𝐚𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐚 [𝟏𝟖+]

Chapter 10

𝐃𝐚𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐚 remembers to drive her car out of the Calloway parking lot, and she drives home in doing so. She can't shake the memory of Oliver being beat up from her mind. The way he laid there, blood all over him, and the way the Demon looked at her after doing so, as if it was her fault. She frowns and shakes her head, trying to take the thoughts out of her brain as she arrives to her campus. As always, she ignores Irene as she ventures into the hallways, but this time, Irene grabs her arm and pulls her into a classroom.

"Hey, let go of me!" Dahlia fights against her, but Irene keeps her pressed into the wall. "No, Lia. Let me talk!" Irene exclaims, furrowing her thin eyebrows. Dahlia gives up, with a prolonged sigh, as she gestures to Irene to explain herself. Irene takes a deep breath, and sits on top of one of the tables. "You know, I've always been jealous of you." Irene says, after what seems like a lifetime of silence. Dahlia looks at her, puzzled. "Jealous? Of me? Irene, you're perfect." Dahlia argues, anger increasing. Irene shakes her head and laughs bitterly, "No, trust me, I'm not. You seem like you have everything figured out. Everything always goes so well for you.", Irene takes a breath and continues, "You got the internship, you got the boyfriend, you got the good grades, you have everything I've ever wanted." she admits, and Dahlia looks at her dumbfounded.

"Are you-" Dahlia starts, but Irene cuts her off, "Before you call me pretty, I don't care. I don't care about being attractive or popular, the only thing I have ever wanted was to be successful. To make something of myself. No one takes me seriously." she says, and Dahlia scoffs "I took you seriously. I cared about you, and you hurt me." She argues, and Irene looks at her, the slightest bit of guilt clouds her face. "I know, okay?! I know what I did was stupid, I don't even like Finn, I just wanted to be like you!" Irene yells, covering her face with her hands, and the brunette shakes her head.

"You are fucking crazy, Irene. Never talk to me again." Dahlia says blankly, walking out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Irene stays behind and cries into her hands, punching her fist against the wall angrily. Dahlia wipes away the tears clouding her vision as she storms back to her dorm. Making her way down the halls, she gets stopped by Mr. Simmons. "Dahlia, what's wrong?" He asks, concern on his face. She ignores him and pushes past, dedicated to make it to the comfort of her quiet, quaint room. Her nerves already begin to decrease as she imagines the warm memory-foam mattress awaiting her.

When she arrives, she instantly jumps into her bed and groans into the soft pillow, while enveloping herself in the warmth of her weighted blanket. Days like this, she'd only desire rotting away in her cocoon of a bed while feasting on all sorts of miscellaneous snacks she'd find around her mini-fridge. With the seasons changing, the rustling of the trees outside her window combined with the familiar comfort of her bed had successfully managed to completely soothe her anger. She hums in tranquility, before a distorted ringing sound begins emerging from the broken phone laying atop her wooden dresser manages to pique her curiosity. 

As she grabs the phone, she slaps it a couple times trying to get it to turn on. After her attempts are proved futile, she sticks her phone beneath an old sweater in her closet to drown out the incessant ringing. Sighing in content once more, she jumps back in bed and rewards herself with much-needed nap. Upon trying to do so, the phone begins to ring louder and louder, in an almost defeaning pitch. She groans and gets up once more, inspecting the phone in her closet. No matter how hard she tries, it won't stop ringing and the pitch black screen won't illuminate like it once did. Giving in to her frustrations, she opens her window and throws it out. To her surprise, her throw had much more power than she'd imagined as the phone ends up on the other side of the drive-way. Inhaling, and exhaling, she tries to nap again.

After about an hour of peaceful sleeping and occasional tossing and turning, she wakes up to a knock on the door. Lazily picking herself up, she opens the door and sees a package layed out in front of it. A mysterious, small, cardboard box labeled 'Do open'. She assumes it must be a prank played by one of the students, or even by Irene, but nontheless she takes the box into her dorm and begins to unpackage it on her bed. A gasp parts from her lips the box contains a phone. Not just any phone, the phone she'd thought she'd thrown away hours ago. This time, the phone is in perfect condition. No scratches, no cracks, and it turns on. The screen lights up, and the sudden bright light slightly blinds her for a couple of seconds. As she further investigates, a green text message appears on her notifications. The text reads, "Did you miss me?".