Everything Changes

Chapter 3: Torture Time

       I have this feeling that someone is watching me. I opened my eyes, startled to see Emma staring at me like a creeper. "What are you doing?" She sits back, smiling.

        "Just seeing how long it was gonna take you to wake up from me staring at you." I sit up and look at my clock. It's only 10 A.M. "How long have you been staring at me for?"

"I'd say about 20 minutes now." She giggles a little. She's such a dork, and she damn well knows it. I stretched, before sitting up. Emma was bouncing on the bed acting like a toddler. Looking at me expectantly. "What are we gonna do today? Hmm? Hmm?" I looked at her. It was way too early. She looked back at me with her bottom lip jutted out. "Aria, What do you wanna do today?" She whined. 

       "I was kind of thinking that we could stay inside and hang out?" She gave me a disappointed look. "You don't actually believe that I'm letting you sit at home during our last week of freedom right?." She looked at me skeptically. "No way. We are going to the mall to check out cute boys, while we try on cute clothes." I shake my head. I never enjoyed going to the mall, or any shopping for that matter.

"There is no way Andrew's going to want to take us to the mall, right?" She smirked and there was a gleam in her eyes. I knew that look on her face all too well. She jumped off my bed. "Wanna bet?" She walks across the hall and knocks on the door. "Andrew, darling." She says in a singing tone."Would you be a doll and take us to the mall please?" She said in a theatrical way. I heard a groan from the other side.

        "Do you know what time it is? No." Emma gives a dramatic huff before flipping her hair out of frustration. She wasn't taking no for an answer and she was going to make sure the boys knew that. "Come on-" Her voice raised slightly but I could hear the warning undertone in her voice.

        "You know you want to. Plus it will get your sister out of the house-" Her voice suddenly became a harsh whisper. But I could still hear her. "She needs to get out of this gloomy house, you asshat, get up." Her tone left no room for further discussion.

Zack chimes in. "I mean, It could be fun plus we could stop at GameStop and see if anything new has hit the shelves." It felt as if they were all ganging up together trying to get me out. Fighting them was futile, nor did I have the energy. They could have this small win. 

We arrived an hour later at the mall. Seeing the sign as well pulled up caused my scar to flare up. The air around me quickly starts to feel heavy, my lungs struggling to breathe properly. As I desperately tried to stay in the present, my hands were clammy as I nervously wiped them over the tops of my thighs.

  The car seemed to be a jumbled mess of incoherent sounds growing louder by the second, competing to drown out the sounds of my breathing. Why was it so loud, so suddenly? I tried to get a grip.

From a distance somewhere three rhythmic taps rang out. Gradually becoming clearer. It was as if someone changed the frequency. I blinked hard at the abrupt silence, Andrew continued to casually knock on the side of the window. My head felt foggy but I did my best to compose myself before getting out to follow everyone inside.

         When we reached the threshold of the entrance we split up in groups of two. The boys on their own mission. The search for a new game. As for me, my mission was to be dragged around by Emma. Any fight I would usually put up was nowhere to be found.

"Where to first? I asked, my voice monotone. I already knew it was going to be someplace overbearingly girly. I could already imagine her making me try on all she could find. "We should probably check out Forever 21, Hollister and anywhere else that catches our eyes today." She chimed excitedly.

        My head rolled back as she grabbed my hand, pulling me towards one of the awful stores. "Fine." I muttered. "Good, because we deserve a full new wardrobe." She said with more enthusiasm than anyone should be able muster up when talking about shopping. "Whatever.. Let's get this torture over with." She stuck her tongue out playfully at me.