Maya (Book #3)

Chapter 30

Before he could finish his statement, the door flew open, and the rest of my family ran inside.

"MAYA!" Caleb shouted, leaping on the bed from way too far away. He clung on to the sheets like a cat as he slipped, before climbing up and throwing his arms around me. My head bobbled uncomfortably with all the movement, and I had to grit my teeth from crying out in pain at the noise. My head was already pounding and my ears ringing. I smiled at him, trying to hide the hurt. 

"Are you okay?" he demanded way too close to my ear. I tried not to flinch away from the noise, but Brooks seemed to sense my discomfort regardless.

 "Give her space, moron!" Brooklyn said, pulling him off me and setting him beside the bed. He leaned forward and gingerly wrapped an arm around me, whispering "You okay, My?"

I nodded and gave him a smile that I hoped was believable. In reality, my stomach was twisting into knots as I tried to avoid shouting the truth at them, and my head really did hurt. Charlotte waved to me as she sat down in the chair in the corner of the room, preparing me food to eat like I was incapable of unwrapping a sandwich by myself.

Then Dominic stepped out from the back of the room, with an expression that would've looked unreadable to anyone besides me.

His back was stretched to achieve his tallest stature, making his shoulders and arms look even bigger than they really were. He stood comfortably, with a leg out to the side and his hands in his back pockets. His mouth was the small line it typically remained in, but his eyes were blinking far too often to keep fear from entering. He was scared. When he saw me reading him, he broke into a grin.

"Stop it," he said, jokingly. Caleb and Brooks looked confused, while Damon still looked at the ground remorsefully.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked Dominic, wishing I could hide my head like a turtle. When I risked a look, he seemed to be confused. 

"Why would I be mad at you?" he asked, taking a seat on my bed, and moving it like we were at sea. I nearly fell onto him, bending to the new angle of the mattress.

"Because-" I stopped where I was, almostadmitting the truth. "I passed out and it probably scared you." I avoided thetruth like it would kill me. It just might.

"I'm not mad at you for having a panic attack, crazy." He said, thumping me on the forehead.

"Are you?" I asked Caleb and Brooks. They shook their heads with small smiles.

"Okay, because I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to," I told them, with an embarrassed frown on my face. I meant these words more than they knew.

"Of course you didn't," Dominic scoffed. "But if you feel guilty, I have a way you can make it up to us." He smiled as I jumped up in my seat, willing to do anything.

"We're going home today and we're going to be overprotective. I want one of us watching you at all times to see if your symptoms worsen, and you need to be honest." He gave me a stern look, and added, "You need to tell us if you need help. Can you do that?"

I scrunched my nose up in disgust and finally shrugged.

"I can try," I begrudgingly promised.