Protecting Her

Chapter One

You

"It's okay, it's okay," I mumble soothingly while my sister dry heaves into the toilet.

It was pass two in the morning and she's had another night terror. The third one this week, and it's only Tuesday. I woke up to her gagging and got out of bed quickly to bring her to the bathroom.

She coughs, clutching either side of the bowl. I hug her, kissing her head as her coughs turn into cries.

"He's not here. He's far away from us. He can't hurt us anymore," I whisper, rubbing her arm. She moves from the toilet and leans against the stalls wall, going to bury her messy face in her hands.

"Wait, baba," I held her by her chin while grabbing a few squares of tissue paper. I proceed to clean her face free of tears and vomit. Once I was done, I tossed the soiled paper into the toilet and flushed it.

I pull her to me gently and she collapses in my arms, sobbing into my night shirt. Her small body trembling hard. I shush her softly, rocking us side to side while dropping a kiss on her head ever so often.

About ten minutes later, her cries simmer to whimpers and I cautiously pull her from me. "Wanna sleep with me again, tonight?" She wipes her eyes with her knuckle and nods.

I kiss her forehead before helping her up and leading her back to our room.

On our way there, one of the girls in our section came out of her room, clad in PJs as well. She watches us with sad eyes, "Is she okay?" She whispers and I glance at Leigh, who's whimpering still then back to the girl.

"Just go back to bed, Ariana. I got her," we continue to our room and I lay her in my bed, nearest the wall and I slipped in beside her.

"He can't get us, baba," I repeat, letting her curl into me. "W-What if he comes back?" She mumbles in a soft, shaky voice. "I'll protect you like I did before," I tell her. She looks up at me with wet eyes. "But he really hurt you. Y-You were bleeding and-and-," I shush her gently.

"We're okay, now. He's not coming back. We're safe, baba," I tell her. She sniffs then nods before returning to her position.

"I wish Mummy was still alive."

———
"We've been sitting here for a while now. Are you ever gonna talk to me?" Mr. Endez, the counselor assigned to me, asks. I stare at him with a hard, but blank look.

"You have my file. Read it," I say. He nods thoughtfully, glancing at his desk for a second, "I've read it, but it's full of facts, not feelings."

I look down at my sweatpants, playing with its drawstring. "I'd much rather talk to you," he says. I shake my head slightly, "I don't wanna talk. I'm tired."

It wasn't a lie since I barely slept last night. Instead, I watched over Leigh in case she had another episode.

"Okay, how about we cut this session short and try again tomorrow afternoon? Sounds good?" I look up at him and nod shortly, "Yeah."

He gives me a somewhat forced smile and I get up to leave.

Once I closed the door behind me, I was met with a tight embrace. I hug my sister back, pulling away moments later. "Hungry?" She makes a face, indicating that she is, but not really.

"You need to eat something, baba. C'mon, let's eat," I take her hand and she whines, slipping out of my grasp. "Leigh-Anne," I say sternly.

"You have to eat, whether you like it or not. We're not gonna let what happened our first week here happen again."

She pouts a bit and hangs her head apologetically. I sigh, wrapping an arm around her, "It's okay, baba. But I need you to eat at least a little bit. Can you do that for me?" She lifts her head and nods.

I smile and playfully punch her in the cheek, "Let's go, kid."

After breakfast, we were made to go to the "classroom" for "school". I hated it, but Leigh loved it. She liked learning new things and figuring stuff out. I'm more of an athlete. Yeah, we're one of those twins.

Ms. Freida, the regulator as well as our teacher, stood in front of about 25 middle schoolers, years 6-8.

Back in the UK, this would be called 'secondary school' and have years 7-11. Though here, years 9-12 are called high school.

Another thing that confuses me is their grading scale. On one of the math tests, I received a 55 and Leigh congratulated me. The class laughed at us and one guy said that the scale in America is drastically different from the one in UK.

Then I was told that a 55 was actually an F instead of a B.

It's all pretty confusing and is still taking a lot of getting used to. Leigh understands it better than me.

I twirl my pencil in my hand while Ms. Frieda explains American history. The whole time, I'm either extremely confused or Leigh and I are collectively embarrassed.

Simply because each time she mentions Great Britain, everyone looks at Leigh and I. There are two other girls in here that are from the UK as well and one who has a Scottish accent.

Though, I'm not sure if it's real.

"Can anyone tell me what battle was the first military engagement that started the American Revolution?" The class goes silent and the older woman frowns, "Anyone?" Leigh glances at me and timidly raises her hand.

Ms. Freida scans the room, sees us and smiles. "Yes, Leigh-Anne?" She leans into my ear and tells me the answer.

"Lexington and Concord?" I asked more than say. The woman smiles, "Excellent. Can you tell me the final one?" Leigh whispers again.

"Siege of Yorktown."

"Start and finished dates?" Leigh looked troubled at that and I nod at her. "April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783," I answer.

"Very good, girls!" She praises, looking at the rest of the class and sucks her teeth. "How someone from a different country know more about your country's history than you do?"

"They're British! Of course they know!" A boy's voice calls out. I snap my head around and made direct eye contact with a boy in dark clothes, shoulder length black hair, and brown eyes.

"And what's that supposed to mean, mate?" I ask him with a glare. He raises an eyebrow at me, "You guys were our enemy for years. You were real mad when we won and broke free from your high priced tea and high taxes."

I raise both of my eyebrows, "Ironically, you guys are the ones with the high taxes now." The class oohs and a part of me wondered if they were aware that I shaded their entire country.

"Ok, enough Blake and Y/N," Ms. Freida says to us. He glares at me and turns to his side to one of his friends. I look over at Leigh, who looks worried. I pat her hand and shake my head, telling her not to worry.

My attention goes back to Ms. Freida as the thought that I've made a new enemy enters my mind.

———
*Kinda trash but yeah... I was inspired by my own story btw