Faith and The Vampire ✔️

Chapter Sixteen

Later on that week, I walked around the Institute like a ghost. People watched and occasionally spoke to me, but few made much more effort than that. It seemed to me like they followed Aisha's lead, imitating her silence. No one was openly mean to me. Still, I heard "whore" whispered here and there when someone thought I wasn't listening.

Andrei would have welcomed me to his lunch table, but some of his friends might not have been so nice. I didn't want to be the cause of any fights between him and them. So I chose Gina and Carly instead. Although I wasn't really into their conversation, but they were really nice—nicer than most people here—and I enjoyed hanging around my classmates.

On Thursday, I returned to the students' dorm after finishing classes since there's no language course for to day. I thought having a day off would be fun, instead I secretly wished I had a language course to attend. I was planning to pray, do some of the worksheet Mr.Amar had given me the other day, then off to work at 8 p.m.

The thought of going to work suddenly reminded me of Aisha. It was true that I'd been sneaking in and out of dorm all the time. No wonder she accused me of doing something suspicious. She was not even came close to guessing the truth, though. But she had the right to guess.

The thought stayed with me through the long walk back across the grounds to the dorm By the time I climbed the stairs to my room, my stomach was in knots. I sat down abruptly, staring out at the grounds. I shook my head, forcing myself to keep going. I stopped in the dorm's kitchen to grab a slice of wheat bread.

I was about to open my room's door when I heard a soft sound, like a sob, came from within.

I hesitated for a moment. "Aisha?" I said, hoping I sounded calm and strong. I knocked softly

I heard a sniffle, and a few moments later, the door unlatched. I pushed the door open. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Aisha stood before me...

...with hands covered in blood.

She sank to the floor, and I followed, kneeling before her. Horrified, I squelched a scream and almost called for help. She shook her head, grabbing my hand. She was preventing me to call for help. I saw her face crumple as more tears spilled from her eyes. I took her hands.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. "What happened?"

Looking more closely, I studied her hands. I stopped. She was bleeding after all. Perfect lines crossed her wrists, not near any crucial veins, but enough to leave wet, red tracks across her skin. She hadn't hit her veins when she did this; death hadn't been her goal. She met my eyes. Sickened, yet unable to break away truly, I looked around and found the tiny razor blade she used. Drops of blood splattered onto the floor.

I had a feeling she was going to pass out. Panic all over me, I needed to get help. The Institute's medical clinic was nearby. It was normally staffed by a couple of doctors. But I didn't think it was a good idea to take her there, since we knew that the clinic staff would report who got in and out from the clinic and why. I had to go to the hospital instead. I dug my pocket, take out my phone then hesitated for a while. If I called an ambulance, it would draw too many attention. I hated carrying this secret, mostly because I didn't know what to do about it. I didn't like feeling powerless. I needed to protect her from this—and from herself. Online taxi would be a great idea. I ordered the online taxi. I took out random cardigan I could find in our wardrobe and quickly helped her pulling it on so no one would see her bleeding.

When she didn't move, I linked my arm through hers. "Come on, Aisha. Let's get you out of here."

Slowly, she put one foot in front of the other and let me lead her out of room. The hallway seemed pretty quiet, so we're safe from now. Stupid app, why there's no driver available when we needed them. I checked the time on my phone. Oh no. Busy time.