if the staff does that to their patients. No, they wouldn't do a think like that, would they? They're nice people.

Tapping my foot on the ground, I poked a girl on the shoulder. She yelped, spinning around to face me. "Sorry," I said. "I just wanted to ask you something."

She gave me a friendly grin, taking my apology and spoke in reply. "What do you want to ask me?"

I shuffled my feet with her waiting for my question. "What are we having for dinner? It seems like everyone is, oh I don't know, excited for whatever we are having."

"We're having Chinese food," she brightly answered.

"Chinese food?" I questioned with an arched brow. "Wait, the people working in the kitchen... know how to make Chinese food?" I exclaimed in shock.

"That's right." She smiled proudly, like she knew this whole time. "Only the problem is, since it's a very popular food, not everyone gets to have any," she told me.

I lowered my head. "Does that mean we won't get any?" I couldn't help but ask. Chinese food is my most favorite thing to eat. The problem is... I don't eat it that often. More likely, it's a rare thing that I chow down. I should just sit at the table and not get anything. I'm not that hungry... I'm not desperate to get food... I'll just wait until tomorrow for breakfast... and lunch... There's no possible way that I'll end up getting any... It's like being back in school where all of my classmates would end up taking the snacks with me not getting anything... I felt like crying, but I fought the tears and looked at Jackson.

"I'm..." My face turned red. "...going to sit at our table. Don't worry about getting food for me, I'll wait until tomorrow," I spoke. I left the line, going to our usual table.

"I'll get you food, Hazel," I heard Jackson call out to me.

Why does that even sound like a promise? You heard what that girl said, not everyone gets to have any of that stuff...because how popular that type of food is.

The normal color came back once I sat down at the table, staring out the window. It was...a very nice day, to be honest. It actually...wants me to...smile... But the frown wouldn't go away. It just...stayed there. I highly doubt that my combo medication would even work.

I put my head down, my hopes of getting food just... dying away from me. I know food is important to get healthy. However, if I don't get anything to eat, I just have to wait until tomorrow. I think I should just skip dinner and just have breakfast and lunch, instead.

My stomach growls louder and I couldn't hide my embarrassment. Don't think about food, I told myself. It'll only make it worse...

So I just sat there with my head down on the table. And while I did that, the words that Jackson said to me swam around inside my head when he told me that every time my face turns red or pink when I look at him or when he touches me, he commented that I look... 'hot' when my face does that sort of thing. Now I'm not sure if that's appropriate for boys to say that to girls considering that I never had a crush on a boy before in my life ever since I stopped going to school.

At least I returned his comment by calling him... cute with those silver eyes... the dark brown hair... Okay, I need to stop. I can already start to feel my face being filled up with red, getting all warm and flustered. I just can't help it if he's so... attractive towards me... Yeah, I can't stop thinking about him. And when I think about it, it was...probably a good thing to tell him my feelings when I'm around him. I have feelings for him when he isn't around me. Oh well, at least he feels the same way with me... even though I'm not ready to go out on a date just yet... Sigh. I hope I get to go home soon. I wonder if Stine is gonna let me do school online...

Another sigh slipped out my lips. Stine promised me that he'll let me do school online. No way he'll lie to me, would he? Okay, maybe I'm getting paranoid, I have to admit. Nevertheless, he's a good man who's very friendly. Yes, at first he seemed like a...creepy guy. Except for how wrong I was. Judging people isn't my kind of thing. I don't like to do that...

Now in case you are wondering, what if I do end up going to actual school? Will I be upset about it? Well... I don't know... He wouldn't break his promise. I can trust him and the ones that are my friends. Especially Hannah. The thought of her made me miss her. Seeing her as my best friend also made me think of her as my sister, just like I had said before. Even if I do get adopted, she'll treat me with respect, unlike my damn god brother...

I have a sense that he'll be living across the street from Stine. I don't understand why, though. I'm not a...psychic or anything unpeculiar. Dreams are just dreams. They don't come true unless... I shook my head really hard. Don't think about Travis… don't think about him, at all. That's just gonna make you both upset and angry. Deep breath and relax. You're not around him anymore...

"Hey there," a voice piped up, sounding like a male, not Jackson at all. I turned to see a boy with his foot on the chair, his arms crossed over his chest, wearing a baseball cap on his head in a backward type of style. Oh no... this can't be good... I can already feel a bad vibe from him... "I saw you come in the building last night," he told me, taking a seat. I rolled my eyes, not interested in talking to him. Why does he seem like a complete creep? "You want to know why I'm here?" I didn't say anything back... "I'm here because my family says I have an 'ego problem'. I mean, I know I'm good looking." He swiped his hand over his ruffled up hair that is a dirty-blonde that looks to be all long and curled at the ends. "Before I came here, all the girls just love me to death. They keep saying that 'Oh, you seem so fine, Trevor'." He fluttered his eyelids just like girls would do to boys to get their attention, even mimicking a high, pitched voice, then went back to his regular one. "Ahem, anyway..." Trevor cleared his throat. "I'm one the best people ever in this building. My therapist told me to stop being so...egotistical about everything. I mean, come on a guy like me, whoo, you never even know the things I like to do with girls. Heh, heh, heh," he chuckled. I turned away from him, in all hopes that he'll leave me alone. But it didn't go as planned when he grabbed my chin, having me look at him. "Playing hard to get, ey?" Trevor assumed with a creepy smile of his. "I like that, I really do," he mentioned, placing his hand on the upper part of my leg that was near him, getting too close to my...well...you know... 'personal area'. "I'll tell you what..." he said, leaning too close to me that I ended up leaning away from him. "Why don't you come to my room and have a little... fun?" The way he proceeded the word 'fun' doesn't sound...comfortable. Better hurry up, Jackson... "I know that you're a little uncomfortable to...um...sleep with me," he grinned. A little uncomfortable? Plus the way he said 'sleep with me' made me highly uneasy. I shove his hand off me, giving him burning eyes.

"Don't touch me there," I warned, finding the urge to speak up. "Don't you know the term of personal space?"

The answer I got was a chuckle. "Oh, you're a feisty one," he commented, playing with my hair. I smacked his hand away. "Ow..." He sucked in a breath, gritting his teeth together. "You hit hard. I like that." He bobbed his head up and down. "Only, you don't have to physically hit me. I know that you're admiring me." My jaw slacked opened when he said that. "Peh, that guy you are with is such a...loser," he insulted, talking about Jackson. I opened my mouth only for him to put his finger on my lips. "Don't worry about him, fine girl," he assured me, his voice getting all...creepy. "So why don't we just get to know each other before we can have our fun time together?" He managed to take my hand and I yanked it out of his grip, surprising him.

"I said, don't touch me," I repeated through gritted teeth. "And Jackson isn't a loser," I added, defending my crush. I got up from the table, wanting to get away from this fellow who is a complete bastard.

I only took several steps when I felt him grab my arm, stopping me. "Where do you think you're going?" he muttered with clenched teeth, being all aggressive all of the sudden, shocking me.

"Away from you," I manage to say, about to pull my arm out of his fingers, only for him to tightened his grip. "Let go," I tried to say in a demanding voice, only it came out shrilly.

His dark eyes seem to glare at me. "Where do you think you're going?" he repeated his question, like he doesn't believe me.

"Away from you," I repeated back, then held back a painful scream as his fingers got even tighter around my arm. "Let go of my arm! Y-You're going to leave bruises on me!" I barely shrilled, my voice caught in my throat.

He used his other hand, placing it on my shoulder, forcing me to walk backwards at a wall that's next to the window, that is not too far from the table. His eyes weren't in that ego type of state like they were before. Now they were blazing into my eyes… sending a cold shiver down my neck, making the hair on my arms go straight up in fear.

"That's too bad..." he responded, his eyes sending frightening daggers at me, watching me struggle against his strong grip of his hands. "A lot of girls like to... have fun with me..." He licked his lips.

Not liking where this was going, I tried to see if Jackson is still at the far end of the line. But he wasn't. Possibly getting food, and probably getting food for me, too.

I struggled against this boy's grip, no sound coming out of my mouth due to the shear pain that he's giving me. It's weird. One minute he's a creep, and the next thing I know, he's totally obsessed with me. Not in a nice way like Jackson.

That's the first person that into my mind, hoping he'll hurry up and see what's going on.

Jackson

The line seemed to go down faster than I expected since Hazel walked away to our table, watching her sit down and the table, placing her head down. I wasn't sure if it was sadness or she just doesn't want to wait to get food; Chinese food, the popular type of food that we don't get everyday.

Although she told me not to get her anything, I can't risk the fact of not getting any food in her system because of how...pretty she seems to be with those, well, hazel eyes. I never seen a girl with those type of colored eyes in my life until she bumped into me by mistake. And even when I told her that she looks hot when her face blooms, it made me feel...a little embarrassed, I have to admit. Then for a turn around, she called me...cute, causing my face to bloom for the first time. However, I don't mind when she said it with no smile.

Sigh. I hope she can since she told me that she almost did it. Plus, I hope she took my advice by shaking other people's hands in order to get used of physical contact because of what she told me back when she was a very small child. I mean, what kind of god family would be so cruel and mean to her? It makes me...angry.

Am I protective of her? I believe so. I stood up for her against my ex, which basically counts in my personal opinion. Not only that, I was pretty surprised when she admitted her feelings to me, saying that she likes me.

Although I started to ask her if she wants to go out on a date, she simply decline, telling me she isn't ready for one. Oh well, I don't mind. I just have to ask her next time, just like she told me before. She told me that the next time I ask her out, it might be a yes. And by the word might, it basically means she won't know for sure. I won't know for sure, either if I were in her shoes.

There had been times where I just want to just...kiss her right away, only to hold myself back to avoid a snappy response due to one of her illnesses. I came greatly concern when she told me that her reflection spoke to her on its own, and not able to take her combo until tomorrow.

I hope she knows that it takes time for any medication to take effect. In my case when I first arrived at this special hospital, my depression had been pretty bad to the point where I'll cry all day in my room before Hazel came. I took the medication the next day. I knew it would take time for the medication to work right away, and before I even knew it, I felt happy again, praying every night to go home. But my therapist told me that I'll go home real soon. I might even go home before my birthday. I just wish it didn't take a couple of days to get from here to home. What a bummer...

That also gave me an idea. I can ask my therapist if me and Hazel can go back home together. I did drive myself here. I actually had to stop to take a rest break for driving for long hours. I was afraid that I'll lose oil before I can even make it to this place.

By the time I got to where the food is, I wasn't sure what kind of Chinese food that Hazel likes, not wanting to get the wrong type. I avoided the spicy Chinese type food, remembering that she hated any food that has to do with anything spicy, excluding cinnamon.

I went over to the Chinese food that I certainly enjoy, grabbing two trays and two plates, setting them on the trays.

Since I'm not sure what type of Chinese food to get her, I simply just got us the same thing. Plus, in case she doesn't like it, she's free to get something else. No big deal. I'm not going to make her eat it. People like different types of food, right?

Once I filled up our plates and got our drinks, which is basically cold water, I carefully carried both our trays when I stopped all of a sudden to see Hazel against a wall with another boy who was two years older than her.

I watched and listened, catching every word that I'm hearing from him.

"That's too bad..." I heard him spoke, his back turned to me, not knowing that I'm currently eavesdropping. I walked slightly to the side to see both hands on her. One on her shoulder and one on her arm. I noticed how hard he was squeezing her. Did I do anything? No, not yet. Because something doesn't seem...right with this dude. "...a lot of girls..." I continued to hear him speak to her in a seductive tone. "...like to have..." His grip tightened. "...fun..." He licked his lips. Oh no... I can tell right away things are gonna get...bad. "You don't want to have fun with me? Because it seems like you don't want to do my kind of fun that I like to do with girls," I heard him growl with clenched teeth. My eyebrows began to lower... "Why don't you want to go to my room and have fun with me!?" The boy began to raise his voice in a yelling kind of way, drawing lots of attention from other people. They stopped eating and turned their heads to see what's going on. None of them moved from their tables, not knowing what to do in this kind of situation.

The boy smacked her on the forehead, right where the stitches are at. Knowing to get hit there, it does hurt. A lot. Hazel couldn't muster out a scream because of how tightly his fingers were around her arm, which began to turn red... "Tell me!" he cried, shooting his eyes at her. "Why don't you want to have fun with me!? I'm the best guy in this building! I'm the best guy before I came here! What? Are you afraid of someone like me?" He leaned too close to her, causing her to look away from me. "Why don't you want to have fun with me!?" he shouted in her ear, getting her all frightened by his aggressive behavior. "Well then, guess what?" His grip around her arm was so tight, that his own arm began to show veins from the distance that I was at. "I'm just gonna make you have fun!" he yelled. "Because once I do, you'll-"

"LET GO OF ME!" That's when it hit me. I dropped the trays, food splattering on the floor when I heard her scream in a voice that I never thought would come from her. I grabbed one of the trays in my hands and began running towards the boy.

"Hey!" With a shout, I slammed the tray on his head, hitting him hard with it. "Get away from her," I ordered, raising the tray over my head to strike another blow.

He rubbed his head. "Ow! What the hell!?" he responded, casting a glare at me. "How about you get away from her?" He poked my chest with his finger. "She's much safer with me then with you," he stated firmly.

"Safe with you?" I deceived. "I saw you squeezing her arm from over there." I pointed to where I dropped the food. "Do you know what she's been through?"

"I don't care what she's been through!" he voiced out, not caring if everyone is watching. "All I want is for her to have fun with me in my room."

"Don't make her do the kind of fun that she doesn't want to do," I said, getting ready to hit him again. "Or else I'll strike you again!" I cried, ignoring the glaring eyes that are hitting me as I stood my ground.

"Oh yeah? Then maybe you should fight me!" he proclaimed, his voice getting very loud that it echoed around the cafe.

I instantly smirked a grin, lowering the tray, holding it on my right hand. "You wanna fight me?" I pointed at myself. "Pft, yeah right." I rolled my eyes. "I won the black belt in martial back in two thousand and ten, five years ago." I know I was boasting, and I can't help myself for that. "So..." I set the tray down on the table. "...if you decided to leave Hazel alone and not fight me, why not just have our separate ways?" My grin grew a bit wider as I held out my hand. "Deal?"

He picked his hand up, ready to take mine...

And that's when I saw a fist come at me.

Hazel

My eyes were stuck on Trevor's face, his eyes just sending fire at me. I stopped struggling, knowing how useless it is since he's a lot stronger than I am. My only thought I have is: Jackson, hurry up before something bad happens to me.

Trevor kept eyeing at me. "You don't want to have fun with me? Because it seems like you don't want to do my kind of fun that I like to do with girls," he growled, his teeth clenching together that I was almost worried that he'll end up breaking them off. Why don't you want to go to my room and have fun with me!?" he yelled, raising his voice. I can feel people staring at us, drawing lots of attention, and didn't seem to care unlike me who doesn't like a whole lot of attention. However, nobody got up from their chairs. I don't blame them for not knowing what to do. I then got smacked on the spot on where the stitches are at by surprise, sending me a lot of pain right on my forehead, then tightened his grip around my arm, making it turn red... My mouth couldn't make a scream, not being able to form words... "Tell me!" he demanded, his eyes getting all furious at me. "Why don't you want to have fun with me!? I'm the best guy in this building! I'm the best guy before I came here! What? Are you afraid of someone like me?" He leaned forward so close to me, I forced myself to turn my to the side. He was starting to get very aggressive at me. "Well then, guess what?" he spoke, his hand getting more tighter than ever before, and I know that he's gonna end up leaving finger indents on my skin. "I'm just gonna make you have fun!" he cried out. "Because once I do, you'll-"

"LET GO OF ME!" I screamed in a voice that I never used before. That's when I heard a loud crashing sound of some sort, and heard someone running towards us, and I saw that is was Jackson.

"Hey!" he shouted, slamming the tray right on top of Trevor's head. "Get away from her!" He raised the tray up, reading to hit him again with it.

Trevor rubbed his head at the spot on where he got smacked. "Ow! What the hell?" he cried in pain, giving Jackson a hard glare. "How about you get away from her?" he said, poking him on the chest. "She's much safer with me then with you."

Uh... what are you talking about, psycho? What makes you think I'm-

"Safe with you?" Jackson questioned in disbelief, interrupting my thought. "I saw you squeezing her arm from over there," he reported, pointing at the spot where he saw everything, where there was a tray, plates, drinks, and food all over the floor. "Do you know what she's been through?" he asked.

"I don't care what she's been through!" he replied, still not caring if people are staring right at us. "All I want is for her to have fun with me in my room," he said, still glaring at my...crush.

Jackson responded back to Trevor's words. "Don't make her do the kind of fun that she doesn't want to do," he threw back, as he got himself ready to hit this psycho on the head again, not hesitating to do it. "Or else I'll strike you again!" he threatened, ignoring the harsh look, standing his ground.

"Oh yeah? Then maybe you should fight me!" Trevor challenged, his voice echoing around the cafe.

Jackson lowered his tray to his ride side, holding it in his right hand when a smirk appeared on his face. "You wanna fight me?" he questioned, pointing at himself. "Pft, yeah right," he responded with an eye roll. "I won the black belt in martial back in two thousand and ten, six years ago," he boasted, putting his hand on his chest with a prideful look on his face. Black belt? Since when did he...? "So..." he spoke, setting the tray onto the table that I was sitting at. "...if you decided to leave Hazel alone and not fight me, why not just have our separate ways?" he suggested, sticking out his hand. "Deal?" he agreed.

I watched as Trevor stare at his hand. My forehead was in pain from getting smacked to where the stitches are at. Not only that, my arm was also in pain. I was too afraid to even look at it, in fear that there's gonna be finger indents from getting squeezed too hard, as well as bruises. But I was a lot more worried for Jackson than I am for myself. Is it normal to worry about someone else? I believe so...

Trevor continuously looked at Jackson's hand, picking up his own to take his... When a fist slammed onto Jackson's nose.

"Jackson!" I saw thick, red liquid spurting out of his nostrils, down his lips and down his chin, dripping onto the floor, right close to his sneakers. "Oh my, God! Jackson, you're bleeding!" I couldn't help but to exclaim.

He groaned, bringing his hand up to his face. He flinched when he touched his nose before glaring at Trevor. "Idiot! I think you broke my nose!" he cried.

"Too bad for you!" He brought his fist back, his eyes glazing back at him. "Want me to break it some more? Besides, that girl has nothing to do with you." After he said that, he was suddenly pulled to the ground. "Hey!" he declared, getting punched multiple times.

"Don't you dare..." Jackson punched Trevor's chin. "...go near Hazel..." He punched his right cheek. "...again," he finished, doing an uppercut, and continued to beat him until we heard screaming.

"Stop! Stop it!" Jackson was immediately pulled off by two large guys, along with Trevor, the two getting separated when Rosy walked up to the boys. "What is going on here?" she demanded, eyeing them. "Oh my," she gasped. "Jackson, when did your nose started to bleed?" she asked.

Jackson narrowed his brows, pointing at Trevor. "He punched me after I suggested him to just leave Hazel alone," he told her.

Rosy looked over at the other kid. "What were you doing?" she questioned him.

"I wasn't doing anything to her, Rosy. I was just talking to her," he answered.

"Liar!" Jackson walked over to him. "I saw what you did to her! You were hurting her by just...squeezing her arm tightly that you left finger marks and bruises on her!"

"Shut up, you damn idiot!" Trevor shoved him. He looked back at Rosy. "Don't listen to him, he's the one who's a liar. I was just...um...just..." He tried to think of what else to say. "Just... I was just having a nice conversation with her."

That's when I snapped. "No, you were not! I told you not to touch me, and you didn't even go away! Don't stand there and lie, creating a different story. You even left finger marks on me!"

"Let me see."

"Huh?" I replied, not knowing what Rosy's talking about at first.

"Let me see." She pointed at my arm. "Let me see," she repeated.

Hesitatingly, I showed it to her. Even though she was just a normal employee who welcomes new patients, she examined my arm like a doctor would do.

"They'll go away in the next three days," she told me, then turned over to Trevor. "As for you," she pointed. "Let's talk about what you did in my office."

"What?!" he reacted in shock. "Ma'am, she's lying. I told you, we were just-"

"In my office!" she cut him off, ignoring his words.

Trevor kicked the table, walking with Rosy before turning his head to gaze at me. He didn't say anything by the time he disappeared around the corner.

A few seconds went by. Everyone went back to eating their food, now that the whole scene was over. But that didn't make me feel any better...at all. All I did was looked at my shoes, just...feeling sorry for not being able to stand up for myself...at least this once. My forehead is starting to get sore, and my arm hurts like hell.

"Do you... want to eat?" Jackson broke the silence.

I just shook my head. "...no," I answered, fighting back the tears, knowing how easily I cry. "Don't worry about it... we can wait until tomorrow. For now, I'm too traumatized to even eat..." Slumping my shoulders, I picked my head up. "I'll be in our room..." I told him sadly.

"Are you sure you want to wait for tomorrow? I can get us new plates of food," he offered.

I simply declined. "I don't want you to go back and get more, Jackson. I'm...okay without having dinner. I can have dinner tomorrow."

"But are you sure-"

I slammed the nearest chair onto the floor, creating a loud bang sound, cutting him mid-sentence off. That noise brought attention to us again. People stopped eating and looked at us. My sorrow eyes went right to anger.

"I just said that I'm okay without dinner for tonight!" I snapped aggressively. Kicking the chair out of my way, I stormed out of the cafe, heading to our room.

By the time I did, I reached for the ice pack, which is almost melted, and placed on my stitches, lying down on me bed. My anger switched to sadness and hopelessness. Tears went down my face after I gave up fighting them back. I wish I can tell that Trevor guy to leave me alone in a more...bolder way like I did back a kindergarten before I ran away from that place and the...other one that I don't want to mention anymore. Even the people that I lived with. I told him to go away, telling him that I don't want to have...fun with him of how he used that word… I would've just punched him like mad...like I did to Dr. Maniac. So...why didn't I do the same to that...creep? Probably because I was too terrified to speak up before I let out that scream in a voice that I never even used before in my life.

Just as the stitches started to cool down from the coldness of the half-melted ice pack, a familiar voice spoke to me inside my head, but it sounded like it was next to me.

You didn't want to have fun with that Trevor kid? the voice said in full disappointment.

Hey, the way he said it creeped me out! It's not the kind of fun that I want to have. Besides… I never had fun in my life… Everything about me is just...dull...boring...sad...different emotions...that it makes me...wanna...

Cry? the voice finished for me. Yeah, you're life is sooo bor-ing, it agreed. Most people with this problem never want to live again… My brows lowered. They think that life isn't worth living for. They believe it's better to go to the otherside, the voice continued. Do you know what the otherside is, Hazel? Hm? Do you? I didn't answer… Of course you wouldn't know! It's because you're STUPID! You'll never get out of here, just like the reflection told you, you'll never get out of here. People who come here are just as crazy as you! They can't even STAND being here at this hell place. They always decide that the best option is to… It stopped, letting out a short, eerie chuckle. I should've asked you this. Have you decided to...oh, I don't know...commit suicide? Just like we talked about? Well...are ya?

No...

What did you say!?

I said...no. Why the hell would even listen to you? You sound like that creepy reflection of myself.

Oh, but I am... the voice snickered.

What? No, you're not. I don't even see you.

Heh heh. You don't have to SEE me when I'm here. You can also hear me as well. In fact, I, the opposite image of yourself, was the one that talked to you at the beginning of that ice rink where that white, furry monster was at in the first place. Good God, Hazel! it chortled. You didn't know that at the very start?! How funny is THAT!

My rolled my eyes. It's not funny... I thought.

I'll always be with you...both auditory and visually... I'll ALWAYS be with you, weather you don't see me or not. Same goes for HEARING me talk to you. Someday I'll try to get rid of you since you didn't want to... kill yourself like I told you to do. Remember those cuts you made on your arms?

Yes, it wasn't that long ago. I still have the scars but...they do heal...

Don't let them heal! the voice exclaimed. Cutting yourself make you feel better...right? When it said that, I clenched my teeth together, feeling myself start to heat up. Why aren't you continuing it? You know, if you would've kept on doing it, you don't have to-

"Shut up!" I covered my ears. "Leave me alone!" I cried since know one else is in the room. "I'm NOT doing that! What the hell is WRONG with you!? You think that just because I harmed myself from these DAMN illnesses that I am now suffering since day one, that I wanted my life to be OVER WITH?!" I stopped for a moment, waiting for the voice to start talking to me again...waiting for it to start to interrogate me...

Nothing. I guess it decided to leave me alone. For now.

I took off the ice pack, thinking about giving it back to the nurse since it's turning nothing except for a pack of water.

Deciding that was the best thing to do, I got up off the bed, walking out of the room- and bump into Jackson. Like always.

My face started to turn that rosy red. Am I getting used to this feeling? I believe so. I mean, it's not like I get embarrassed or anything. I do like him and he likes me. Even though I said to him that I'm not ready to start having a relationship with him. At least, not yet.

"Sorry," he spoke.

"That's okay..." I sighed, gripping the ice pack.

"Where are you going? Back to the cafe? I asked the ladies if they any food left and they do." He grinned at me. "And don't worry about what happened to you, that dude was just..."

"A creep," I answered for him. He nodded, agreeing with me. "I see that your nose stopped bleeding," I noticed after seeing crumpled up tissues in his hand that are stained with red. "Does it still hurt?"

"Just a little sore, that's all. I really thought that jerk broke my nose." He tossed the messy tissues into the trash can. "So, are you going to go back to the cafe and get food?" he asked.

"No, I'm..." I lifted the cold, liquid pack. "I'm going to give this back since it's melting." I looked at it, watching the water dripping from the bottom of the ice pack. "I better give this back right away. Before it creates a puddle between us on the floor."

"Okay. And don't worry about snapping out me like that," Jackson reassured me with a pat on my shoulder. "I know that you didn't mean it," he told me.

"Thanks..." was all I can respond with, even though I felt bad for doing that to my crush.

At least he isn't mad... Without further ado, I walked past him, making my way to the nurse's office to give the melting ice pack back to her, water dripping on the floor. There's no hole or anything, it's just even the pack felt cold, explaining why the water is dripping from the bottom.

Boy...the janitors are gonna have fun mopping this up…

By the time I got there, I knocked on the door, receiving no answer. So not wanting to knock again to avoid not being someone that is annoying. Which I'm not. I thought it was a good idea to just go in and take it to where she got it.

I entered her office, seeing that the chair is empty. Maybe she's on break.

Walking into the room, I made my way to find a freezer. It didn't take me long to find it. It was just at the other side of the wall that is behind her desk.

I opened the freezer door, putting the ice pack in so it can freeze again. I also cringed after I did that, feeling my stitches starting to get on fire again, wanting to grab a new frozen ice pack, but was also afraid that I would be told on for 'stealing'.

God dammit, why do stitches have to feel like an oven? They're even starting to itch, too. Crap! Why can't I have numbing gel or something? In fact, putting an ice pack on my stitches does work, except when you are done with it, and the stitches start to burn and hurt again.

Yeah, I need numbing gel for sure. I am not a...well, I can't say that I'm a 'happy camper' since I don't smile anymore. I wish I can. But I can't. Nothing makes me happy... Damn, I wish my last medication didn't stop working! I'm so frustrated that I want to kick something. Only I'm not going to do that, or else I'll destroy something. Like that lamp I just broke.

Feeling like a thief, I looked through the drawers and cabinets, looking for numbing gel when I felt this piercing headache, starting to get a little woozy, wanting myself to just sit down for a second. And before I can even do that, it just went away. I guess it happened because I'm worried that the nurse is gonna get mad at me for 'stealing' numbing gel.

Now when I think about, I'm gonna write a note, telling her that I'm only borrowing it.

I opened another cabinet, seeing a tube of numbing gel. Actually, there's more than one.

However, I'm still gonna write a note to her, letting her know that I just borrowed one, that way I won't get in trouble in fear that she won't let me come and see her in case I injured myself or anything.

Taking the first tube of numbing gel, hoping that it'll work, into my pocket. Then I went back to her desk, taking out a piece of printer and a pen that was on the desktop, quickly writing a note and who's it from. I hope she can read my handwriting because it looks terrible.

Walking out of the office, I felt a dread of guilt, thinking that I'm gonna be in huge trouble. What do all the doctors do when one their patients took something that doesn't belong to them? Send them to jail? That thought made me more anxious than ever.

Let's hope that no one saw me take something from the nurse's office.

Arriving back at the room, I saw Jackson lying on his bed. I thought that he was asleep, but it turns out that he was just resting his eyes, hearing my footsteps on the floor.

"Hi," he greeted in his usual tone of voice before noticing something. "What's wrong?" he questioned. "You look like you commited a crime or something."

I bit the tip of my tongue. "I…" At first I didn't want to tell him, but I decided to. I hate keeping secrets from people. "I went to give back ice pack back to the the nurse, only she wasn't in the office, so I decided to just put it away myself in the freezer where she keeps the other ice packs in, when my forehead started to feel life fire again from these stupid stitches. At first, I decided to borrow one of the ice packs, when I realize that even though they do help, the pain from the stitches would just keep coming back, so...I..." Not wanting to explain any further, I just took the object out of my pocket.

"You took numbing gel from the nurse's office without the nurse being there?!" I couldn't tell if Jackson was mad or was shocked after getting his reaction.

"Jackson, I'm sorry," I quickly said, now feeling like a bad person. "I can go to the nurse's office and just...deal with the pain in my forehead." I lowered my eyes to the floor. "Even though I had a splitting headache that made me sick," I muttered.

"Are you okay?" he said with great concern.

I flipped my hand in a simple and fine manner. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Don't know why that happened. I guess it's because I felt like a thief for taking this," I believed, referring to the item in my hand. "I did leave a note for the nurse…" I put the object on the dresser. "So if she sees it, she can just come here...and just take it..." I hung my head and sat down on my bed, grabbing the stuff bear in my hands, giving it a good squeeze. "...and she and everyone who works here and can just... kick me out." I lifted my head up to see a different look from him. "...what...?"

"You think that patients get kicked out for taking something?" The only answer I can give him is a nod. "Hazel..." Jackson sat down next to me, placing his arm around me. "The people who work here don't kick their patients out."

"You're right... They send them to jail," I merely answered, thinking the obvious.

"What? No." Jackson shook his head. "Why would they do that, too? Since you mentioned that you left a note for the nurse, explaining why you took- I mean- borrow the numbing cream, I'm sure she'll understand. She's a very nice lady and everyone loves her. Now..." He got up from my bed. "...let's go and eat."

Thinking about what he told me, along with the request, I just couldn't help but feel bad for what I did. Even though the nurse won't get mad at me for leaving a note for her, I think I should tell her in person. Not only that, my stomach rumbled. Okay...I have to admit, I am pretty hungry and I probably should eat or else I'm gonna be hungry all night until breakfast tomorrow.

"Alright, I'll go eat." Setting my stuff bear down, I got up and picked up the numbing cream. "Just let me put this stuff on first." Walking into the bathroom, I went over to the sink. I was expecting the creepy image of my reflection. But no, just a normal one of myself.

After placing a bit of the cream on my stitches, I can tell it was working because how cold it felt, feeling like ice.

Besides, the cream is very clear, so no knows that I put that stuff on.

Still, whenever I see the nurse, I should just tell her straight off the bat.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I set the small tube back on the dresser, then decided to put it in one of the drawers in case Rosy comes here and finds out.

After doing so, I spoke. "Let's go and eat before I starve."

Jackson chuckled with his mouth closed, taking my hand and taking me over to the cafe, in all hopes that there's still some food left.

It turns out that they still have food left, after all. Not only that, the ladies told us to take as much food as we want, considering how hungry I am since I didn't get anything to eat, and neither did Jackson. I kept my guard up, worrying about that one guy. Jackson told me not to be concerned and that he would be on the lookout for him. Not that he would come back for me. But if Jackson wants to, that's fine by me as long as he doesn't get hurt again.

Taking out trays of food to our table, I was relieved that no one else is in the cafe, leaving us the only ones in there.

I sat down, picking up my fork and began eating. I didn't eat to fast, not wanting to get a stomachache. I just ate slowly, chewing and tasting my food, and not wanting to choke. And I have to admit, this Chinese food is really good.

Too bad that not everyone gets any since it's so popular. I feel bad for those patients who didn't get any.

Cleaning off my plate, I picked up my glass of water and took a long drink.

That's when Jackson shook his head, laughing a bit. "Full now?" he joked, doing his best to break the dullness between us.

I brushed my hair back with my fingers and answered in not an amused tone. "Yeah...I am." I turned my head towards the window, seeing a full moon lifting up to the sky, the stars shimmering. They look so...pretty. I never seen stars being that bright before in my life. Hm... Maybe I'll be lucky enough to see...

"A shooting star!" I jumped when Jackson exclaimed that word, startling me greatly. "Look!" he pointed. "There's another one." Recovering from my startled state, I saw lots of stars streaking across the night sky. Are we having a meteorite storm…? I never seen shooting stars in my life... "Why don't you make a wish?" he suggested me. "Because I know what I'm gonna wish for," he couldn't help but grin.

"What are you going to wish for?" I flicked my hair behind my ear.

"I can't tell you, or else it won't come true," he winked, giving me that nice smirk of his. "So." He picked up his glass of water. "What about you? What are you gonna wish for?" he asked.

I put my hand on my cheek, watching the stars streak by across from the window, shrugging my shoulders. "I'm not sure what to wish for..." I responded in all honesty, feeling very tired. I got up from my chair, letting out a yawn, covering up my mouth. "I'm going to bed...so I can start my combo medication tomorrow morning." If this new medication doesn't work, I don't know what I'm going to do... for the rest of my life.

Heading to the bedroom, I saw Trevor standing there in the middle of the hallway. Oh great... Here we go again... So with a heavy and grumbled sigh, I pretended that he wasn't there, ignoring him completely, not wanting him to bruise me. By the way, my arm is sore, like, real sore... Maybe Rosy is right, the bruises will go away in three days.

As I walked past this idiot, I can feel his eyes on me. And not in a good way... Why do I feel like something terrible is gonna happen? To me, he's gonna end up following me to the bedroom.

Turns out my prediction came true because by the time I got to me and Jackson's room, that damn, raggedy haired boy was right behind me, stopping me from going into that room.

Of course, I didn't even want to deal with this...person. So I gave him the taste of my mind.

"Excuse me, but can you please go away," I shooed, my eyes staring at his face. "I don't want you-" I pointed at him. "-to hurt me anymore. I was already beaten during my childhood from my god family. Mainly from my god father who'll beat me every, single day with his weapon of choice; a leather strap. So if you don't leave, mister, I'm just gonna go get Jackson, or either Rosy, or any person that I can trust other than you."

His eyes seemed to dig into me, and I didn't stopped staring back at him, in all hope that he'll just take my hint and leave me alone. I'm a girl. I shouldn't be afraid of boys, even though this dude almost broke my arm, smacking me on the forehead during the process. "Why would I go away?" I broke my gaze and automatically flinched when he replied to me, not being nice about it. "What makes you think I'm gonna leave you alone after what that jerk did to me?" he questioned in an irritated tone of voice. "You got me in trouble and Rosy told me to, like, stay away from you." He stepped forward and I took a step back, pressing myself against the door. "I don't want to leave you alone..." he spoke, sweeping his hand over his hair, smoothing it down on his head. "So," he continued, taking my chin. "Let's just go to my room and-Ow!" he cried in alarm, jerking his hand away from me. "Why did you bit me!?"

"Gee... I don't know," I answered back in sarcasm after he shouted at me. "I believe I did that so you can leave me alone!" I grabbed the door handle, turned it, and opened the door. I went into me and Jackson's room, slamming the door in the process.

I screamed when he began beating on the other side with me holding the door closed. "Let me in, you stupid girl so we can- Oh, forget it! I'll deal with you later." I heard his footsteps walk away from the other side, having me release a breath of relief.

"What a coward..." I couldn't help but mutter. "Nothing but a complete coward." Going over to the window, my eyes watched the shooting stars, still going across the dark sky, the moonlight streaming through the window with no clouds at all.

I released a heavy and sad sigh, sitting down on my bed, grabbing the stuff bear, burrowing my face into its fake fur, thinking on a wish that I, and need, to wish for. A wish that I want to come true, but...wishes never come true. They never do... Back when I was a child, I wished the one night that my god family would treat me with lots of love and respect...

The wish ended up failing... I can almost feel Jeff slapping me with every hit he gave me, to 'punish' me for things that I didn't do. To this day, I don't understand why he'll hit me for no reason. I don't think he knows that...hitting a child is...

A tear slipped out of the corner of my eye. I don't want to think about that one word. That one word where children, like me, went through... I blame Travis for making my life terrible... I blame Jeff and Kelly... I blame those school kids back in kindergarten... I'll never give them any trust except the ones that have been nice to me. You know who they are, I don't have to say their names...

I laid down on the covers, my face being covered up by the stuffed animal, a wish coming into my head. I didn't say out loud. I just...said it in my mind. I didn't want to wish too hard, not knowing it'll come true or not, and it's worth a try.

To my surprise, my wish did end up coming true.