Heart of Hysteria

CHAPTER SEVEN: Assaulted

Theara rode around the neighbourhoods aimlessly, trapped in the insults of the day. Staying under the radar meant zero reaction, but it also meant getting less attention. Less words. Less power. Why did she even start speaking her mind in the first place? She could just have gone through with Jake's dare and be done with it. But no. She just made things a whole lot worse.

Hopefully she wouldn't make that mistake twice. She couldn't risk anything with Owen approaching the picture.

The hospital's silhouette stood tall and imposing against a hill, lifeless from all the pain and tears it had to put up with. Hospitals were sad places. Giving hope, shattering hope. It was a place of contradictions. The place where life begins and often ends. Someone walks in happy, someone walks in sad. Sometimes two totally different people walk out, both are happy, but for abstractly different reasons. One received grace, one received an inheritance.

Theara didn't feel up to it. She hooked a turn and parked in front of the mall. She slumped against the steering wheel and tried to calm down. She was just like that hospital. Full of contradictions, dying all the time. Even though people with the abilities to heal were right there, they didn't. Because they didn't notice. Or they simply didn't care. Or they were just too busy using it to suit them best.

"That's enough," she scolded herself and got out. "Not everything in life is Moss Vale." Without a plan of where to go, she walked into the mall. It was buzzing with life and excitement that took her mind off things. It was easy to just become part of the crowd and go unnoticed. That was the best thing about the noise. It covered for her.

The gaming zones were beeping and blaring. Restaurants had aromas billowing through the entrances, luring customers in. The cinemas smelled of buttered popcorn. Wherever she looked, she saw people who didn't seem to have a single hassle.

Except a group of teenagers chatting at the cinema. Now them, she knew they had a hassle with her. She turned on her heels, persuaded to avoid confrontation. To her dismay, Caroline, Penny, Ella, Levi and Roy were heading her way, arms full of drinks from a take out joint. Even if she moved out of their path now, they would still notice her. It was just a matter of-

"Theara!" Caroline faked an over excited voice. "How lovely to see you here!"

"I can tell," she said, glancing at Levi. His stony face revealed nothing. Was he mad at her? Why was she even wondering about it? Levi had bad idea written all over him.

"Is Mr. Green with you?" Roy laughed, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Probably. I actually saw him in the que. I thought Mrs. Chandler told you two to stay away from each other, hmm?" Ella mocked.

Levi must have seen the panic in her eyes, because a flicker of concern crossed his face. "You're going to miss your movie," Theara said softly and cleared her throat, sneaking glances at the que. She ignored their sniggers and zig zagged away between the crowd. The exit gave way into the parking lot and she was finally in the clear. She fumbled through her handbag for the keys as she neared the car, unaware of just how quiet and dark the parking area was.

A set of firm hands gripped her shoulders from behind and forced her forward against her car door. There wasn't even time for her to react before she was securely pinned. "Let go of me!"

That was all she could utter before a hand clamped her mouth. "Quiet now. We don't want any more trouble than we already have."

She knew the voice. And it didn't make her positive about getting out of this easily. Grunting, she dug her heel down on his shin. He shifted, and she used that to turn around. Pierre Green glared back at her, quickly catching her again.