The Passing

Chapter Nineteen [updated]

Jane and I both freeze as his eyes scale my entire body, starting at my bare legs and slowly working up to my torso. His already pale skin goes ghostly white, and airy words stammer from his slightly parted lips. Avi lifts a shaking finger, the veins at the sides of his head pulsating as the realization hits him with full force. Jane grabs him fast, looping an arm around his neck. Swiftly, she cups a hand over his mouth the second his bloody scream breaks through his fear stricken exterior, thankfully muffling it so the others wont here.

His eyes go wide as she pushes him fully into the bathroom, shutting the door once again behind her. Her wild eyes pierce mine, silently scolding me for keeping such a secret for so long and making her keep it too. Avi staggers back, falling into the tub and pulling down the curtains with him.

"Is everything alright back there?" Bee calls from the living area. Avi sits up fast, ready to spill my guts all over the place. But Jane is faster; in one swift motion, she lifts her knife and presses its pointed end just below his Adam's apple. Too much time passes and the sound of Bee's coming footsteps fills the bathroom. Jane's iris's pin Avi in place. With one careful hand she reaches back to press the lock.

"Yeah! Everything's fine! I just fell, is all." She calls back, faking a smile despite the fact that Bee can't see it. She stops just outside the door. My heart leaps into my throat.

"Oh, well do you know which way Avi went?" she asks. Both eyes dart to him, squeamishly cowering in the farthest side of the tub.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I saw him go outside."

Bee doesn't move. "No, I saw him come this way." Jane's expression grows desperate, and she flicks her eyes up at Avi. Panic melts into the lines of worry driven in his forehead as he stands fast. Bee jiggles the door handle and audibly scuffs when it doesn't budge. "Why did you lock the door?"

"Do something," Jane hisses at Avi, panic clearly glazing over her own calm exterior. He shrugs, eyes fumbling around the room for anything he could use.

"What do you want me to do? There's a freak right here!" he spits his voice barely above a whisper. His words work like a knife, digging deep into my chest. Jane's eyes and nostrils flare, warning Avi without having to utter another word. He looks dead at me with a scowl written deep in every line of his expression. Pure disgust. I'm surprised he doesn't spit on me, or take a chance and off me himself with the knife in Jane's hand. He's so much taller, muscles more defined, than both of us. Not to mention, in my current condition, I'm not sure how much of a fight I can manage. It would be easier to just let him win.

"Avi?" Bee doesn't stop pushing at the door. With every passing second, my heart beats faster, more out of rhythm.

"Sorry! I must've bumped it," Jane unlocks the door but holds the handle tightly in place. Without a word, Avi wraps a hand around my wrist and shoves me behind the door. His eyes dart over to Jane as he pries her fingers off the handle.

The door flies open, covering me from view.

Because the bathroom is so small, Avi is forced into Jane. Together, they're thrown onto the counter top, faces merely a centimeter apart. Bee steps onto the threshold, and through the crack between the wall and the door, I watch her eager and confused expression shift.

"Jesus, I was—" Bee's voice stops cold. "Oh,"

"Bee..." Avi's voice cracks. "It's not what it looks like."

Bee takes a step back, eyes dropping to the floor as she softly shakes her head. A frown breaks over her lips, and the words that fall out make the guilt eating away at my insides more intense. "Whatever," she pushes from the doorway and storms back down the hall, leaving the bathroom in complete stillness. Jane stares blankly out the door, shocked. Avi steps away, eyes darting everywhere on the floor before looking between Jane and I. Words flash behind his eyes, but nothing strings together or moves past his tongue. Just as he's about to step out of the door, Jane throws her arm out, catching herself on the opposite wall to block him.