To Belong | Protector 5.25

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

       I knew I shouldn't fall asleep in class, but I couldn't help it. I had a rough time falling asleep last night. Even though I had been extremely happy lately, especially because I was officially adopted by Nolan and Jerome, my PTSD wasn't making things easy for me.

       Nightmare after nightmare piled up every time I feel asleep, and it got up to the point where I felt like I had to stay awake in order to avoid the nightmares.

       At least during the day, I didn't seem to have nightmares. I didn't have dreams, either. It was just... Blank. 

       I was suddenly woken up when something slammed down on my desk. I quickly sat up, seeing my English teacher standing in front of me. "Mr. Mehta, I understand that you're doing extremely well in this class, but if I let you sleep in here then everyone else is going to want to."

       "Prince-Roy," I corrected.

       "What?"

       "My last name. It's Prince-Roy now."

       "Alright, then Mr. Prince-Roy, you're not allowed to sleep in this class any longer. Understand?"

       "Yes, M'am." I would just try falling asleep in another class, or even during lunch. Though, I doubt I would be able to because no matter where I was, there were always a group of loud students talking. Sure, I could fall asleep in class when the teacher was talking but when it was multiple people at once, I couldn't.

       As tired as I was, I did try my best to stay awake in this class. I didn't want my teacher to get mad at me, and I certainly couldn't risk getting any detentions after I got into a fight with that prick Webster on my first day of school.

       It felt like hours before the class finally ended, but at least it was time for lunch. I packed up my supplies before leaving the classroom and heading to my locker. As I was putting my books away, I heard a locker nearby suddenly slam shut. 

       Almost immediately, my mind echoed the locker door slamming shut, only it was a different door from my memory. Following the door being slammed shut were Neeta and Sujan's voices yelling things no kid should hear.

      "You're useless!"

       "No one even wants you!"

       "I fucking hate you!"

       My chest clenched tightly, restricting my breathing a whole lot. I clenched my shirt tightly, right above my heart. I tried to steady by breathing, but I just couldn't. It was getting worse with each passing second. On top of the fatigue I was feeling from the lack of sleep, it felt like my energy was being drained out of me.

       I had just enough energy to close my locker door before walking to the end of this row of lockers. I slid on the floor beside it, resting my head on my knees as tears begun to sting my eyes. 

       I heard someone suddenly crouch down in front of me, but I didn't look up to see who it was. I really hoped it wasn't Webster because I wasn't in the mood to deal with that jackass.

       And right there, I learned my lesson to never hope for things because the opposite always happened.

       "Hey," I heard Webster say before his hands gently touched my hand, which helped steady the shakiness it had. "It's okay. You're okay."

       I shook my head. "I-I..." I tried to say I'm not but I didn't have enough energy to muster those words.

       "Whatever is causing this, just know that you're not in any danger. You're safe here. Even if high school is shitty."