Dolonia

Daniella Benton 10: A Price

Everything that happens after my spat with Sebastian is a sluggish blur. My mind is too busy somewhere else to focus in on my surroundings.

Apparently I end up walking with Sam to Fordham University in the Bronx. I believe she told me where we were going, but I must have forgotten. I haven't been able to keep up with what Sam is telling me. My mind is calibrating everything much slower than it should be.

We arrive on the campus, and I can't try to focus on the words coming out of Sam's mouth anymore. The scenery simply won't let me. I'm struck by how stunning it is. The cathedral like architecture is breathtaking. If it wasn't for the college students walking around here and there, it could pass for a castle.

The longer I look at it, the more it begins to really take the shape of a medieval castle in my mind. I don't know what I was expecting Fordham to look like, but this definitely wasn't what I was picturing.

"C'mon, Daniella, don't just stand there," Sam says with a light chuckle before pulling me to walk beside her.

I hadn't even realized that I had stopped walking to take in the main building. I join in step next to her with a chuckle. "Sorry, it's just so big."

"Yeah, not all colleges here are condensed to a street corner." She says playfully.

I must have made a disappointed face at her comment because she rephrases, "Not all are cute and quaint, and modern. Some have to be old and extra." She says with jazz hands and a disgusted face, making me smile. "Now, come on."

She intertwines her arm with mine, like we did as kids, and pulls me along with her into the building. She shows me around a few of the halls, explaining which subjects were taught in the classrooms we were passing. She also starts explaining the different kinds of people taking certain elective courses.

As she keeps talking and explaining, my head starts pounding. I haven't realized how long of a day I've had until now. I woke up with a sleeping Sebastian still in my bed, I escaped my house before my father came home, I ran into Sam, I went to Sebastian's apartment, I met Jackson (the nicest and yet singlehandedly the most intimidating man I've ever met), then I had some strange interaction with Sebastian, I made dinner plans with David, I had an argument with Sebastian, I made Sebastian hate me, and I ran into Sam again. I sigh as Sam starts down another hallway.

"This is where I go in the mornings usually just... what's wrong?" She asks.

"Huh?" I ask, slightly startled. She hasn't asked me anything since we got here. "Oh, nothing's wrong."

She shakes her head and points a finger at me. "Daniella, I have known you since we were little. I can always tell when you're lying. Don't ever forget that," she says while starring daggers at me. "Now something is wrong and you better tell me. I would hate to pry it out of you," she smiles.

I sigh lightly but grin at her statement. "I- uh- I've never had an argument with Sebastian before." I mentally groan.

That's not what I had planned on saying. That's not what I was going to say at all. I was going to say I was tired; that I had a long day, and leave it at that because I have. I hate how being around Sam causes my mental filter to clog up.

She widens her black-lined eyes slightly before adjusting them. "That? An argument?" She chuckles lightly then composes herself. "That wasn't an argument. That was you going off. Good for you by the way. About time you go off on people. You should do it more often."

I start to feel my heart rate accelerate. I want out of this building, I want away from Sam, I want things with Sebastian to be normal, and I want to feel like I can relax. I want to feel safe again.