Demonic

Chapter 39: 'The test'

There was no way I could eat lunch after this shit show. "Can't you?" Someone asked. I looked up and saw Quinn looking back at me. It felt hard to talk. "He can't." Jaxx answered for me. For the first time I was grateful he did so. "Why?" She asked. He sighed, taking one of the small knives from the tray and pulled it out of its body for me. "There princess." He said bitterly. "Keep telling yourself that." She snapped. Jaxx glared at her. "The only princess here is you." He insulted. "Can we just start taking notes?" I interrupted. "Fine..." My boyfriend grumbled. I would do what I asked everyone else to but I couldn't bring myself to look up at the crime scene. "Hayden honey?" Someone whispered. I looked at Jaxx. He was already looking at me concerned. "Do you want me to walk you to the counselor? You look really anxious." He said. I finally brought myself to agree.

I sat on a couch reading some of the cliche posters on the wall. 'BE YOURSELF', ' DON'T BE MEAN', 'TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED'. The door opened. "So what happened?" Mrs. Seawrite asked, taking a seat in a rocking chair across from me. "It all started in science..." I started. She took out a clipboard from a basket of books next to her, writing down something. "Continue." She dictated. "We had to do a frog dissection with a bunch of people." I continued. More writing. "Who did you end up with?" Mrs. Seawrite interrogated. "Quinn, Erebus, Jaxx-" I started. "Jaxx Morningstar?" She interrupted. I nodded. Her eyes widened as she took more notes. "So was he the one that took you here?" I nodded again. "Wow. Usually when I talk to people that have met Jaxx we're talking about the trauma he gave them." Mrs. Seawrite mentioned. "Oh..." I muttered. "Anyways." She said quickly. "What did you have to do?" She continued. "I couldn't do anything. I was too scared." I explained. "Interesting..." Mrs. Seawrite said to herself, writing something else down. "Have you ever heard of anxiety?" I nodded. "Has anyone diagnosed you with it?" I shook my head. I got handed a piece of paper. "Honestly answer all of those questions." She commanded. I got out a pencil, and began to answer.

Name: HAYDEN HAWKSLEY

Are you an over-thinker?

Always

Sometimes

Not at all

I put a check mark next to 'Always' reluctantly. What if I get diagnosed...? What if they call my mom...? Or Jaxx- No. I just need to answer these... I thought.

How often do you imagine the worst?

All the time

Sometimes

Not at all

As I read the question, I realized I just had. I chose 'All the time'.

Do you worry about your health?

Always

Sometimes

Not at all

I thought of Jaxx and chose 'always'. At least around people more powerful than me, which was almost everyone in this school.

Do you worry about your safety and well being?

Always

I didn't even have to read the rest of the options when I saw the first one.

Do you have trouble relaxing?

Yes

Depends

No

I chose 'depends', but scribbled it out as I adjusted myself on the couch. Maybe I did. I chose 'yes', just to play it safe.

Do you experience nightmares, sleep paralysis, or night terrors frequently?

Every/Almost every night

Sometimes

Never

I chose 'Every/Almost every night' without even having to think about it. I checked the back of the paper and didn't see any more questions. "I finished." She took my paper and intently checked it over. "Oh..." Mrs. Seawrite said weakly. "What?" I asked. "Well it looks like you uhm..." It felt like she was telling me what day I would die as the room went silent. "From what you answered it looks like you have anxiety." She explained. The room went silent. I really didn't know how to respond to such big news.