Piece by Piece

2. Bullies

There was a definite pounding inside his skull, bringing with it a sense of nausea. Despite the darkness and the peace, it would not go away, until it turn into a bursting noise so loud, it woke him from the fragile state of sleep.

"Davyn, what the hell?"

Freider's furious voice had Davyn opening his eyes. The ceiling that met him was white, not light blue like the on in his room.

"You seriously left a girl in your room?"

Davyn blinked, trying to regain his senses, figure out where he was and why. His mind reeled, trying to go back into the state of numbness.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Powerful light hit his face and the pounding in his head intensified to the point it made him want to throw up.

"Freider..." It came out like a weak moan.

"I don't want a word out of you which is not a fucking answer!"

"Mr. Grant!"

A short black woman entered the room, dressed in a lab coat and holding a chart. Her reproachful tone and the fact that she immediately pulled the curtains closed made Davyn her biggest fan.

"I told you he has a migraine."

Migraine. The word sounded like a death sentence.

Freider huffed. "Yeah, right."

"Will you please wait outside?" the doctor insisted.

"Fine. But don't fall for his tricks. He has a habit of being overly dramatic." He glared at Davyn. "I'll be waiting outside to take you home."

Davyn nodded automatically as his mind still fought to kick start and make sense of what had happened. In the fraction of a second after Freider closed the door and his words finally registered, everything came crashing back.

His father dying, his mother going insane. Maddie. He'd left Maddie in his house because he'd completely forgotten about her the moment he'd climbed into the ambulance with his mother.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked, her tone concerned.

He raised his eyes to her. "How's my mother?"

The woman hesitated and it was all the answer he needed. She seemed to realize that there was no use sugarcoating it, because she heaved a deep sigh.

"When she woke up, she became hysterical again, so we had to sedate her. The shock of what happened seems to have affected her profoundly."

Davyn's head throbbed again. Yes, he could definitely understand that. His very essence seemed to have been drained by his father's death.

There's so much waiting out there for you, kiddo. And you don't have to be scared. I'll guide you all the way.

How, Dad? How will you guide me if you're dead?

He didn't even know what this special fate was supposed to be. It lingered in a promise which was to be fulfilled once he'd turned eighteen. Or so he'd thought.

"Have you ever had migraines before?" The doctor sat on the bed next to him and pulled out a tiny flashlight.

"No. Not even normal headaches."

"It could be stress induced, and I don't blame you. You appear fine otherwise. We drew some blood when you passed out. I'll let you know when the test results are back." She lowered the flashlight and gave him a small smile. "Just take some time for yourself. Here." She put a bottle of pills in his hand. "In case they return."