The Manipulation Room

Chapter 7 - The Boyfriend

Manipulation Room victim no. 97363
Name: Lace Salisbury 
Age: 16 years old
Occupation: Student 
Family Member: 17-year-old boyfriend, Nolwen 
Description: Oxygen deprivation from thick cloth over the mouth and nose leading to suffocation.

...............................

I dropped my head onto Kierra's shoulder and groaned, "Why did you have to get a boyfriend?" She'd just informed me that she had started dating someone and a part of me was happy for her...an even larger part of me was somehow upset at the idea, not that I meant to be. She chuckled, shrugging me off in a jokey manner, "I'm sorry! But he's really nice, you'll like him." 
"And if I don't?" 
"Then I'll just have to dump him." 
I sat up and raised an eyebrow at her, "Really?"
She smirked at me, "No! I really like him, Lyric." 

I groaned again, collapsing onto the grass beneath me in a totally over-exaggerated gesture. I really was destined to be alone forever. Credence had changed overnight, and now a boy would probably have the same affect on her. I winced as my sprained ankle tapped against the ground. It was stretched out and wrapped tightly in an elastic bandage. Ezra had carried me home the other day, but we hadn't spoken since. It wasn't that I didn't want to speak to him, I wanted nothing more, especially after the other day. I'd seen a side to him I hadn't seen before. A fun side, a less reserved side. And I wanted to get to know him more; I really wanted to. The chance simply hadn't arrived yet. He was constantly trapped in his protective bubble of isolation, and I had school work. School work...yes, I know it's not a reasonable excuse for putting my whole social life on hold, but it was important to me.

"Two questions...when am I going to meet him? And what's his name?" I paused. "Oh, and how did you meet?" 
She laughed at me, "You're crazy. Is this an interrogation?" 
"Yep. Without Credence, I'm the only best friend you got. And it's a best friend's job to make sure their best friend's boyfriend is worthy of dating their best friend." I folded my arms and smirked at her. She nudged me, "Say best-friend one more time..." Kierra paused, clearing her throat, "He's coming any minute now, his name's Jaxon Blankenship and we met in the school corridors." 

I nodded slowly, "Jaxon...right, never heard of him." 
"That's why you're meeting him today, silly." She sniggered, clutching her legs towards her chest and pressing her cheek against her knees. I shifted, wincing with the movement of my sprained ankle again. It was healing, but slowly. Far too slowly. She stared at it concernedly, "Are you sure your ankle's okay?" 
I nodded, "I'm positive, don't even worry about it." 

"You never did tell me how you sprained it..." She trailed off, her eyes glued to the elastic bandage on my foot. I tried to keep my answer as vague as possible, to prevent future gossip, taunting and rumours. "I fell over walking home from school." ...chasing after Ezra so that I could beg him to forgive me for something that I didn't even do...
She put on an expression of stunned surprise, "You walked home with that?!" She gestured to my ankle. Oh God...it's really come to this. I had to tell her, there was no way to avoid this. 

"Um...someone carried me." Ezra. Ezra carried me. 
She folded her arms and then unfolded them, "Who carried you?" She was going to find out either way. "Ezra." I mumbled, looking across the school courtyard as students hurried home from school. I suddenly wished I was one of them, leaving this conversation far behind. Kierra's emerald eyes widened, "Ezra?! As in, Ezra Ray?!" My hand shot to her mouth and I put a finger over my mouth, "Ssh! And yes, Ezra Ray..."
She chuckled, clapping her hands together excitedly. "I never knew you and Ezra were together!" She squealed in a half-whisper, excitement written all over her face. "I knew you fancied him!" 
I rolled my eyes and groaned, "We're not together. I just needed help and he was...well, there." I shrugged, hoping she'd leave it at that. It's not that I didn't want to talk about him, I wanted nothing more...I was just embarrassed. Embarrassed that he simply thought of me as a friend and I was completely humiliating myself by calling our relationship anything more than that.