Suspension

Chapter 6

"What's your name, honey?" Carolyn asked the little girl who was still hugging her older brother.

"Aedie," She squeaked. "My name is Aedie Stevenson and this is my brother Jackson."

My mouth dropped. Jackson Stevenson was the guy everyone wanted to be around. He was a year older than Reece, Lizzie Rose, Alex and I, and honestly, every girl had a crush on him. That black hair and those honest blue eyes were enough to make any girl melt.

"Li-Li, what have you done?" He asked me in a haunting voice. Everyone looked at me and my mouth dropped even further.

Aedie was three years younger than Reece, Lizzie Rose, Alex and I. She was only a year younger than Carolyn. She had dead straight, shiny black hair and the same blue eyes as her brother except that they were perceived as cute on her.

"Aedie, do you want to come over here and... just... the older guys need to talk about stuff." Carolyn said to Aedie. Aedie nodded and followed Carolyn to a corner of the classroom.

"I'll stay a-here with them," Lizzie Rose offered, "You guys go into another a-classroom or something. I'll lock the-a door. I have your knife, Lia. We'll be fine."

Alex, Reece, Jackson and I took our problems into the computer room almost opposite the classroom.

I let go of a breath I didn't even know I had been holding when I heard the lock click on the door.

*

"First let's go around and talk about how we know Lia, because it seems to be that she's at the centre of this." Jackson said plainly. His gaze never wavered from me and I could feel Reece inching closer as if to say,

"Just don't,"

"I went out with Lia. We were pretty close." Alex shared.

"I am Lia, so I guess I'm pretty close to her too," I said sarcastically.

"I met Talia not even 24 hours ago." Reece said.

"I was in the hospital visiting my sister who was in the same ward as Victoria. Somehow cancer patients end up in the same ward as people who got their tonsils out." Jackson began.

I felt my arm begin its shaking and I swore under my breath.

"There were no more beds left." I explained.

"I got to know Lia after she tripped over my schoolbag. I helped her up and couldn't help but notice that she was shaking uncontrollably. It wasn't even cold out yet. She introduced herself as Li-Li-Lia, which, soon enough I shortened to Li-Li." He smiled at me before looking down.

"She told me everything after a few cups of tea; I begged her to heal my sister so we could go home. She refused. She didn't even know that it would work. So I gave myself a paper cut. I didn't tell her. I made her hold my hand and I felt ice on my finger. Soon enough the cut was gone."

I was the one to look down now.

"It didn't hurt when I go the paper cut so it didn't hurt when she healed it. She was so hurt that I betrayed her that she ran out, wide-eyed and scared. It was only later that I realised that she didn't want to heal other people because although the last time she healed her own sister, it cured the cancer.... It came back." Jackson sighed, "A month after Aedie was allowed to leave, I got the news that Li-Li's sister had died. All the cancer was gone and it made me suspicious. It made me think- what had she done?"

His words had left me shaking uncontrollably. I hadn't even noticed that I was crying. I wiped away the tears before anyone saw. If they thought of me as their fearless leader; while Jackson was here, I sure as hell would be.