Alek

Chapter 28: Mae Kazimi

Chapter 28: Mae Kazimi

I don't know how long I stare at the small dots on my bedroom ceiling. I don't know how much time has passed since Alek left. And I don't know when I'll be okay again.

My mind is empty and there is not a single thought running through my head. It's as if my kidnappers managed to not only steal my sanity but my thoughts as well.

It's so horribly quiet in my room that I can hear the slightest sounds and even the smallest flaps of the curtain makes me freeze. So when I hear silent footsteps approach my bedroom door, my eyes snap to the lamp on my bedside and my entire body tenses.

Avery walks through the door.

"Mae," she breathes, eyes widening in horror. "Mae, my god. Mae!"

"Avery," I swallow. I don't want her to be here. I don't want her to see me like this. I don't want her to see the pain. "What are you-"

She grabs my face with both her hands, eyes meeting mine, "You- when...when I saw you....you looked dead. Mae, you promised you'd be okay, you promised you wouldn't-"

Avery has never been like this. She's never the one to show emotions nor is she the first to say that she cares. She hides like I do and seeing her like this jolts me awake and I straighten my back on the bed and pull her down beside me until she lays on the bed by my side.

"I'm okay," I shoot her a tight grin. "They didn't get anything out of me."

Avery sits up, biting her lip, her blue eyes glistening, "You promised to be careful. You promised you'd be okay-"

"I am okay," I breathe, poking her shoulder. "Stop fussing, I'll be on my feet in less than a week."

"Your wounds will take months to heal," Avery argues, eyes hard. "I don't care what Alek's father says, you need more than a month to heal."

"Avery-"

"I'll speak to him. I'll help him until you get better and when you do, me, Rashid and Kai are going to help. You can't keep pushing us away!"

"A month? Avery, two weeks is max-"

Avery rubs her eyes aggressively, "I hate you, I hate you. You and your stupid 'I'm a bad bitch and nothing can hurt me' mentality. You're human, Mae! You're not some super magical wizard with superpowers! This is real life!"

I say nothing because I've already learned that arguing with Avery is no use. She always wins in the end.

"One month," she says, getting off the bed and pulling at the ends of her blue sweater. "You're not leaving this house for a month."

Before she can make it out the door, I'm greeted with Kai and Rashid, rushing into the room, shoving Avery back towards the window.

"Mae, you idiot," snaps Kai, collapsing into the chair on my left. "You were half dead when we found you!"

"Shut up Kai," Rashid mutters, pushing his glasses higher onto his nose. "Stop yelling, she's wounded."

Kai ignores Rashid, "I told you. We told you. We said we would help you and yet you went on and tried doing everything yourself-"

"Look, I already got a mouthful from Avery-" I start but Kai isn't hearing any of it.

He's shaking his head and rubbing his face. And for the first time in days, I get a better look at the three of them and I can see their tense bodies and dark bags under their eyes. They are right. They've been right this entire time. I've been trying to do everything myself, hoping I'd manage to somehow pull it off but I've been running on luck.