Miss O'Connell | B.E

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1 month later, early december.

Her stomach twisted painfully as she gagged, hands clutching onto the rim of the toilet so hard her knuckles went white. Billie was hunched over in the bathroom of her dorm, as her head jerked. Her dizziness made it hard to catch her breath.

Her knees throbbed, nearly bruised from kneeling for what felt like a century. An ache was spreading through her back like a fire, her neck stiff and painful. Her nose ran, and her bloodshot eyes stung as she blinked, praying desperately that this was just a passing cold, or flu—nothing more.

She whimpered as the last stream of vomit left her body, then leaned back on her calves, her hands on her thighs as she caught her breath. It was nearly 1 a.m., and she had no idea where Divine was. For the past month, Divine had snuck into her dorm every night, curling up beside her as they slept until morning.

Billie couldn't remember the last time she felt this sick—this was worse than it had ever been. By now, Divine should've been here, but she was nowhere in sight.

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Divine sprinted across the fields, her heart pounding and breath uneasy in the cold air as she bolted back from the cubby. She'd spent the last hour finishing up some extra math work, flying through the pages. Now, all she wanted was to slip into bed beside Billie.

She entered the building through the same window she always used, careful not to make a sound. Moving silently through the dark halls, she tiptoed up the spiral stairs, her footsteps barely stirring a sound. As she reached the teacher's dorm hall, a sigh escaped her. She quickly slid her way to Billie's door and knocked softly, her heart still racing from the sprint.

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Billie's head perked up at the sudden knock, and she stood on wobbly feet, hoping it was Divine. Just as she steadied herself, another gag hit her, and she hunched over the toilet again, coughing uncontrollably, unable to take much more.

Divine knocked again, her brow furrowing when there was no answer. She pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time, her eyes widening at how late it had gotten. Billie would be asleep by now.

Divine sighed, resting her forehead against the door with a soft thud. It had been over a month since she'd last slept without Billie, and the thought of doing so now felt impossible. She sighed again, her mind racing as she tried to figure out a way to sneak in without waking her.

She tried to reason with herself, but nothing seemed plausible. It wasn't like she could scale the castle-like building and crawl through a window—that would be ridiculous. Divine let out another frustrated sigh, leaning back from the door, unsure of what to do next. The silence of the eerie hallways was getting to her, and all she wanted was to be inside, cuddled into Billie.

Divine ran her hands over her gelled back ponytail, still done up from the school day. She only ever bothered to tie it because Billie had asked her to stop getting in trouble for breaking dress code. Whatever Billie said went—Divine would listen to her like a little bitch. 

She paused, her face lit up, suddenly remembering the strand of hair she'd pinned behind her head, fingers brushing over it. Divine reached up with her slender fingers, pulling the bobby pin out. She bit off the rubber end with her teeth and bent it a certain way. She slowly slid it into the keyhole.