Hell Beast

Cleansing

My brothers and I stand together, in front of my parents.

"You are dismissed," my mother growls.

We all breathe a sigh of relief and shift back to our regular forms. We then begin the long walk back to the house, as my parents reset the course. The sun is beginning to dip into the trees. The cool night breeze pricks at my skin.

The moon reaches the sky just as we get home. I go up to my room and get into the shower. It is a freezing shower, helping pull me back to my senses. I let it run over my body as I wash my hair, getting all of the blood off of every inch. The cleansing feeling relaxes me to the point I nearly fall asleep.

I turn off the faucet and step out, grabbing a towel. I dry myself quickly, and then change into pajamas. As I get into bed, I see a text from Liv.

Ayyyyye :)

I smile to myself and respond.

Hey.

A few moments later, she responds.

Can I call you?

I am confused,  but smile nonetheless because Olivia Wood wants to call me.

Sure

A few minutes later, my phone rings. I pick it up before the first ring is over.

"Hey!" I say, failing to mask my excitement.
"Hi," she responds politely.
"What's up?"
"Dunno. Just kinda wanted to talk to you."
"Okay. Is everything alright?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Um... Are you?"

I hesitate for a moment, thinking about tearing apart the lion.

"Yeah, I'm good," I say eventually.
"A-alright," she says, sounding nervous, "you know, if you ever need anything, I'm here, right?"
"Yeah, of course. Thank you."
"No problem. Just trying to be a good friend ya know?"

I cringe at the word friend. I want to be so much more than that.

"Yeah, I get it," I say, trying not to sound bitter.
"Okay. I'll, uh, see you at school then."
"Okay. See ya."

She hangs up, and I leave my phone at my ear for a few seconds before putting it down. I sigh and begin to scroll through Instagram, seeing that no one has been up to much today. I go to Olivia's profile, and scroll through her posts. After four recent ones from the afternoon, I see one from early this morning.

It is a picture of me, sound asleep, curled against her. There is a caption which reads omg look at this cutie!! Cammie is so adorable... Xoxo lol

I nearly faint. She called me cute and adorable. Oh my god. Oh my god. Does she like me? No, she can't. She's straight. She just means it in a friendly way. Even if she doesn't, I don't stand a chance.

I sigh and lock my phone, putting it on my nightstand before turning out the lights and giving into sleep.

-----

I awake to the sound of my alarm blaring in my ear. I smash it until it stops, and then begrudgingly get up. I throw on a sweater and jeans, and then head out to my car. The drive to school is fast, and I walk to my first class, Chemistry.

I don't have many friends in my classes, or in general. My lab partner is a tall boy, Connor, and I'm pretty sure he just wants to get in my pants. Today, he smiles and winks as I walk over.

"Hey, Cam-O," he greets. He came up with that dumb nickname on the first day of school. It doesn't even make sense.

"Hi," I say as I set down my bag and look at my phone, avoiding eye contact. I can feel him watching me. God, boys are so weird.

I struggle through the period, hoping he doesn't touch me. After the bell rings, I nearly sprint to English. The day drones on, metronomic like, until finally, I get to fifth period. It is history class, and I sit right next to Liv.

When I arrive to class, Liv is already there. She stands up and gives me a hug, just a moment longer than necessary. Her hugs always feel so wonderful. The way her arms find their way to my curves and her head rests on my shoulder, it simply feels comforting. It's a feeling of safety that I need and crave all the time.

She smiles at me, and my heart melts.

"Hiya, Cammie," she says gently as we sit back down.
"Hey," I say back, nervous.
"How has your day been?"
"Eh... Alright, I guess. You?"
"Same."

The teacher hushes the few of us talking and begins his lecture. It is quite boring, about the Civil War or something we have all heard about a million times.

Suddenly, I feel a hand on my leg. I jump, and then realize it belongs to Liv. She smiles at me, and I take a deep breath. I then realize I had been holding my breath. She mouths, "you okay?" to me, and I nod my head. She smiles again and removes her hand, even though I would do anything for it to remain there forever.