Protecting Genie

Chapter 14

Genie's POV

Based off what I learned in my Introduction to Psychology course, there are five phases you go through when you grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. And I've completed 4 out of 5.

Denial was when Manny let it slip that I was going to die. There was no way to truly describe how I felt, but I'll give it a shot. It felt like no matter how much air I breathed, my lungs wouldn't fill. It felt like even though my heart was beating faster, there was no blood going or coming thought. Every limb was shaking uncontrollably, how Manny was able to pull me from my chair and make me walk was baffling.

I had tried to convince myself that what I heard was wrong. That my mind was playing an evil trick on me. But when I practically begged Manny to repeat himself, he didn't deny or change anything.

Anger was when I was sent back down without getting one answer. So badly, I wanted Sandy to send me back up. Not going to lie, if he had done it, I probably would have gone up to Manny and punch him right in the nose, but I wouldn't have stopped there. The anger was so fierce that my limbs didn't shake from denial anymore, they now shook with anger. There was a huge difference between the two; and it felt like everything in me was on fire. My teeth clenched so tightly that I'm sure a few must be chipped now. The rage was so strong; I didn't even notice four pair of hands on me, trying to hold me back from charging at Sandy. It didn't even faze me one bit, I wanted to go back, no matter what. But no matter how much I yelled and yelled and yelled, it was clear that Sandy was not going to honor my request.

Smart man.

I looked straight at Sandy, once again pleading. He could see the desperation in my eyes, No words needed to be said. He knew the pain I was feeling in my heart and the fear I felt creeping up in my stomach. He knew that I wasn't doing this to be mean, I didn't want to hurt him and I wasn't going to; I just needed an answer, an explanation, something. In response to my silent plea, he just looked down to the floor, a frown plastered on his face.

That's when the bargaining stage began. Once the Guardians were sure I wasn't going to charge at Sandy again, they all released me, taking a few steps back to be safe. Ironically, they now formed a circle, with me standing right in the middle.

Man in Moon, Please say you were wrong. Please say I won't die. I don't want to die. Is there a way we can prevent this? I'm too young.

"WHAT ABOUT JAIME AND SOPHIE?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs before collapsing onto my knees to the floor. My arms wrapped around myself and my head fell forward, letting my hair fall to cover my face.

And I let it all out. Thankfully my hair hid my face; I didn't want them to see my crying face. I must look so weak right now to them.

I don't know how long it was since I started crying, but I was beginning to hyperventilate so bad that I could feel my lungs demanding more air.

I was concentrating so hard on breathing that I didn't even hear a pair of footsteps coming towards me. It wasn't until I saw the shadow of a figure in front of me that I remembered where I was. I carefully pushed myself up from my knees into a standing position; my arms remained where they were. My head move up slightly, making bits of my hair fall away from my face; great, I'll be able to see where I'm walking now.

I didn't want to be in the middle of this circle anymore.

The fireplace wasn't that far away but it was still away from here; with my lingering strength, it would probably be the furthest I could get without falling over from muscle fatigue. Completely ignoring everybody, I started to walk forward. Someone called my name and someone else placed their hand on my shoulder to stop me. I don't want anybody comforting me at the moment, so I just pulled away from their touch.