Labyrinth Under A Willow Tree (Book 1)

Chapter 3: Pour Out Your Heart

"You and I are one. We are different yet the same. We are a team. Whatever life throws at us, you'll help me and I'll help you. It'll always be me and you."

-Lucas Johnson, Amidst the Rain

Sky's POV

"Hey, are you okay?" I offer my hand to Daylee.
"No. I feel suffocated. I can't-" she gasps for air- "breathe."
"I'm here, Daylee. I'm here. Try to calm down." I pat her back gently.
She grips my hand tight. "Sky, I can't. I can't go through that again. I don't want to do that ever again." She breathes in deeply, her eyes welling with tears.

I could only nod. No promises, because I was 100 percent sure that it would happen again.

"Rina! I need you here! Where are her calming pills?!" I turn to Yurina, who is now searching Daylee's medicine pouch.

Daylee loses consciousness in my arms. "Daylee! Daylee! Please wake up!" I tap her face carefully while supporting her body.

"I'll bring her bag. Just take her to the nurse's office," Maureen exclaims, following me from behind.

I carry her in a bridal style and head there. 'I'm sorry, Daylee. I'm sorry.' Biting my lips as I rushed through several classrooms.

I talk to the nurse and tell her the situation, still carrying Daylee in my arms. She leads me to a cubicle and I put Daylee on the bed, shutting the white curtains. The nurse told me that she just needs to rest and sleep for a few hours to regain strength and that her fainting was most likely caused by extreme stress. Maureen brings Daylee's bag and starts fanning her. She also takes out her water bottle and some vitamins. She sits on a chair beside her bed.

I cover Daylee with a blanket, removing couple strands of hair on her face. "Maureen, any idea why she fainted other than stress?" I fix my vision on Daylee, scanning her face. 'She looks tense. Is she having a nightmare?'

Maureen opens her mouth but stops midway. "Hah. I think it's better if you hear it from her. It's a touchy subject."

"I hope she'd tell me without thinking I would judge her." Daylee's face is pale and crumpled. I put a hand on her forehead to check if she has a fever or something. She flinched for a bit, her eyes slowly fluttering open.

"Hi. How long was I out?" She asks me with a weak voice. I smile at her and breathed a sigh of relief. I move my hand to hold hers.

"Are you okay? You were unconscious for 3 hours. I'm sorry I couldn't help you earlier." I close my eyes shut, feeling guilty.

She sat up and stretched her arms gently. "It's okay. It's not your fault." She tries to grip my hand, but it was weak and light.

Focusing on her beautiful, shiny, coffee-brown eyes, I pop the question. "What happened back there, Daylee? You fainted...and I'm worried." I sit up straight and prepare myself to hear her response. I remove my hand from hers and start tapping my fingers on my thigh.

She looks at Maureen before drawing in a deep breath. "It's okay. It's time for him to know, Dayles." Maureen holds Daylee's shoulder, nodding at her.

Daylee was about to open her mouth but...

"Wait! Stopp! Let us hear this! We also deserve an acceptable reason!" Dave exclaimed in his elegant accent and the gang entered the cubicle with messy, face and hair, heavily sweating while obnoxiously quoting the iconic line of Piolo Pascual from a famous movie.

"Daylee, sorry about these rascals. Carry on." Yurina replied, still catching her breath. Zach and the others sat beside Daylee's bed.

She stared at us one by one before proceeding to tell us her story. "Well, um... first off, you may not know this since I haven't told you guys yet, but I was being bullied in elementary school. I had a few friends, but none of them were totally honest nor sincere with me. That is until Maureen came along." She turned to Mau and gave her an appreciative smile.