"Wait, wait," I said to Seb.
He stopped pushing the wheelchair and glanced down toward me. "What is it?"
"I need to fix my hair," I said desperately.
"Now?"
"Yes."
He exhaled, knowing far better than to debate me on something like this. It was a hang-up of mine. In fact, ever since I was allowed to wear makeup, I refused to face the world without it. Makeup was like a safety blanket; a mask that allowed me to hide my true face from the world. Seb was one of the rare people who ever saw me bare-faced, and that was only because he sometimes—unbeknown to my parents—slept over.
Ever so reluctantly, Seb took me into the girl's bathroom, where there was a full-length mirror along the side wall, and I promptly combed my fingers through my hair.
"You're in hospital, Gem." Seb sighed. "No one will care what you look like."
I ignored him as I fixed myself up in the mirror. My room didn't have one, so this was the first time I had faced my own reflection since my attempted suicide. I looked the same, for the most part—big, green eyes, average build, some light freckles that kissed randomly over my pale skin, mainly on the top of my shoulders, and dark hair that was now overgrown.
I tried my best to fix it, but this task was impossible without my hairbrush, so I pulled it back into a messy bun.
I frowned at the image staring back at me.
Seb exhaled impatiently. "C'mon," he said. "You're not a supermodel, you're a patient."
"Shush," was all I replied.
Other than the hair tie around my wrist, I also always carried lip gloss on me. I quickly smeared it over my lips and rubbed them together before I faced Seb.
"Very beautiful," he said.
I felt like he was more saying that to get me out of the bathroom, but it worked anyway. My hunger and need to escape that hospital room won.
When we reached the cafeteria, it was around lunchtime, which meant that there were dozens of people waiting in line. Alistair and Seb looked at me with a hard expression, which spoke volumes. It said, had I not made the pit stop to pretty myself up, we probably would have beat the line.
I used the time we waited to decide what I wanted to eat. This wasn't easy considering all the choices there were here. Noodles, fried chicken, chips, soup, sandwiches...the list went on and on. There were too many options.
When we finally reached the counter to order, I panicked. Seb and Alistair got coffees and doughnuts and I just stood there like a deer in headlights.
"Uh, um..." I stammered.
There was still a long line behind us and people were growing impatient as they sighed.
Seb leered back at the line before he glanced at me. "Gem, what do you want?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know...it all looks good. I can't choose."
With that said, he ordered for me—a slice of chocolate cake, a large mocha latté and a chicken wrap from the deli. I thanked him with a smile as he paid. This happened a lot. Both him ordering my meals for me and paying.
With our trays of food in hand, we found a spot outside, which I appreciated. I wasn't normally a big fan of getting more sun than absolutely necessary, but it was surprising what seven months in a coma will do to you.
The sun felt warm and relaxing on my skin. I took a moment to sink into my chair and close my eyes, breathing in the fresh air. The outside eating area was nicely set, too. There were long rows of giant, green plants that were bedded under a colourful wall filled with bright, elaborate paintings of animals native to Australia.
"So," Seb's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Has your precious Brett showed up yet?"
"No, not yet," I said, "but it's the first day I can have visitors. Besides, Fran doesn't even know that we're dating so I highly doubt that she would have contacted him, or any friends that she didn't approve of."
"Just dump the guy already..." Seb murmured.
"Sebastian," I replied. "Brett and I have lasted over nine months, so I highly doubt we are going to break up."
"Firstly, don't call me by my birth name." He glared. "Secondly, you were in a coma for seven of those months."
I rolled my eyes.
Coma or not, we did technically last through it. So, I decided to ignore his opinions and eat my chicken wrap.
It was then that Sebastian and Alistair both shared a knowingly stare, like they had a secret. They did this a lot, but this time was different. They exchanged odd facial expressions, as though they were discreetly communicating, or maybe even silently bickering. It was almost like Alistair, the school gossip, wanted to tell me something and Seb had told him not to.
I forcefully swallowed the bit of chicken I had been chewing. "What is it?" I asked, my gaze darting back and forth between them.
"I'm not sure Brett—"
I felt Seb kick Alistair underneath the table.
I turned my attention toward Sebastian and leered. I wasn't in the mood for him to protect my feelings. I had heard a lot of bad news lately. Whatever they were hiding, I was certain it wouldn't surprise me.
Seb met my gaze with a defeated sigh. "I guess you're going to find out eventually," he said. "And it's better you hear it from us, people who love you."
"Okay?" I stared anxiously. "What is it?"
Seb still seemed hesitant, like he didn't want to tell me. "While you were in a coma......someone saw Brett......with another girl."
I stared at him, almost in disbelief. It was like I was expecting him to say 'just kidding' or something. Brett wouldn't do that. We were close. Really close. We had a special connection. I'd shared things with him that I hadn't shared with anyone. Hell, we'd almost had sex one time.
When no one spoke, I asked, "Who's the girl?"
"Bethany," Seb replied.
My face fell. "Bethany?!" I repeated. "Like my best friend of several years Bethany?"
"I thought that I was your best friend," he said quickly. "But yeah, her."
Yet again, I expected Seb to say he was joking, and just pulling some kind of cruel prank on me. But he didn't. Instead, he and Alistair just stared at me with concerned expressions, like I was an extremely fragile crazy person or something.
I wasn't.
YOU ARE READING
Suicidal Dreams
Fantasy𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 #1 𝙎𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 •'¯'•» After failing to commit suicide, Gemma Rosewell finds herself suspicious over the strange details surrounding her clearly fatal fall. Unsure of how she survived, especially with people deeming it 'so...