Poisonous

Chapter 19 - Protecting Eva

~Damian's POV~

"Eva!" I screamed. "Coach Sean, Coach Blossom!"

Eva's frail body laid in my arms.

"Kid, what happened?" Coach Sean asked.

"I-we were running and we finished our laps. Eva looked really out of breath and then she just passed out."

Kids started forming a circle around us. Eva's fingers twitched a little. She wasn't unconscious, thank God.

"Stay back. Let Eva have room. Damian, do you think you can take her to the nurse?" Coach Blossom asked.

"Y-yeah," I answered.

I picked Eva up bridal style. The nurse's office was on the opposite side of the school. I walked over to the door and went inside the school. Eva moaned every now and then. I wondered what had caused her to pass out. I've seen her run before, she's never been tired after just one mile.

"Hold on, Eva. Almost there."

She weakly wrapped her arms around my neck for more support.

I practically busted through the nurse's door. "I need help!"

"What happened?" The nurse, Mrs. Hill, asked as she moved some things off a cot.

I placed Eva on the cot. "We were in PE running laps. After Eva and I finished, she just passed out. She moved a little, but that's all."

The nurse placed a wet rag of Eva's forehead. "Do you know if she—"

Mrs. Hill was interrupted by a blood boiling scream. Eva shot up quickly and placed her head in her knees.

I grabbed Eva's arms and gently lifted her head up. "Shhh, it's okay. You're safe."

Was she having a nightmare? I wondered what it was about. It must have been something real awful if she let out a scream that loud.

"W-what happened?" she asked.

"After running laps you passed out," I explained.

"Miss, did you eat anything for breakfast?" Mrs. Hill asked as she went to grab something out of a cabinet.

"A piece of toast," Eva answered.

"And what about dinner last night?"

Reality hit me like a bullet. Eva didn't eat anything at the Manor, and she probably didn't eat anything after the funeral. How could I have been so careless to ask?

"N-no, ma'am."

"Here." Mrs. Hill handed Eva water and a couple of crackers. "I advise you should get a good lunch today."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll let you stay in here until you feel like you can get up again. I normally don't allow this, but, sir, can you stay in here with her?"

"Yeah," I said.

Mrs. Hill opened a door and went back to the main nurse area.

Once the door was closed, I started asking questions. "Why didn't you tell me you were hungry yesterday? You could have seriously been hurt. Why do you let yourself do this?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wasn't hungry!" Eva responded.

"You hardly eat, and when you do, you barely eat anything!"

Eva looked down at her wrists. She had the scars from when her own mother tied her up to a chair.

Her mother.

"You don't—" I started.

"I've gone a whole day without eating before, Damian!" Eva put her hand to her mouth like she wasn't supposed to say that.

I started at her. "You what?!"

"It's never happened before. Me passing out, that is."

"No, no, no. You've gone without eating for a whole day? Eva, please, that isn't right."

"It's not my fault. It's. . ." she looked like she had something else to say. "It's my fault."

"Quit lying to yourself. Who's fault is it? Is it. . . Is it your mom's?" I said in a low whisper.

She didn't say anything at first, then she said in a whisper, "No."

"I don't believe you. Poison Ivy has hurt you before! There's proof." I pointed to her wrists. "So tell me the truth: did your mother do this to you?"

"No!"

There was no point in arguing. She wasn't going to give me a straight answer.

The bell rang.

"Come on, let's go," she said.

With my help, she hopped off of the cot. We walked down the hall until we reached the gym again to retrieve our stuff. After that, we headed to fourth period.

I bought Eva lunch after I saw that she only bought herself a bag of pretzels. I handed the tray to her.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Your lunch," I replied.

"I know that. I'm not stupid. But why? I would have bought my own lunch if I was hungry."

"Do you not remember what happened in PE?"

"I do. I'm just not hungry. I'll have something for dinner instead."

"We both know that's a lie. Just eat something. Please?"

She took a big bite out of her chicken sandwich. "Better?"

"Damian!" A loud voice rang through the cafeteria. "Oh, Damian!"

Rachel ran and sat right beside me. Her friends sat next to Eva on either side. I tried to scoot over as much as I could.

"Damian," Rachel said in a sing-song voice. I tried to ignore her. "Damian! Don't you love me?"

"I love bats more than I love you," I said with a straight face.

Eva tried not to laugh at this. I heard one snicker come out of her mouth.

Rachel made a face. "Bats are super gross. If a bat attacked me, would you protect me?"

"No." I paused. "Can't you see I not interested."

"You just don't see my beauty. You and me could be the cutest couple in school. When will you see that?"

"I've seen it, I don't want it."

Eva and I almost stood up in synced. We started walking away.

"I hate that girl," Eva muttered. I snorted.