The Night Of August 15th

24

"Rebekah?" Harper said in a breathy tone and she quickly got up from her seat and sat beside Bekah. "What's the matter?" she placed a loving hand on Bekah's shoulder.

Bekah shook her head and got up from the couch. "I'll go upstairs to rest," she told them and she did as she said she would.

Harper and Sarah exchanged glances. "Should I go check up on her?'' Harper asked, thoughtfully.

Sarah shook her head, "she looked like she needed to be alone," she said while absentmindedly chewing on her bottom lip.

Bekah trudged up the stairs and twisted opened the door to her room. She saw that it was clean and her bed was nicely made. The image of the rats on her bed flashed in her mind and she shuddered. She went down to the floor and lay down on the cold hardwood. She pressed her cheek to the floor and lay still, for a while. Her phone which she grasped rang, she weakly lifted it to her face; it was a call from Iris. Bekah lazily rolled her eyes and shook her head, she took in a deep breath. She was not ready for any more interaction with those girls. She needed a day to herself, she needed a day where she could pretend that she was not a part of some big mess.

With feeble hands, Bekah pushed the answer button on her phone and listened. "Bekah, Alicia let us know you're getting out today," Iris said and hesitated a bit before continuing. "I know you've only just been discharged but we really all need to assemble. We need to figure out a way to protect ourselves."

Bekah did not say anything for a minute, and Iris did not pressure her. She waited patiently for the sound of Bekah's tiny voice. Iris cleared her throat awkwardly and waited some more. "Where should I meet you," Bekah asked, reluctantly.

"I'll text you the address," Iris said. She cleverly left out the fact that the address she would be sending her would lead to Rowan's house. She was worried that if she made Bekah aware of that fact, she would be unwilling to come. Bekah lifted her head from the floor and forced her body up. Her phone dangled in her hand and looked like it could drop at any moment. She heard a ding come from her phone and she knew without looking at it that Iris had sent her the address to where they were to meet. She opened her door and sluggishly walked down the stairs. She could hear Harper and Sarah having a heated discussion in hushed tones. She headed straight for the door and Harper got up once she saw the direction she was going in.

"And where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

Bekah turned around to look at her. She shifted her feet nervously and averted her gaze to the floor. "I-I need some fresh air."

"Then open your window," she said.

"Bekah I think you need to rest," Sarah said more calmly. "You just got back from the hospital, and after what you shared with us earlier this morning, I don't trust you by yourself.''

"I'm not going to try to kill myself," Bekah whined.

"And you know I don't buy that BS," Harper said. "This your weird behaviour has something to do with Amber Duke, I was a fan of hers but now I don't trust her because I'm sure she's oppressing you in some way."

Bekah shook her head. "Stop making assumptions please," she urged. "I'm going to get some air. Don't expect me back anytime soon." She raced for the door, pulled it open and banged it shut. Once she got out she realized that she had no means of getting there. Walking or taking the bus was certainly not an option, and all she had in her hands was her phone, and she knew that going back inside to get some money was also not an option, considering the way she stormed out.

The front door was pulled open and Bekah jerked her head to the direction of the door. Harper casually walked out with an amused expression on her face. She set her hands on her waist and shook her head at her friend. "And why exactly are you still here?" she rose an eyebrow.