Better Left Unsaid

Chapter 2

My throbbing head is what eventually wakes me up. I can feel the pain all the way down into the roof of my mouth and my jaw. I wince and force myself to sit up, sending shock-waves of pain further into my system. My teeth clench. How the fuck am I this sick? My nose is making no effort to clear so I can breathe and my throat is like burning sand paper. I was never near any infected people, never ate any raw meat or anything old. What was going on?

As if I didn't have enough aggravation, someone knocks on the door. "Go away or I'm calling the cops!" I say stuffily.

"It's just me!" a voice answers from outside. Dice. Of course.

"Come in." I say, laying back down.

The door swings open and Dice walks in, shutting it behind him. "Wow, Sam." he says, coming around where I could see him. "You look...sick."

I glare at him and he shrinks back. "So I've heard." I deadpan. I cross my arms and look straight ahead.

"Well, where's Cat?" he asks.

"On her date." I answer. My voice sounds deader than the Grim Reaper.

"Who with?"

I could snap this kid in half if I wasn't so weak. "Some kid named Robbie."

"Oh, that nerd with the puppet." Dice sits at the foot of the couch and watches the TV. "So I'm guessing you never told her?"

"Told who what?" I question. What's this kid trying to get at?

"You never told Cat." he replies indifferently.

"Never told Cat what?" I sit up. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing, never mind." Dice shifts away from me and I grab his sleeve, keeping him in place.

"Tell me, or I'll rip your shirt off and toss you outside so everyone can see your hairy chest mole." I threaten, trying not to cough.

He covers his chest. "How do you know about that?!" I give him a look and he covers his face. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you!" I let him go. "You never told Cat you liked her."

Woah, woah, woah. Pause. I like Cat? No, no, no. Wrong. I don't like anybody. I don't have any crushes, or boyfriends (or girlfriends), no lovers. So where in the hell did he get that idea from?

"The fuck are you talking about?" I growl, which irritates my neck. He flinches back like I'm going to hit him or something. And I just might. "I don't like Cat."

"Are you sure?" he says. "I've seen the way you look at her. So has Goomer, and-"

"Goomer thinks so, too?!" I yell.

Dice jumps up and retreats out of my arm's reach. I'm to exhausted to move, but I stare at him like I can make him burst into flames from across the room. "Sam, calm down."

My head is screaming in agony and all I can see is red. Red... "How many other people think this, huh?! Does her Nona think I'm in love with her granddaughter? Do those two british brats know?!"

"I don't know!" Dice says over me. He rushes into the kitchen and fills a glass with cold water, then comes back and throws it on me.

The cold water surprisingly calms me down and feels good against my heated skin. My breathing slows and the red fades in my eyes. I cover my mouth and cough. "Thanks, Dice. S-sorry about that."

"No problem." he says, still not moving from his spot by the table. He relaxes, though, and sits in the chair. "I didn't know you'd get so worked up over such a little issue."

I grab a tissue from the box on the floor and blow my nose into it. "Well of course I'm gonna get worked up if it's not true."

"Uh-huh." Dice mutters. "Y'know, I can probably help with your...problem."

"I don't have a problem." I respond.

"Whatever. I can help you."

"How?"

"It's simple." Dice stands up and heads for the door. "I'll explain it to you when you're better. I just remembered I have to get home. My mom is inviting her new boyfriend over for dinner."

He closes the door and the silence bugs me. There's no way in hell that I'm in love with Cat...is there?

...