Within The Flames

Chapter Nine

~ Change happens, when the pain of holding on becomes greater than the fear of letting go. 

Chapter Nine 

It was happening again, only this time, I allowed myself to scream without holding back even an ounce. I couldn't stop myself, even if I tried. Once again, it started off as nothing too serious, something I could brush off as it was mild. The ache on my upper back, the same area I felt the burns over my shoulder blades twice before, continued for just over five minutes, six minutes at most. I knew this because I kept checking the time every so often, impatiently waiting for my parents to return from wherever they had ventured to. After the weak pain between the five to six minutes, the feeling intensified in small increments to the point my breathing became sharper and more desperate. At that point, I had to stand up, one hand reaching for my back and the other desperately clawing at the mattress, having somehow, dug through the duvet cover and the bed sheet so there was four small holes on the top where my fingers were, and one in the side created by my thumb.

"I can't!" I cried. I wasn't even sure if my words were coherent through the screams and the sharp breathing. The pain was so agonising, actively raging, that I considered the option of taking my life then and there, if there was an object that could do the job within arm's length.

"Hestia, you'll be okay." Mike bounced around me, unsure of what to do. His voice was licked all over with worry. The only thing he managed to do, though, is add irritation to my already foul mood.

"I want to die, just ki ––" I let out a fresh scream, even deafening myself.

Then... crack! I collapsed to the ground, my knees bent and my fingers still tangled within the duvet and bed sheet. Did my shoulder blades just move? My bones, they're moving! If I had room to feel anything but excruciating pain, then I would have felt panicked.

"Oh my god! Foyles, wings, your bones are preparing for your wings." His voice changed from worry to excitement. Then he gasped, cursed himself before walking out of the room, probably having realised that he told me something he shouldn't have.

Wings? Is he living in some fantasy world? Before I could think about it any further, there was another crack and another scream.

"Mike!" I breathed heavily, barely uttering his name, yet he came running back into the room. "I c-c-ca-an't. E-eh-nd it." I couldn't continue the sentence even if I wanted to.

"You'll be okay, just bear it a little longer, the pain will subside." He gently rubbed my back, but that only caused the sharp pain to deepen.

I didn't have the energy to snap at him and I concentrated on my breathing. And soon after, just as Mike said, the pain slowly eased down to a mild ache.

Thankfully, the whole scene took place at home. When Mike and I returned, there was a note in the kitchen where Mum scolded me for not taking my phone, then proceeded to inform me that she, along with Dad and Greg, will return after they go see someone and that it was important. Are they ever going to tell me anything?

"Great, I need to buy a new duvet and mattress now!" I commented, referring to the many holes I had created.

"Wait, where are they?" I could hear the confusion in his voice as he touched one of my shoulder blades. His touch stung and I flinched.

"Get off!" I shrugged, attempting to shake his hand off.

"Call your Mum, Hestia," he ordered. There was nothing but seriousness to the tone.

"I don't know where it is," I moaned, irritated. How does he get off ordering me around in such a manner?

"It was last under your leg when you were sitting on the bed." He approached my bed, pushing me out the way, and flung the duvet in the air. My phone was in the centre of my bed. He grabbed it before the duvet rested on my bed again. "What the hell? Why is it off?"