Sophie leaned against her locker, back against the door of it. She reached up to rup her temples.
A stupid headache had been torchering her the past week and a half. Her insomnia was getting worse. She hadn't slept at all last night. Her appetite was practically non-existant. And she had five tests within the next week she had to study for. One being worth forty percent of her grade. Everything was getting too overwhelming for her brain to handle.
"Whoa, Foster," Keefe said, walking up to her. "You look rough. Everything alright?"
"I'm fine," she grumbled.
She started to turn away. He took her by the shoulders so she'd face him.
"Wait, seriously. What's wrong."
"Nothing!" She pulled away. Her anxiety levels were way too high to be having this conversation.
Keefe's face fell. "Are you mad at me or something?"
"I'm not mad! Jeez," she rolled her eyes. "Can't you just leave me alone?
He grabbed her arm before she could run off. "Are you sure? Cause you sound mad."
He stared into her eyes, studying her for a moment. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"No," she grumbled.
"Ah," he pulled her in to rest under hix chin. "That explains why you're such a Foster grumpy pants today." He chuckled.
She pushed him away. "I'm not grumpy, alright! Gosh."
She tried to storm off, but she stumbled instead with a dizzying rush washing over her. Keefe quickly caught her.
"Whoah, whoah, whoah. Careful there. Something's definitely wrong."
"Nothing is wrong!" She snapped, stomping off.
When Sophie got to lunch, she sat beside Biana rather than Keefe. Biana leaned in and asked,"Hey, everything alright with you two? You're both tense."
"We're fine," she spat.
She held up her hands. "Ok, ok, sorry. But are you ok?"
Sophie huffed. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
"Umm," Biana murmured. "No offense, but you look really frazzled right now. You weren't even walking straight coming to the table. Do you wanna talk about it?"
"For the last time, everything is fine!" Sophie snapped. She got up and stormed away from the table.
Back at home, Sophie placed the warm hand towel over her head. She sighed in relief. It was one of the worst headaches she'd had in the past couple of months.
It was short-lived, though. A knock at the door had her grumbling and heading tk awnser it. It was Keefe.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him.
"I just wanted to talk to you. You're not acting yourself. You're not walking straight. you're not sleeping or eating. You yelled at me and snapped at Biana. What's going on with you. Is it stress about school? Whatever it is, I can try and help." He took her hands. "I want my Foster back."
She yanked back her hands. "I'm not your Foster! And nothing is wrong."
He blocked her from trying to escape. "You know what I meant! And you and I both know how stressed out you are right now! All of that isn't good for you!"
Sophie scoffed. "Quit acting like you know what's good for me!"
He just wouldn't listen. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?
"Listen," Keefe started. "I'm no brain surgeon, but I do know that done of this is good. Ok? Stress mixed with not eating properly or getting enough sleep is bound for a train wreck. And I'm about ninety percent sure you haven't drank water today yet."
She groaned. "I don't need your help!"
"I'M JUST TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF YOU," he shouted.
Something inside Sophie that was holding her together snapped. "I DON'T NEED YOU TO TAKE CARE OF ME! I CAN DO IT MYSELF!"
"YES, YOU DO! YOU CLEARLY CAN'T DO IT YOURSELF!" He gestured to her.
Sophie ignored the jab at her current appearance. She didn't have the energy to get ready that morning, so her hair was unbrushed and her shirt was all wrinkled. Not to mention the heavy eyebags that almost looked like bruises against her skin that was palor than ususal.
"I AM PERFECTLY FINE!" she asserted.
"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Although his voice was harsh, his face had softened.
"OK, THAT'S IT, IM DONE," Sophie threw her hands in the air. "I can't do this conversation anymore! I'm done with it! Goodbye, Keefe, we can talk again another time!"
She started to head to the living room. Keefe was yelling her name. She ignored him.
She was about to pass by the kitchen table, when a dizzy spell took her. She grabbed a chair to support herself.
She waited a few seconds for it to leave, but it didn't. She was about to yell out, but her vision tunneling off, and her collapsing, cut her off.
Sophie awoke to two fuzzy shapes in front of her. As her vision sharpened, she could see Grady and Edaline hovering over her.
"Ok, Sophie," Grady whispered. "We need to have a talk about managing stress."
She shot up, blood rushing to her head. "He told you!"
Edaline guided her head back into her lap. Sophie saw Keefe in the corner of the room, looking slightly guilty.
"Yes, he did," Grady awnsered. "And for once, he's right."
He held out his hand. She took it and let him pull her up. Sophie sat on one end of the small couch. Keefe came to sit on the opposite end of her. Grady and Edaline sat on the bigger couch.
"Ok, Sophie. We really do need to figure something out for you to be able to relax," Grady continued. "It's only making your seizures worse- don't think we haven't noticed they've been more frequent lately. We just didn't realize how bad it really was. Do you think we could communicate this stuff better?"
Sophie nodded.
Her parents continued their semi lecture. Once everything had been discussed she turned to Keefe.
"I'm really sorry," she murmured, not quite being able to meet his eyes. "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like that. You were just trying to help."
He pulled her into an embrace. "It's ok, Sophie. You were freaking out. You weren't thinking right."
She buried her face in his neck with a sniffle. She felt awful for screaming at him like that. He already had enough of it at home.
"No, it's not ok," she mumbled. "You didn't deserve it. I was just too stubborn to accept your help."
A tear fell down her face, followed by a few more. She smudged them away on his shirt.
"Don't worry, Foster," he soothed. "I accept your apology. And I believe the better wording would be 'in denial'. You do have quite a lot of experience with it," he teased.
He gently ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. Sophie melted into his hug, never wanting to let go.
YOU ARE READING
Broken Heart/Broken Mind
Random(Human AU) Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay. As the years pass, they wind up being in the same c...
