The Boy in Blue

Chapter 15

"Dear Diary,

They say that you can't live without love. And...I thought so too. But life is unfair, and so love came to me with pain. It was almost like a punishment for falling in love.

I don't know when it really started, but I've been coughing pretty bad for the past few weeks. I thought it was a cold, but not anymore.

I remember I was in literature. Mr Kelly was talking about women's roles in the 1800's when I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my chest. I felt the cough coming along so I hurriedly excused myself from class and ran to the bathrooms, leaning over the sinks and coughing like there was no tomorrow.

And that's when I saw it.

I noticed a leaf, so green and small.

Then just a few days ago, the exact thing happened again. Except instead of a little green leaf it was a small rose petal, a red as deep as blood.

I already had an idea of what was happening to me, and the second time only confirmed my suspicions. It was a shock, but more than that I'm scared.

Will I really have to go soon?

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The night shone dim under the streetlights. The roof had been too damp to sit on, so Eden had instead chosen to escape through the other side and was now taking a walk through the park that was down the street.

It was raining, the patter of raindrops making music on her head. She pulled her raincoat tighter around her as she walked in the dark, the time on her phone reading 2:41am. It was nice to finally be alone on her own accord, walking on the bitumen and through the occasional puddle.

Her mother had gone off at her again. Of course, she was used to it but it struck a certain chord when she had started to attack Eden's friends alongside her.

They had spent the entire morning arguing, a bitter atmosphere.

Eden had arrived late to school once again

The school day had gone by as dismissible, nothing of value happening. She felt the constant stab in her pain grow as the day went by. It was one of those days where she felt lonely even though she had people around her.

It wasn't that she had particularly wanted to be lonely either.

She wanted someone who could just stay exactly by her side the entire day, chatting her through her misery. Maybe that could be a way to forget about what exactly was happening to her.

Nikita and Hanna had wandered off somewhere, presumably down to the younger grades area to talk to their friends. Although Lei had been with her, she had gotten distracted and was chatting away with Felicity in front of the library.

Eden walked silently up to the locker area's, wasting the time between then and next period by taking an unnecessarily long route to her area. Surprisingly, there weren't many people around, a fact in which she wallowed as she sat directly in front of the locker, leaning her back on the plastic door. She decided to work on her literature, crafting a monologue in the midday sun.

Winter was apparently having a crisis, the sun shining down radiantly for the past week or so.

She gave up on the assignment after looking at the task sheet, mentally promising herself that she would do it later. She sat there for a few more minutes, picking at her shoelaces.

That was, until she had spotted a tall, brown haired boy scrolling through his phone. She had noticed him around campus for a few days now, and from what she had heard, he had never spoken a word.

He was leaning against the lockers, slouchy in his posture with one hand in pocket. He looked around for a quick second, before locking eyes with Eden. She smiled, and he returned it meekly.

Thinking she might as well, she had stood up and made her way towards him. He had seen her coming and straightened, tucking the phone away in his pocket.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"So and so. New school, new places, lots to see."

Eden picked up on the sarcasm, and decided to change the subject. Seeing as they shared some of the same subjects, after more feeble talk she decided to enlighten him.

"You done the homework for maths?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes I did. Maths teacher looks like a force not to be reckoned with."

Eden animatedly gestured with her hands, hinting that the teacher was indeed a force not to be messed with.

As he laughed, she noticed how the chocolate curls on his head bounced slightly on his forehead as he moved.

"Oh yea, my name's Eden. What's yours?

"London."

Eden was taken aback by the beautiful name.

"That's so interesting...a story perhaps?"

"I was meant to be born in Britain, but I ended up Scottish instead. Guess my mum wanted some closure?"

London chuckled lightly before instigating the next question.

"You been here a while?"

Eden tilted her head with a hint of mock smugness before she replied.

"Proud resident of this school for seven years. What school did you come from?"

"Westside, mum moved out here and this was the closest school to the new house."

"Oh."

Eden broke into a sputter of coughs, turning away from London who looked on with meek concern.

"You all good?"

Eden forced herself to hold in the coughs, before nodding with a slight wince.

"Allergies, must be something in the air."

The boy nodded in understanding as the bell rang, signalling class. They had both headed off for class together, Eden entertaining London with various facts and stories, before promptly introducing him to Nikita who had arrived late.

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Eden pulled her raincoat tighter as the temperature suddenly seemed to stoop. She had made it back to the front of her house and now stood outside uncallous. She kicked at a lone pebble on the drive until it promptly rolled down it, and into a drain.

Eden didn't want to head back inside yet, but the pain in her abdomen was pulsing stronger and she knew that what little sleep she could muster would be the only chance of it calming down.

As she climbed through her window, whatever serenity she had felt from the outing had disappeared, her chest now weighed down from a sudden, chill depression that seemed like it had a grip on not just her bones, but her being.

The clock read 3:10 as she huddled herself in between her blankets.

Three tiny petals lay in the bin, a dark vermillion red.