Page 59 of Stuck Behind Her

The blood pierces through me, my eyes glued on the red substance. My heart speeds up rapidly, and everything around me blurs. All I can see is the red liquid splattered on the lockers. My chest tightens, and I’m suddenly breathing heavily.

My hands feel cold, and all I can feel is the thick texture of blood lining them. Panic sparks inside me. I have to stop. Stop looking at it, but I can’t move. My body is suddenly so still. Pain increases in my body, and my lungs’ pressure increases. I feel the blood start to drip down my arms. It’s not real. It’s fake. It’s just my mind tricking me.

I attempt to avert my eyes again, but am unable to. The silence rings in my ears, and I hear a voice. “Violet,” they call, their voice rasping. The color darkens, dripping down the lockers in a dark crimson tint.

“Violet!” Another shout, but the voice is suddenly familiar. Elias, I realize. It’s just Elias. A hand closes on mine, sending a warm call back to reality. I finally drop my eyes, looking down as the air enters and exits my lungs slowly. “Violet?” he calls again, but I’m unable to speak.

The cold liquid still marks my skin. He tugs on my arm, and I turn around, looking at him. His dark brown eyes bore into mine, a spark inside them. Breathe. Slowly. Slowly. “Violet, are you okay?” he asks, his hand holding mine. Breathe.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” I utter, realizing how weak my voice is. I look down, my eyesight blurring by the minute. Breathe. My legs feel numb, spreading to the rest of my body.

B r e a t h e.

“Are you sure?” I hear him ask, his voice unclear and muffled. I grip his arm tightly, shutting my eyes in an attempt to gain my sight back. I open them again only for everything to blur even more. My chest feels like it’s being squeezed, and all the airis blocked from entering and exiting. I steady myself, although I don’t feel like I’m falling. I don’t feel like I’m standing, either. I’m just floating in the middle of nowhere, nothing but his hand to hold. To support me with his warmth. My whole body aches, and my hands are all soaked in red. It’s not real.

I t sn o tr e a l.

B r e a t h e.

“Yes, I just . . .” I mutter, but my voice is gone. I’m nowhere, all alone covered in crimson, with only the pain of my body. The pressure in my chest.

I can’t b r e a t h e. E v er y t h i n gturns

t o

b l a c k . . .

Chapter 34 – Cinquantuno

Elias

“Violet!” I shout, dropping down to hold her before she falls to the ground. Her head falls into my arms, and she goes completely still. Her eyes close shut, her body as cold as ice. I bring my fingers to her face, stroking it as if it’ll help her gain consciousness.

“Violet. Violet, wake up.” I panic, realizing how meaningless my words are. My heart beats rapidly in my chest, my eyes wide. I hold her hand tightly, the same hand she tried steadying herself with. All these thoughts go through my head as I wonder what to do. What happened? She just froze. Paralyzed.

My mind is blank from all thoughts. All I can think about right now is her. Help. I need to get help. With no idea what else to do, I wrap my right arm around her knees and pull myself up onto my feet, lifting her with me. My left hand lifts her head, the strands of her hair looping around my fingers. I run, no other idea what else to do, and pick up speed. My heart rate does the same, thudding inside my chest. I don’t know what I’m doing. Is she okay? What happened back there? I need to get to the nurse. She’ll know how to help her. They can help her. They have to. She has to be okay.

The room comes to sight, and I rush to the door. The nurse immediately opens it, her eyes shifting up and down between us. “She fainted,” I explain in a rush, coughing out the words. “I don’t know what happened, I don’t know if she’s alright or not. I need your help.”

“Calm down, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Come in,” she assures me, opening the door to let me in. Her words do nothing to calm the nerves in my body. The room is almost empty, with a small bed in the corner. “There.” The nurse points to the bed, and I place Violet gently on it. She freezes again when she leaves my arms, completely still. She’s so pale. I inhale a sharp breath, keeping hold of her hand. My fingers intertwine with hers, warming up her ice-cold skin.

The nurse comes to check her, making sure she’s still breathing. She’s still breathing, right? I caught her before she fell, so she can’t have a concussion.She’s going to be fine, I tell myself. She has to.Please let her be fine.

The nurse backs up, turning to me. “I’m going to need you to leave the room, please, until we’re done with all the tests to see what’s wrong,” she tells me. My hand grips Violet’s tighter, and I look at her again. I take my other hand and wrap it around hers as well, my chest constricting. “Is she alright? Is she going to be okay?” I ask, keeping my eyes on her.

“Yes, she’ll be fine. We still need to identify the problem, so I need you to go,” she repeats. I rest her hand on the bed, slowly letting it go. She’s going to be fine. I take a deep breath, walking backward just to keep my eyes on her. I leave the room, closing the door behind me, then release a stressed breath.

The cold of her body still marks my fingers, but the warmth of her presence so close to me lingers around my body. I can still smell the scent of her hair, sweet coconut, as if she’s still here. Still in my arms. The look on her face, the paleness of her skin haunts my thoughts. How long will she be unconscious? Will shebe okay? The nurse said she will, but the thought of her not being okay holds my body hostage.

I don’t go to class, or to find anyone. I sit down in front of the room, staring at the dark wooden door in front of me like it’ll make it open faster. Like the nurse will come out and suddenly tell me she’s okay. That she’s awake and all good. But nothing happens. I sit in front of the door, unable to do anything else but wait. Wait for her.

My mind questions again and again what happened. No one hit her. No one was close enough to even reach her. She didn’t look injured. She looked fine earlier this morning. Then what was it? What made her lose consciousness? I replay the scene again and again. Something was wrong from the second we got to the fight scene. She looked worried. Panicky. Unwell.

All my thoughts are overtaken by her. By Violet. I shouldn’t have left the room; I should’ve asked to stay inside. Demanded to.Violet. The name repeats in my head, and I realize that all of this is about her. About her being hurt. The sudden distance I felt from her when I left the room. For the last couple of minutes, my mind has been reeling over her being hurt. My heartbeat is fast. It’s all about her. And in that one moment, sitting in front of the nurse’s office door, waiting for some kind of good news, I realize that Violet is more than just a person to me. At that moment, I realize that maybe, just maybe, I like Violet more than just a friend.

Chapter 35 – Cinquanta

Val

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