TAKE ME OVER | HENRY MILLS [1]

XI. voices

Chapter Status: Edited. 

"Are you okay?" Mum questions as she walks back into the living room.

My head is still hung low and I don't make a move to answer so she sighs and takes a seat next to me. I can feel Mum's eyes on me, but I continue to ignore her, my eyes trained on the dirty floorboards. Mum sighs loudly and moves slightly closer to me.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" she says softly.

I struggle to hold back a scoff. I wasn't sure if I should be honest with her, she's going to be hurt if I tell her the truth, so I do what I do best, lie.

"I know, I just feel guilty" I admit.

It isn't a total lie, I do feel guilty, but it is not the exact truth either.

"Why?" she asks in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Because I made Henry stay up all night because I fainted" I state.

I don't think as I allow the words to escape my lips. Her eyes widen in shock, I guess I forgot to mention I fainted before. I feel even guiltier by her reaction, a lump of guilt settling in at the mention of Henry's large heart and loving nature.

"You fainted?" she asks in worry.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal, I was tired," I shrug.

She sighs in slight disbelief but looks up at me with a nod of agreement.

"I think you should Skype Anna, she needs to know about your magic."

I was surprised by Mum's sudden suggestion before nodding in agreement. I've known about my magic for a week now and I haven't talked to Anna much since I moved. It's not my fault, though, I've been under a lot of stress this week and I've spent half of my time away from home. I get up silently and ignore my family's stares as I jog up the stairs. I grab my phone and dial Anna's number while ignoring the text messages I had received.

"Hello?" a tired-sounding Anna questions.

"Anna, it's Tahlia, can I talk to you on Skype? It's important," I request.

"How important is it?" she asks cautiously.

"Very, I can't hide this from you any longer," I say urgently.

"Fine, I'll call you in a minute" she sighs in defeat.

She hangs up and I turn on my laptop, anxiously waiting for her to call. I wave my hand across my face to fix myself up before pressing answer to her call. I see Anna staring at me with a blank expression on her face, her hair a mess. Beside her is Kaitlyn, wearing a really pissed expression, I guess I woke her up too, which is odd since I'm pretty sure it's roughly 10pm back in Sydney. Kaitlyn and I had a difficult past, so seeing Kaitlyn and my best friend together hurts.

Kaitlyn started bullying me in year 5 and stopped in year 9, Anna softened up to her while I continued to despise her.

"This better be important," Anna suddenly snaps.

I am still hesitant to tell her since Kaitlyn is there.

"Kaitlyn, would you mind leaving the room for just a moment? It's personal" I request.

She sends me a fake smile and an over the top, "okay".

I hear the door shut and Anna turns her head to face me, "now, spill the beans" she instructs.

I sigh and begin to feel nervous. I am worried, what if she is freaks out and doesn't want to be my friend anymore? What if she tells everyone and they think she's crazy and goes against her? But if I don't tell her she's going to be mad at me for god knows how long. I exhale loudly and look Anna in her expectant blue eyes.