Unbroken

Chapter 22: Cramps

A/N: As promised, here's another chapter! I've gotta be honest, I have no idea where this book is going, but please know I haven't abandoned it. :) 

Several mornings later, Ari slung her bag over her shoulder and gave me a look. Whatever the hell her problem was, I couldn't deal with it today. After grabbing my own bag, I pushed past her and hopped into the backseat of the car. Sleep had eluded me most the night and then my period had started. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed again with a heating pad and a bottle of ice water. And possibly a whole bottle of pain killer.

Soon, Dad and Ari got into the front and we were off. I tuned them out as they talked quietly, with Dad periodically stealing glances at me through his rearview mirror. When we got to school, Dad stopped me, waiting until Ari closed the door after getting out. "Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

I didn't really want to mention cramps, so just nodded and thanked him quietly for the ride. Thanks to severe cramping, I dropped by the nurse's office to give her my Tylenol. Since I didn't have any reason to stop at my locker, I headed straight for English class after that, not a bit surprised to find Kacen already there and saving me the seat in front of him with his backpack, which he moved as soon as he laid eyes on me.

As I sat down without a word and dropped my head to my desk, A hand brushed over my back, getting my attention. "Hm?"

"You o-okay?" he asked.

I nodded, trying to breathe through the cramps that pulsed in my hips. If the Tylenol didn't take affect by the end of class, I'd take another, even though it meant heading to the nurse.

As soon as the teacher began speaking, Kacen sat back in his seat, no longer touching me. I missed the contact.

By the end of class, I swore the Tylenol I'd taken before school hadn't diminished my pain at all. It hurt badly enough my hands shook. Before I could take off, though, a hand on my wrist stopped me, and I turned around. Kacen raised an eyebrow. "Wh-where you g-g-going?"

Swallowing hard, I pointed toward the front of the school.

"Office?" he asked, confusion coloring his voice.

My entire face felt hot as I shook my head. With a wince, I murmured, "See you later," and dashed toward the nurse's office, hoping I'd lost him in the crowd. It was stupid, but I couldn't bring myself to mention cramping. It was one thing for a guy to know periods happened in theory. I didn't really want him to know I was on mine right now.

He said my name loudly, but I didn't even turn around. I wanted to get there and to my next class before the bell rang.

As soon as I got to my destination, Mrs. Carlton looked up from her small desk, her dark hair in a bun. As soon as she realized it was me, she gave me a sympathetic smile. "Need some medicine."

My gaze darted around the room, thankful that all the cots were empty just now as I nodded. "Um, I already took a couple this morning..." I wasn't sure if she needed to know that, but it felt like she did.

"All right, let's try one more pill. Give it a bit to kick in. If you're still feeling this bad after your next class, you come back and I'll let you try resting on a cot for a bit. Sound good?"

With a nod, I took my water bottle from my bag and took the Tylenol. After thanking her, I made my way to Spanish, grimacing at the persistent pain and making nausea rear its head.

Tylenol did not help. At all. With a grimace, I curled into a ball on the cot, wanting nothing more than to sleep for the next several hours until the pain went away. Instead, I had roughly an hour. Although, I didn't really need to go to lunch, did I? In fact, did I need to go to any of my classes today?