Let Me Go

-Chapter Twenty - Elora -

I couldn't open my eyes.

I felt something cold and hard against my face, my cheek pressed firmly against it. My entire left side was cold, almost numb.. heavy. It took me a moment to realise where I was; the floor. I could feel a vibration in my pocket, it must have been my phone, the sensation must have woken me up.

My head pounded, I could hear my heartbeat slowly beating as I lay there. I moved a hand to my forehead, before realising where the pain was starting.. my neck. My hand moved to it, hoping that the pain would stop once I felt it, but it seemed to get worse.

My fingers felt wet, I could hear a squelching noise as I put them to my skin, before a sharp pain made its way through my body. I pulled my hand back, looking at my fingers. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, the room wasn't very well lit. How long had I been here? We'd arrived back at the school around lunchtime, had I really been here until night?

My vision was blurry, I could see something on my fingers, but no matter how hard I looked it didn't clear up. I moved my hand to my forehead again, the pounding only getting worse, my now wet fingers rubbing against my face.

I rolled slowly, landing on my back. My hip bone stinging as I rolled, I must have been in that position for a long time, it felt like it had locked in place. I let out a small groan, bringing my knees up slightly and holding my head with both hands.

It hurt to breathe, my neck was throbbing and my ribs felt almost bruised. I tried to take a deep breath, remember my surroundings.

I looked to my left to see a big window, the light from the moon shining through, casting shadows within the room. My eye lids felt heavy, but my vision was slowly returning. I could see a figure standing a few meters away, looking out of the window.

Then I rememebered who had been here. The man from the forest. My mother.

I sat up straight, regretting it as soon as I had, my head getting dizzy and causing me to fall back to the floor, back onto my left side. Pain shot through my hip and into my chest as I landed, I let out a small cry before trying to once again sit up.

"Mom!" I tried to yell, but my voice came out muffled and croaky.

She turned from the window to look at me, but she didn't move. Instead she stood still, her arms straight beside her.

"Baby, you're awake." she replied, standing still. There was no emotion in her voice, almost like it wasn't her talking.

Another figure came out from behind me, walking up to her before stopping infront of her.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" I shouted, again it was muffled. My throat stinging as I tried to shout, my hand once again going to the pain but making it worse once I touched it. Why was it wet?

"Language, Elora." my mother replied, again with that freaking emotionless voice.

I couldn't hear what he said, but my mother nodded for a few seconds, before walking around him and crouching down beside me.

"You have fun with your friend, I'll see you when you get home" she spoke, again nothing showing on her face. Her eyes didn't move, just her lips, like she wasn't really seeing.

"Mom, we need to get out of here" I said, trying to be as quiet as possible and doing my best to sit back up but it was no use, my joints were all on fire. She didn't listen, instead she moved her hands to my body and for a moment I thought she was going to try and help me stand but instead she felt like she was trying to feel for something. My phone buzzed again, and she moved her hands straight for it in my pocket before reaching in and pulling it out. She didn't look at the screen, instead she stood up and gave me a small smile.