Asher Banning still mourns his mother after three years. When his friend, Caden, decides to get their group of friends together for Christmas as a way to help Asher not feel lonely for the holidays, things quickly turn upside down.
MATURE: for expl...
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When we arrived, Piper and Abigale left to their own room while the rest of the group stayed with me. I screamed, every muscle in my body spasming and throbbing. Freyja and Sam helped me to my bed to lay down and snuggle in the covers.
Nick turned on the lights and made his way toward the edge of the bed, sitting next to my feet. Freya sat down near my stomach and Sam continued standing. Caden arrived in the room, though I didn't realize he had left the crowd in the first place, with a glass of water and handed it to me. "Thought you'd be dehydrated." He shrugged.
"Thanks." I took it and chugged it down, cherishing every drop that fell into my mouth despite half of it spilling onto me and the bed. The coughing fit began, and Freyja helped me into a sitting position while patting my back. The pounding of her palm sent a pain through my spine. I screamed again. "Please stop," I said, laying back down with another cough.
She furrowed her eyebrows but moved away.
"You should've sat and drank that in the first place," Nick said.
"My back hurts when I move. I'd rather just, you know, lay down and not do anything."
Caden took a deep breath and said, "Hey . . . I know this is gonna sound weird, but as your best friend and someone who cares for you, I'm kind of required to say it."
"Say what?" It was Sam, staring at him with confusion plastered across his face. I, too, was confused with his statement, but I went along with it anyway. I didn't care what he had to say. Not with this agony coursing through my veins.
Caden made eye contact with Sam for a moment, then turned his eyes to me. "Turn around."
Freyja crossed her arms. "What, why?"
"Because I wonder if he has something on his back."
"Food, you think?" I chuckled. When the silence made its way through the gaps in the room, I frowned. Was it best not to sound so upbeat at a time like this?
"No," he said, matter-of-factly. "I don't know. But I won't be able to find out if ya don't roll over."
With a sigh, I did what he wanted. I closed my eyes and balanced my head with my fingers placed on my temples. Someone pulled my shirt up, gasping.
"What the fuck?" The voice belonged to Caden.
"What happened to you?" Sam said.
"What? What is it?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Please don't tell me I have some xenomorph growing on my back?"
"No." Freyja's voice was calm, but it had an alarming tone to it. "It's not that." Silence filled the air, releasing my darkest thoughts out in the open. Alien organisms and parasites were the only things I could think of. If it weren't either of those, what could it be?
"Okay, y'all are scaring the fuck out of me! What is it?!"
"It's . . ." Caden stuttered, then continued. "Your back has a long scratch on it."
