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4

***The chapter isn't perfect, it needs some work, but I'd thought I'd post it for now at least. Tell me what you guys think. :) ***

I decided to not go to school Friday. I was perfectly fine with waiting another weekend before going back. So here I was, home alone, taking turns between Netflix and my book to entertain myself. Currently I was curled up on my bed, flipping through my disheveled copy of Ender’s Game, music blasting through the headphones jammed in my ears.

I glanced at my phone; the time read 6:17 p.m.  I groaned. This day was going by much to slow. All I wanted was to sleep, but I could never sleep during the day. Other than when I was a baby, I’d never taken a nap in my life. It just didn’t work no matter how long I closed my eyes for.  Honestly, I would have been content to just lie down and do nothing, but as soon as I did that, my thoughts would travel back to the night I was attacked. Eventually, I would remember the moment I escaped, the moment everything seemed to freeze…  How had that happened? Maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me? Maybe—

And once again, my own mind was betraying my wishes to not think about it by doing exactly that: thinking about it.

 I tried my best to focus on the words laid out on the page. My eyes wouldn’t focus. After a while of reading through without processing, I sighed, closed the book, and took out my headphones, discarding them on my unmade bed. It felt really quiet without them. Too quiet.

I shivered. The house was really cold despite just having turned up the heat. Or maybe it was just me.  Suddenly, I had a craving for something hot to drink. I kicked my covers away and padded out of my room into the hallway that led to the kitchen. I passed my bathroom and my mom’s room, and actively avoided looking at the door leading to Ace’s room.

 I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I whipped around and almost screamed when I came face to face with another girl. I backed into the wall when I realized that it was actually just my reflection. I shook my head, feeling stupid. Another quick glance in the circular mirror ringed with looping silver designs revealed a pale, freckled complexion, big green eyes surrounded by the usual ring of  dark circles, and to my dismay—after looking a little closer—light brown roots peeking out from glossy black hair. I’d have to touch up my roots soon.

I peeled myself away from the wall and continued my walking until I reach the living room, which bled into the kitchen. After a few minutes of rummaging through cabinets I found that we were all out of hot chocolate mix, and tea. All we had was coffee. I also happened to hate coffee. No amount of milk or sugar could ever make me like it. However, wanting something hot, coffee would just have to do.

Once the coffee was done I leaned against the counter and sipped it. I frowned at the taste and at the fact that I just scalded my tongue. Although, I could already feel the hot liquid warming me up, so that made it bearable.

Suddenly, the shrill noise of the house phone ringing broke the silence. Startled, I jumped, sloshing hot liquid into my blue t-shirt. I yelped as a brown splotch began to quickly spread all over my abdomen like blood from a gunshot wound.

The ringing coming from each of the house phones wasn’t completely in sync, which made a weird echoing effect. I set the coffee down on the counter and snatched up the phone sitting beside the sink.

“Hello?” I asked, sounding annoyed.

“Ray!  It’s Olivia!” said a bubbly voice.  I winced and yanked the phone a few inches away from my ear. Olivia wasn’t really familiar with the term “indoor voice”.  I couldn’t help but smile though; she had a way of brightening things up.