Empathy

Chapter Nine

As I sat on my bed, I reminisced what Gemma had told me. What I felt from her or not from her.

Truthfully, I was curious how the two of us weren't able to disturb Mom in anyway. I sighed, rubbing my palms over my eyes. I directed my eyes to the alarm clock on my nightstand. Twelve fifteen. In the morning. A lot happened in the evening. I went to dinner with my friends, Mom and Gemma got into a fight, Mom and I ate ice cream straight out of the container (well, she did, I had a bowl), and Gemma and I got into a huge fight. The first one is years. Possibly ever.

For as long as I can remember, there has only ever been a silent tension between us. And here I thought the tension was one sided. I was gravely mistaken. I took my hands away from my tired eyes, feeling them droop and the puffiness from God knows what now. I looked down at my attire. I was still in my evening garments, too focused on what happened during the night to care to get into pajamas.

I got a pair of sweatpants and an old T-shirt of Dad's to wear to bed. Stripping down, the night clothes were on in record time. As soon as that was taken care of, I removed my sheets and got into bed. Turning of the nightstand light, I stared at the faded stars on my ceiling like I did on Labor Day. For how tired I was, sleep did not come easily for me.

What felt like hours of me just staring, I finally went to sleep.

A tossing, turning, and dream filled sleep.

The next couple of days, I stayed away from Gemma, confused as to why I couldn't read her like most people. It was the exact same thing with Aiden and Nonni. When they touched me, I didn't feel what they were feeling.

I hope that means I'm not broken in some way.

Who am I kidding? Of course I am.

Little, broken Marvel Vayle. The Empath.

"Hey, hon, you look tired," Luna said, leaning against the locker next to mine, her jet black, straight hair pulled into a tight braid and eyes coated in hot pink eyeshadow. A look from me had her stiffening up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to state the obvious."

It was the end of the fifth hour, passing time to our homeroom, where Luna, Peri, and I somehow ended up in the same one.

"Luna, why does my life feel like it's falling apart?" I asked her, my back against my locker now, head turned to meet her eyes.

"Why would you say that? I thought everything was okay." She paused. "How's it going with you and Aiden?"

Aiden and I talked a little bit, but nothing like the second day of school. We haven't had a conversation like that in a while. We still talk, well text, actually. Aiden says goodnight to me every night around nine thirty and I just respond with a smiley face emoji, unsure of how to form a single thought when he's around, physically or in my phone.

I'm just amazed I was able to go out and get some hot chocolate and a frappuccino with him that one day. And now I'm reduced to a stuttering mess in his presence.

Someone bumped into my shoulder as they walked passed Luna and I. The bump instantly caused a pain behind me eyes and in my head. Their feelings of anxiety and helplessness coursed through my body, in my muscles, my veins, my bones, my soul. Everything became that one person. My hands flew to my head, groaning in pain.

"Marvel, honey, are you okay?" Luna asked, touching my hands with one of her own, her concern blending in with anxiety, creating a whirlwind of sensitivity in my very being. "Mari, you're scaring me. What's wrong with you?"

"Please stop feeling," I pleaded quietly, wanting nothing more for Luna to hear me but I couldn't let her.

"Should I get the nurse?" she asked, her voice sounding far away and watery, creating the illusion that I was underwater hearing someone talk to me from the land above. "Marvel, tell me what's going on."

I shoved her away from me, afraid to feel anything else from her.

With my head full of mush and overcome with other emotions, I saw other students stare at me. From what I could tell, they all felt confusion, sympathy, pity, and a lot of others I couldn't name. There was way too many to keep track of.

I spotted what I was looking for, the girls' bathroom.

I made a mad dash towards the bathroom, my whole body like lead and molasses rolled into one, slow, heavy being.

"Marvel, what's wrong?" I saw Gemma in front of me, on my way to the bathroom.

"Go away, Gemma," I said, my tongue heavy in my mouth. I pushed her aside, hardly moving her from how weak I felt. I felt like crying. Not because of my own anxiety but because of the amount of feelings were being injected into my body.

I knew that touching Gemma wouldn't make this situation worse. I wasn't able to feel her at all. My sister moved out of my without a hitch. Thank God. I scrambled through the door. Thank God again, no one was there. My hand went to the door, trying to find a lock. There wasn't one.

"Shit," I murmured. This Empath thing was exhausting. Why couldn't I get the ability to read thoughts instead of this? It would have been better than feeling everything others were feeling.

I took my hand away from the handle, folding it to my side. I sat down on the cold tile floor of the girls' bathroom. I gasped for breath, the air going into my lungs. After a few seconds, I was able to calm down. I looked around, still taking deep breaths. The room smelled of stale flowery perfume, the walls, floors, and stalls all coated in years' worth of the powerful smelling crap that girls my age thought was a good scent.

Let's be very clear here, perfume is a good way to smell good. But too much of that shit causes the human nostrils to start on fire.

Back to the issue at hand, I was currently in the girls' bathroom, sitting on the rather disgusting floor that I really didn't want to think too much about in the long run. My sister saw me have an Attack, Luna saw me have an Attack, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the hallway saw it too.

Vaguely, I heard the bell to homeroom chime. Now I'm late to homeroom.

This year is beginning to get on my nerves.

It's not even October yet and I already had my Empathy overwhelm me. At school, no less.

Getting up, I found my footing. I still felt dizzy and disoriented. I didn't think I was going to homeroom today. Or go to the rest of my classes.