Battle Scars

thirty four

This chapter took me an entire day to write. Hell yeah!😂 I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

After two whole loud hours in the day room, we all finally get sent down to the cafeteria for dinner.

"This is so weird, isn't it?" I whisper to Blaine as we walk down the stairs. "We've never been cooped up in that bright room for that long."

"Yeah... do you know what's going on?"

I freeze in my place and fall into deep contemplation. Do I want to tell Blaine about the missing person?

I grab the back of his shirt and pull him closer to me. Discretely, I whisper into his ear. "Can I trust you with something big?"

He nods his head and I wait until Claire and Tino pass to tell him. I take a deep breath and practically beg my nerves not to panic again. 

"Someone staying here is missing." I whisper. "A patient like you and me."

He turns around abruptly to face me. "Who? Who's missing?"

"I don't know." I take a step back. "I'm trying really hard not to think about it, but it keeps creeping back into my mind. Like a fucking cockroach."

Blaine takes my hand, curling his fingers around mine. "They won't get too far then. We're surrounded by woods, and these woods are thick."

I let go of his hand and shove my own in my pocket. "Okay, now you know. Let's stop talking about it, okay?"

Blaine nods in response, then looks down at his shoes.

My right hand; the other one, is suddenly greeted by another. At first I wonder how Blaine moved so fast, but then I see the person's face.

Ethan nods once to me after handing me a slip of crumpled paper, then walks quickly away from Blaine and I. I shove it in the space between my underwear and pants. I don't know what this is besides a piece of paper, but if the nurses found out I have it, they would want to keep it.

"Amber." Blaine's voice fills the silence.

I look over at him.

"You're blushing. Why?" He says.

I look away suddenly and chuckle. "No reason."

"Bullshit." He chases me down the long, wide hallway, with walls filled with gray doors and old pictures. When the cafeteria becomes visible, Blaine jumps in front of me and kisses my lips. I refrain from continuing the session. I don't kiss him back and pull away. "Sorry, kid. Not in the mood."

"Oh. Thats fine." He sounds nervous and dissappointed, as Blaine is terrible at hiding his emotions. I feel bad, but I feel even worse when I lead him on.

I enjoy calling Blaine kid, for he's six months younger than me. The best part is, he doesn't get mad at me for it. He doesn't get mad often at all for anything.

"I wonder if the food we're about to be served is going to be disgusting."

.....

"Meatbarf! How exciting!" Emily echoes throughout the whole cafeteria with an angry tone. She cuts the whole line and grabs a piece of cornbread, then marches to the girls' table.

As I grew closer, I noticed it was shephard's pie, not meatloaf. I carved a hunk of the delicious dish and plopped it into my tray, along with a piece of cornbread, a milk carton and a banana.

Michelle told me the other day she was proud of my eating. I have been eating a lot more recently and not giving a damn, so I told her thank you. That's it. That's all snitches deserve if you ask me, but her small comment did boost my confidence.