Lauren Sanders is struggling to rebuild her life with her aunt and cousin after her family's tragic death. But what no one knows is the truth about two things: how her parents really died and her battle with schizophrenia.
One day, Lauren stumbles...
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The music in the car was loud enough to drown out my memory of what had transpired earlier. The last thing I recall is calling Zania's emergency cellphone number, and she immediately left her class to come to get me when she heard me crying.
It was draining. My body is depleted of nutrients, and I'm craving food with electrolytes to help re-energize my system. I left an hour earlier than usual from school. The only thing Zania had to say was that there was an emergency at home, and they let us both go.
I haven't seen Aaren since earlier, and I have no intention of making him see me like that. It's been months since I had a psychotic episode in public, and now that it's happened, I'm starting to wonder what could come next out of nowhere in the future for me.
I forced myself up the stairs and into my bedroom when Zania and I arrived home. I let my body lie down on my bed, my face buried beneath the white sheets. When I hear a knock at my door, I have no choice but to answer, "Who is it?"
"It's me," I hear Clarissa's voice.
I push myself up from the bed and sit down properly. "Come in."
As I watch the door swing open, I brush my hair. Clarissa pokes her head around the creek side of the door, then pushes it open wide. She raises her head and forces a grin on her lips. "You're home early than expected," She says. "I heard about what happened."
Zania was the first one I told about what happened, so I already assumed she told her. Instead of calling Savannah, I dialed Zania's number. I slouched my shoulders and collapsed back onto my bed, forcing myself to look up at the ceiling fan. I'm trying to process what happened earlier while also attempting to forget about it.
"What did Zania tell you?" I ask, ignoring eye contact.
I feel Clarissa's presence beside me as she sat down on my bed.
"She said you called her on her emergency number, and then she explained to me what happened to you," Clarissa says.
Clarissa and Zania have two phones for themselves. One phone is for work or daily communications, and the other is for emergency calls and messages. It's challenging to reach them both when I dial their other numbers, so Clarissa decided that having an emergency line dedicated only to emergency calls would be a better option, making it easier to reach them if something happens, like what happened earlier.
"Should I call in Dr. Gregory?" Clarissa asks.
I try to look at her but failed to do so.
"No need," I say, "I'm okay."
I hear Clarissa scoff, "You're not honest with me," she says as I sense the disappointment in her voice.
I sat up straight and look at her, "I'm fine now. You don't have to worry about me."
"How can I not worry?" Clarissa says, her brows pulled together, and Clarissa had a worried expression all over her face. "It's hard not to worry when things like that happen to you."
