Beauty of Pain

Chapter 13 - Hold me

"-Hey! Have you gone fucking deaf?!"

I heard the female voice ring through the thick, dark fog forming in my head. Even as she pulled at my shoulder to face her, the only thing I could comprehend was that it was Chloe with three more figures in the background.

And she was pissed.

The ringing in my ears didn't go away, but they were pushed away as I stumbled back with Chloe pushing me back against the wall.

"You dumb or just pretending so that I won't slap the fuck outta you just because you look pathetic."

It was clouded, but I was able to make out what she was saying with some effort.

"What do you want?" was all I could ask, annoyance coating my voice as I tried to shake off the fog in my brain.

I cannot deal with you and your bullshit, girl. Not now.

I heard she tsk-ed when the next thing I knew was my arm being grabbed in a tight grasp as Chloe pushed me deeper into the restroom, for the furthest stall—the shower room.

I managed to pull away from the painfully hard grip but was too late as I threw myself back when she loosened the grip and well right on to the tiled floor of the stall. It was recently used, I guessed, given how wet it was.

Disgusting...

My fingers started shaking, my body feeling tremors all over, painful needles pricking the palms that were planted flat across the floor, catching my fall. Not because of the twisted ankle, the anger I felt, nor the slight fear I felt, but because of the sickening touch a few seconds ago and the unpleasant stench of the surroundings, which I know my brain exaggerated as I comprehended where I was.

Kill her!

Kill them!

Shut up!

Fuck! It Hurts!

Kill!

Hurt them too!

Do it!

NO!

"-ngh!" I bit my tongue so hard that I felt the ironic taste in seconds as I didn't move and closed my eyes tight, ready for anything to come.

Anything?

Anything! I want to hurt them back! B-But I can't! Can't get in trouble... Parents... no... disappointment... no fights...

Splash

"Here's something to wake you up from the sleep walking-"

SLAM

"ArGh!"

The slight stream of water she shoved at me was cut off as the shower head dropped to the ground in front of me.

It took time, but I slowly looked up only to see an awfully familiar figure in front of me, Chloe on the ground somewhere outside the stall, and her friends just standing there, in shock.

The water caught in my lashes and the tears made it harder to read, but I knew for a fact that it was her.

"A-Arya?"

"Fuck!"

I heard her light curing as she crouched down to me, her fingers reaching out to my face, making me flinch.

And if I am not wrong, she did back away slightly before saying, "Stay still, just for a minute... please."

I don't know if it was the tone, the words, the 'please' or how stunned I was hearing that word come out of her for me that made me do so.

However, when I felt her fingertips lightly brushing away the hair that had fallen across my face and wiping the water (and tears) that blurred my vision, I didn't feel the desire to pull my hair off.

And I don't know if I like it or not.

I didn't even know that I had my arms crossed, burring nails into the forearms, hugging myself tight until Arya held both my hands and tried to loosen them.

"s-sorry"

"Let go"

I swear I didn't flinch, but I saw the shift in her when she said, "Sorry, I mean, Sadie, let go," her voice so soft, but my body said otherwise.

The shake I gave was involuntary. "N-no! She t-touched!"

Disgusting!

I wanted to scream.

The face Arya made—I don't want to see that. Why does she look worried? Why?! Why do you look...sad?!

"I'm s-sorry-"

When her hands wrapped around my body and pushed my head deeper into her shoulders and pressed against her embrace, I wanted to push her, but my body needed her warmth. The comforting warmth... the solace touch...

I was so lost in it, I almost didn't catch the "All of you, before I break your fucking bones and slam your heads together till they bleed out, get-the-fuck out," Arya growled.

I don't know if it was hours, minutes, or seconds when Arya slowly pulled back, and for the first time, I didn't want to pull away.

But I did. However, the limbs felt like bars of heavy metal. They had already fallen loose between our bodies.

"you're okay?"

I sniffed before trying to lean back against the wall behind me, still feeling the slight feeling of nausea when my brain realized we were on the restroom floor. "yeah"

"Hey, c'mon, stand up."

I didn't want to move, but I was more than grateful when she pulled me off the 'dirty' wet ground.

I would have forgotten about the ankle if not for the shooting jolt of pain that ran across my body when I stood up.

"Argh!" the hiss of pain made me clinge onto the tall figure beside me, tears threatning at the bed of my eyes. "Fuck, so annoying," I muttered, hating myself for being the 'all-time' pathetic bitch.

"When did this happen?"

Should I?

...

"When she pushed me back, I fell... kinda." I matched the words between gritted teeth, trying not to move the meg even slightly.

Arya, however, did not respond to that. Instead, she kneeled down, taking the foot slowly off the ground onto her hands, a small cry escaping my mouth.

"Count to 5"

"why?"

She looked at me. I could tell she's annoyed, but at the same time, I could feel like she isn't...

"okay"

And she waited.

"one"

"two"

"thr-EE! ARGH!" My knees wobbled and I fell down, crashing onto Arya's arms as she held me up, letting go of my foot—the foot that she twisted so hard that I saw fucking stars!

I couldn't help but sob onto her bodysuit and wet hair, which I only realized as I did so, as I felt soothing rubs along my back.

"Asshole"

"You're welcome"