Heeeeelllllllooooooooooo! I am so very, VERY sorry it has taken me so long to update! Things were crazy there for a while! But here you go! Another day another chapter! I'll try to be more current with updates, so don't hurt me! XD
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the wonderful Kelley Armstrong
Dinner came and went, Leaving after eating half of my dinner I made my way up to the shared room. Liz was still downstairs with the others, but told me that she would be up to check on me in a little while. I told her that she didn't have to worry about it, and that I was doing better.
And I was, slightly. I was able to eat at least half of my tray without feeling too sick. When I pushed the tray to Derek, he didn't grumble this time and piled the food onto his plate, inhaling the leftovers. Simon had smiled and handed me an extra water bottle, my "reward" he called it. Rae had told me to make sure that I drank all of the water, saying that I was most likely dehydrated.
Tori was… strangely silent, just picking at her food here and there and muttering responses back toward Liz. I was beginning to wonder if she had caught the stomach bug as well. Even Simon ventured to ask her a question or two. She had answered, of course, using the sickly sweet voice she always did toward him, but there wasn't much else to it.
I closed the door behind me and went to my bed, grabbing the bandages that I had placed on the nightstand earlier. I began to wrap my hands, thinking back to all that had happened today.
It had been too much, in my opinion, but opinions hadn't stopped life from happening before.
My emotions were running wild. I was torn between being relieved and happy, but there was fear there too. A lot of fear. I wasn't ready for this kind of new world, where wizard and witches and shamans were real. If I hadn't been a so-called "supernatural" myself, I would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.
And that memory from earlier… that never happened before. Granted, I never pulled on a ghost that hard... Maybe that was what happened when I pushed too hard? I would feel the memory of the ghost I was focusing on?
I tucked the end of the bandages in and placed both hands down on my lap, staring at them.
Something was tugging at the back of my mind. I felt like I was forgetting something.
I huffed as I laid down, turning on my side and calling it a day. I'm sure that whatever it is, I would remember it in the morning.
I woke up feeling nauseous, but didn't have to rush to the bathroom. Definitely some progress. I looked over to Liz to see her sprawled out as usual on her bed, snoring away. Smiling at her and at the lack of puke, I took it as a sign of a good day and grabbed my things to head toward the bathroom to get ready.
I was excited. After classes my aunt Lauren was supposed to come and pick me up for lunch, and though I still wasn't sure whether or not my dad would be there, it was still nice to know that I could see family. Part of me was really hoping my dad was there, so that I could apologize for wasting our time together, but another part of me was hoping otherwise. I loved my dad, which was why I wouldn't blame him for not coming. My aunt wasn't the easiest person to deal with.
After finishing my shower, I stepped out into the mirror to take a quick glance at myself. I was starting to regain some of my color, thank goodness, and didn't look so dead. I had lost a bit of weight, but I shrugged it off. I was already looking like a kid, so what was a few more pounds? Who needs curves? Obviously I didn't.
I sighed disappointedly as my eyes strayed to the light bruise forming on my shoulder. It wasn't too dark, but it was noticeable. It was easy to figure out that the bruise was caused by someone's grip. Pulling on my shirt, I made sure that it had covered the bruise before I walked out, turning on the bathroom fan behind me.
I was at the middle of the stairway when I heard it. Shouting. I slowly made my way down and peeked around the wall to see the door to Dr. Gil's office open. A tall woman with blond hair was standing with her back to the doorway, completely focused on who she was yelling at.
"We've discussed this before, Victoria! You will behave here. I don't need to hear your whining."
"But mom, I've been trying…"
"Trying doesn't matter if there aren't any results." Her mom snapped. I flinched a bit. I could understand where Tori got her behavior from.
Tori's mom sighed and started to make her way out of the door and toward the front of the house. Tori stumbled after her.
"Mom, listen. I've been doing better! I have! Just ask Liz or Simon…"
Her mom whirled so fast that Tori wasn't the only one who flinched away.
"How many times have I told you to stay away from that boy?" Tori looked away, glaring at the floor and clenching and unclenching her hands.
"How. Many." Her mom demanded, getting closer to her face. I watched as Tori took a deep breath and looked back up.
"Too many, ma'am." The lines sounded rehearsed and empty, as if she spent a lifetime repeating that phrase.
"Correct, Victoria. Fail to do so, and I'll make your stay here worse than it already is." With that, her mom walked out of the front door and slammed it, not even saying a goodbye.
Before Tori could turn around, I quickly ran down stairs and turned at the other end of the hallway, meeting with Mrs. Talbot near the cupboard and making small talk- making it look like I hadn't heard a thing.
I didn't have too much to worry about though, seeing as though Tori was excused for the rest of the day. According to the nurses, Tori was to try out new medication, and needed a day or two of adjustment before she was to continue with chores and class.
It seemed like a normal occurrence, because when the announcement was made during breakfast, nobody batted an eye.
I just shrugged and attempted to eat more food than I did the night before, making a mental note to try to be more nice toward Tori. It wasn't her fault that she was raised with a woman like that.
After breakfast, we made our way to class. After grabbing my folder, I thought for a second before sitting back where I sat yesterday, next to Derek. I had more questions, and he seemed to be the guy to go to.
Rae looked at me curiously before taking the seat in front of me.
"Any particular reason for the seat change?" She asked. I smiled and shook my head.
"Nothing special. He's been helping out with my math homework." Rae looked surprised.
"Really? You must be special. He never offered to help me out." She pouted.
I laughed. "Don't feel bad, I'm sure he thinks that I'm in much more need of help than you are."
Just then, Derek walked around the corner, and, grabbing his folder, went to the seat next to me. Simon followed after, taking the seat next to Rae.
"Hey, digging the seat changes." Simon stated, looking between me and Derek. Derek just shrugged and sat down, getting started on his homework. I shrugged and mumbled something about needing help with math before Simon turned to Rae and Liz, talking about whatever game they played last night.
"So…" I started, looking toward Derek. He didn't look up from his assignment, but grunted for me to continue.
"How many uh…. Specials have you met before?" I pulled out my assignments as I asked, making sure to look like I was actually discussing assignments rather than discussing subjects that were more related to Dungeons and Dragons than real life.
"Enough." He said, not even looking up from his assignment.
I gave a small huff at his short answer and turned back to my math assignment. Using the corrected sheet from the other day as a guide, I struggled through the entire review packet. Apparently there was a math test coming up. I groaned slightly at the thought.
I sat there quietly for a few more minutes, waiting for Derek to finish his assignment before I poked at him to look over mine. With a glare, he grabbed my packet and began to look over it, making more corrections now than he did the time before. I sat there, looking around the room while I waited for him to finish. Liz was chattering happily away with Simon quietly, while Rae was preparing for another nap through the rest of class. Mrs. Abdo was sitting quietly at her computer, zoning in to whatever game she was playing. Today seemed to be an easy day for everybody.
I looked up at the clock near the door of the room. Only 15 minutes left before I could meet up with Aunt Lauren.
Just then a packet was pushed into my face, driving my thoughts back to the assignment. I grabbed the paper quickly and pulled it out of my face, giving Derek a glare.
"You know, a simple tap on the shoulder would've worked just as well." He shrugged and motioned to the paper.
"You missed a lot this time," he grunted. "Do you even pay attention in class?"
I ignored him as I glanced over my paper. Next to every wrong answer (let's be honest, next to almost all the answers), was a written explanation of what I did wrong, as well as the correct way to do it. I smiled slightly and put the packet back in my folder. It wasn't due until the test, which I assumed was the next class period on Monday. Plenty of time for me to study the answers he gave me.
"Thanks." I said quietly. He only grunted and shuffled his papers back into his folder, crossing his arms and leaning back into the chair once he was done. I sat there quietly for a minute or two, watching him, before making an attempt to talk.
"How long have you two been in here?" I asked quietly. He turned his glare from the front of the classroom towards me.
"About a month now." He answered shortly.
"Oh." I said, not wanting to push him further. To be here for that long… I was only here for a few days and was already planning on how to make my stay as short as possible.
A couple minutes later, I felt his eyes on me. I turned to meet his scowl.
"What is it?" I asked, glaring slightly back at him.
"Do you have to go back into the basement today?" He asked. I straightened a bit, but took a deep breath before relaxing.
"Not today, I think. I'm having lunch with my Aunt Lauren and possibly my dad. I don't know how long it'll take." I looked at him for a moment. "I will have to go back down tomorrow though…. Any reason why you ask?"
"Besides the obvious?" He grumbled. I narrowed my eyes again.
Did he have to be so rude all the time?
"I'm sorry, but I assumed that you were asking because you wanted something, not because you were concerned over my well-being."
His eyes snapped toward mine for a second, showing curiosity again before he turned his gaze to Simon, who was currently drooling all over his desk. I smiled a little at the sight of him.
"Simon was worried."
That made more sense. He really was a sweet guy.
"Besides…" Derek started again. "You mentioned a door. I was wondering where the key would be."
