That Girl And her Tiger Tattoo

ch. 4- friends...?

A/N
Hey guys Sry if this throws a wrench in the flow of my writing and all that but I already started writing another chapter as Tommy before I remembered and I think it'll turn out good. Well, actually... just remember this. Don't hate me! No one knows what might happen...

Soon Lizzie, Ben, and I were like 3 peas in a pod. We'd been through so much together already but still I was the only one who knew the secret of her name. I enjoyed calling her Lizzie when Ben wasn't around, it felt cool to hold something like this between us. After Ben had gotten over the shock of how crazy Lizzie had gotten that one day, he had begun to follow her everywhere. Although, she didn't seem interested in that way, she was still kind to him. She'd always smile. But, one day, in history, one of the last classes of the day, Ben asked me a surprising question. "Should I ask Sam out?"
I stopped taking notes on Kenya's culture and stared at him, my mouth was probably hanging open, my jaw on the floor. I had about a million thoughts coming in.
"He might get hurt." "And honestly she didn't seem interested." "But if it made him happy..." Besides, you never know what she might say..."
And the weirdest part was, something in the back of my mind screamed, "mine!"
Then, a bunch of little pin pricks all came together to form something I figured I must have felt the whole time. I looked over at her. She was smiling at me and Ben, probably the expression on my face and how Ben just smiled and waved at her.
"It's just she's so cute and every time I see her, she's so... I don't know, she lights me up. She makes life interesting. She makes it worth it to get up early and come to school on time just to catch a glimpse of her before I won't see her until 4th hour. You know?"
"Mm hmm."
I was only half listening to Ben. I was focusing on the teacher and trying to not act all weird to Lizzie.
"So should I ask Sam?"
"Yes," I say finally. It would be no good if I did it. She'd probably say no to me, too.
Shockingly, she said yes. I must've been wrong when I thought she wouldn't go for it.
"Hey, Lizzie," I say, one moment when I catch her alone.
"Hi," she says.
"So, you're dating Ben, hmm?"
"Yea. As long as it doesn't make our friendship strange. And honestly he's so nice. I didn't think I'd be into it but this is a good relationship. I could do a lot worse."
I nodded. Ben was a nice guy. He'd even had the courage to ask her out.
I couldn't bear it sometimes though. I hated when they held hands for too long and everything all the couple jokes and the hugs between classes and omg. Ben was the one that got her to wear a matching sweater. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the 3 week anniversary gifts. He got her make up which she thought was cool since she hadn't used it in awhile. And she got him tickets to see a horror movie at the theatre. She got two so they went together and she laughed when she told me she held him at the parts when he got scared.
Ben pouted. "Did not."
Lizzie chuckled. "Did so."
And then there were also all the, "I love you Sam's. Gosh, not even her real name and her eyes still sparkled.
Eventually, I lost my temper on her one day. We were talking about something completely different and I just kept thinking about it and the thoughts continued to build in my head.
Finally, while she was stating something funny that happened that day, I yelled, "why are you even dating him?"
I could tell I caught her off guard, but she answered bravely, "Ben?"
"Yea," I replied. "Who else? He's all you talk about."
"We're talking about something altogether," she replied in a calm voice.
"So? Also this couple crap makes me sick. It really does. Do you even like him?"
"Yes. I really do."
It was that that stung the most and it fueled my anger.
"Why?" I yell. "He's so stupid! What's he good at? Track? So am I. Any one could do that."
She sniffs a little. "He cares about me."
"It's not even gonna last."
"Just stop. Please."
"No."
"Tommy," she says.
"What?"
Then she slapped me. Hard, right across the face.
"He's a better guy than you'll ever be," she spat the words at me like daggers.
Then she walked away. It was only when she was far enough away from me that I heard her begin to cry.
Forget about when she told me she really did like Ben. It was her crying that stung the most. My slap didn't even hurt because I realized what an absolute jerk I was.
Ben came up to me the next day and said hi. But then he saw Lizzie who was staying away and he didn't talk to me much for the rest of the day.
Lizzie and him ate lunch together. I knew I shouldn't sit by them but I was getting lonely. I walked over and took a chair by Ben. Ben smiled.
"Hey!" He said as I sat down.
"Hi," I reply.
Lizzie muttered a soft hello and kept her eyes down.
Ben and I began talking again for awhile and finally, Lizzie left.
She walked away and threw her tray out, then she didn't come back to the table. Soon, Ben decided to follow her. They hung out for awhile and I sat by myself. I could see Ben asking her what was wrong and she simply replied that she didn't feel well.
They walked down the hall to the office and then only Ben returned. "Sam doesn't feel well," he says.
"Oh."
"She's going home."
"What???"
"She's going home."
"I'll be right back."
I ran down to the office and found her there, lying on a cot. The nurse was in the other room, busy. I went up to Lizzie and asked her what was wrong.
"I feel sick," she snapped.
"But... they're sending you home."
"And?"
"You don't have one."
"Are you making fun of me? Just stop."
"Lizzie-"
"Stop."
"I-"
"Tommy," she slaps me.
I don't even flinch. "Do it again."
"What?"
"If it makes you feel better, do it again."
"No. I don't want to hit you. I want you to leave me alone."
"I care though, Lizzie."
"I know," she says. "But you had no right to care in the way that you did about what goes on between Ben and I. It clearly wasn't for my own health. It was for yours. You were being selfish."
So she knew how I felt.
"Now," she said. "I'm sicker than you think. I need you to leave me alone for awhile."
"Just remember," I say. "I do care."
But, she was already asleep.
The nurse ran in and checked her out for awhile that's when she realized something bad. She called 911 and asked them to come quick.
"What's her name?" She asked me.
"Samantha," I reply. "Samantha Foster."
The woman nodded and repeated it into the phone.
"They're coming," she said. "She's going to be okay."
"What's the problem?"
"There are strange things in her system."
"Ohh." I remembered a story that she had told me about being at a mental hospital, drugged for several months. What if these were the drugs making her sick?