Cobweb Head

s i x

I hadn't been sleeping most nights.

Shadows had gathered below my eyes like ugly bruises. I would wait in the darkness, hoping to hear if Leo left through the noise in my head. The noise I never tried to listen to.

I was walking down the halls to my next class, a slight breeze ruffling my hair. I could taste the chilled air, like ice on my tongue, and I cosied up to the knitted jumper's wide turtleneck.

I pushed passed students streaking the halls. At the end of the corridor, appearing from around a corner, I spotted Mae. A silver necklace was pulled loosely around her throat, catching light from the windows.

It was as if a hand had taken my heart in a fist and squeezed. I panicked, turned around and started walking the other way. I'd be late for class.

I'd been actively avoiding students with the silver jewellery I'd seen on the night, although it usually took all my effort to tear my gaze away from the shiny objects. It was as if I were a cat, attracted to a red dot on a wall. It must've had something to do with what they did, how they stole the smoke, like how the shadow had affected me.

The shadow.

What if they'd used the shadow, like the one they'd stolen with the necklace, to lure me into the woods so that they could snatch me up? I had to tell myself it was an unreasonable thought - they could've taken me plenty of times in my sleep, and why would they want me of all people?

Because of what I could do.

But I'd only ever told one person about it, and they'd never talked to me again.

I chewed against my lip; weaving past students with a new sense of urgency. I was working myself up, I knew that, thinking of the worst possible scenarios. But it was so hard to stop once I had started.

What if Leo had already done it to me while I'd been sleeping? Stolen whatever the black smoke had been?

I felt a hand fall against my shoulder. I spun around, facing an almost empty hall and Mae's dry expression.

I bit down the urge to gulp.

Mae's hand fell to her side and her almond eyes narrowed. "Leo asked me to give you this," she thrust her hand out, a small cardboard box clasped in stubby fingers. "He's barely seen you all week, thinks you're avoiding him."

Yes. I had been avoiding him. Waking up earlier to escape the dorm before he woke, pretending to fall asleep before he had the chance to talk to me. But there was only so much I could do when I lived with the guy.

"What?" I took the box. "I didn't think we were close enough to have avoidance as an option."

"Leo thinks any person he meets is a friend, it becomes exhausting sometimes." But she was smiling when she spoke, words laced with an affectionate warmth.

I looked down at the box, opening the lid. There was a satchel inside, and the sweet scent of lavender and honey and chamomile warmed my mouth. Dried herbs filled the pack, and placed over them neatly was a small note.

It read: should help you sleep, special kind of tea blend - from Leo, by the way (:

I almost smiled. Was this to get me to fall asleep so that he could mess with my head, or was he genuinely worried I was turning into a zombie, high off sleep deprivation? Probably the latter.

"So you haven't been sleeping? What's that about?" Mae asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she leaned forward.

I scowled. "It's none of your business."

She pouted and straightened, throwing the braid that'd fallen forward back over her shoulder. "Make sure to thank him - and stop being an ass."

She turned on her heel and pulled at the sleeves of her green cardigan before vanishing around a corner. I frowned - maybe I was being a little bit of an ass.

No, they're the ones who decided to join a fucking cult. They're the asses.

I sped down the halls after a moment pause. I was desperately late for class.

|||

I needed to sleep - I needed to figure out how to feel safe enough to sleep.

I had a constant headache, a constant throbbing in my skull, and all the classes I'd been to had slipped my mind like water across smooth rocks.

I was in my dorm, looking down at the herbs with knitted brows as I sat cross-legged on the bed. The honeydew smell was enough to make me want to drift to sleep.

Dinner was in an hour, and I had told Effie I didn't feel too well, leaving me alone in the dorm. It didn't take much to convince her - I looked like absolute shit.

The door opened and Leo walked in. He was surprised for a moment, taking in the herbal smell and me on the bed in front of his tea sachets, before grinning.

"You got my herbs?" He closed the door.

I nodded, attempting to gather an excuse as to why I couldn't take them. I came up blank. "Uh, yep. Thanks."

"No problem. I make tea brews in my spare time, makes me feel like a witch or something." He slumped down on his bed, brushing the curls that'd fallen across his forehead. I caught sight of his silver ring and found myself struggling to look away.

I frowned, deep in thought as Leo picked a book from the stacks he'd lined up against his bed. I placed the satchels neatly against the desk and stood, my eyelids had started to feel heavier when sitting atop the bed, as if they'd slowly started turning to led.

I walked into the bathroom, away from Leo. How could I sleep when a cultist with a funky ring wanted to extract something from my head?

I had a sudden idea.

Leo couldn't use his funky ring against me if he didn't have it.