Invictus

Chapter 5: Tia

Tia cracked the door open to see if I was in bed but other than that she didn't bother me. I only noticed her because instead of counting sheep, I saw the words "murderer" and "bully" running through my thoughts as I laid half awake.

I cried the entire night. I didn't care that it made me look weak. I was. The pillow I buried my head in was proof. It was soaked through when I woke up.

I couldn't take it anymore. Why was I still here? I should have been dead three times over. The sunshine taunted me as it crept in through my blinds, the light a mocking reminder of how at peace the world was and how dead mine had become.

A knock rapped against my bedroom door.

"Zeek. You up?"

I pushed the pillow over my ears, a prayerful gesture that I hoped would prove the past few days were all a bad dream.

Another knock.

"Boy, I'm not gon' ask you again. It's 6:48. School starts in twenty. You best be ready when I come in there."

I swore under my breath and threw my covers off in frustration. Once I was up, I slipped into a pair of jeans and a burgundy long sleeve tee with our school's crest on it to cover my bandaged arms. My hair was cut short so I didn't really have to worry about how it was going to sit. Right as I finished pulling the shirt over my head Tia entered, giving me a hateful stare.

"Coming." I told her.

She didn't respond, she just walked away from my bedroom and headed out the front door towards the car. I followed quickly, grabbing my backpack off my bedroom floor. I unzipped it to make sure I had my homework inside and saw another mocking reminder staring back at me, my neighbors jump rope.

On our way to the car I dropped it back where I'd found it.

We made most of the drive in silence. Something was wrong, but I didn't want to discuss it with her. Time was usually my ally when it came to Tia. Her mind forgot things pretty quickly. If I could hold out, I knew I wouldn't have to have this conversation, whatever the conversation might be.

I reached for the door as soon she pulled into the school parking lot.

"Hold up, Zeek." She grabbed my arm to keep me from leaving.

"What?" I asked her, impatiently.

Her eyes filled with fire and her lips twisted.

"What did you say to me?" She said in a tone that reeked of trouble.

I wasn't in the mood to fight with her, so I closed the door and slipped back into my chair, refusing to make eye contact with her as I stared out the window. I watched as kids flocked around us as she left the car in park.

After a few seconds Tia's bitter face melted away and shifted to a more caring one.

"Look, I'm sorry but I gots to ask, did you take my medication?" She asked.

I did what every high school kid did when they got caught stealing something, I lied.

"No."

Tia gave me an unconvinced look.

"I swear. What would I do with it?" If there was an invisible audience, they would have applauded, my acting was spot on.

"Sell it," she said crossing her arms, still not taking her eyes off me.

I laughed to myself, "Who would I sell too? I ain't got no friends at this school."

"What about that Donnie boy?" Tia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"His parents would kill him if he did something like that." I said, my smile fading away.

I couldn't tell you why, but I started to feel bad for the addict sitting beside me. I hated Tia, don't get me wrong, but at the same time, I loved her. Couldn't explain it then and I still can't explain it now. So even though I hated the fact that she was abusing her medication, a part of me wanted her to still be happy. I wanted her to have them, because when Tia was happy, I was usually happy.

Tia turned away from me and looked back out the windshield.

"It's either him or you." She said softly.

I should have thought through this better, then again, I planned to be dead in a tub about eleven hours before so there wasn't really much I could do at that point.

"I'll talk to him. See what I can find out."

Tia extended a hand and rested it on my shoulder, "I know it wasn't you. If he's got them, you tell him to give them back or I'll come over there and whoop his..."

Tia's words were cut off by a loud honking behind us. She glared into the rearview mirror, then went for her door handle like she was about to get out of the car and confront the person behind us.

This time it was my turn to pull her back. "You're going to be late." I reminded her.

She looked at me perturbed and then gripped the steering wheel. "I'll be home round 11. If you get hungry, make ya self something." Tia said.

I nodded, letting her know I'd heard and then walked off.

She rolled down the window and said, "Zeek, don't forget to talk to your friend." Her tone was dead serious. Tia then sped off out of the parking lot nearly plowing into a bunch of students.

As she drove off, I noticed a girl walking through the parking lot. She had Auburn hair the color of blood and her skin was pale as a ghost. The look of her sent a chill down my spine as I turned to head inside. She was walking with a grace and eloquence that didn't belong anywhere near a high school, yet at the same time her age was impossible to guess. A new teacher, maybe?

As she walked closer, I realized that it wasn't the look of her that was off. There was something about her presence that bothered me. The way she moved was almost otherworldly, the grin on her face a sick combination of sexy and intimidating. The girl had trouble written all over her, and it wasn't because she was attractive. It was because she hadn't taken her eyes off me.

The encounter was so bizarre that it didn't even hit me until I was at my locker, and when it did my heart started to hammer.

Was that the girl who'd left me the note? Was that my stalker?

It was the question that haunted me till lunch later that day. The last lunch I ever ate at Antioch high school.