Please don't eat me

Please Keep Living

  I heard the horrific screams and mutilated cries. I felt the harsh desert air suffocate me slowly. The burning heat drying me up. And her perfect smile, shining through the sand whipping in the air, her overwhelming presence crushing me into the ground as she loomed over me, that smile opening up to reveal a hungry chasm just waiting to – 

  I felt a hard nudge on my shoulder and drifted back into the real world. I was standing in front of my bedroom door, school bag on my back, with Cynthia looking at me with concern. I blinked a few times, trying to centre myself, trying to focus on what she was saying.

  ". . . okay?" she said. She was worried about me. I could tell that much. It wasn't hard to imagine, considering I had been a silent husk for the whole weekend. Since the party.

  I swallowed my spit, blinked a few more times, and nodded. "Just tired," I hoarsely said and cleared my throat. "Sorry, I'm just tired." 

  "If you don't want to go to school –"

  "It's fine." I said. "I'm fine. Let's just go."

  "Conrad –"

  I looked up to her eyes, trying to get across just how much I didn't want to talk about it, and said, "Can we just go? We're going to be late."

  She pursed her lips before nodding and turning around. I took in a deep breath and turned to close my door. I could see the Valentine's card sitting on my table. I had only tried to continue fixing it once during this whole weekend. When I did, I had barely put my hands over it when it suddenly tore in two. Then the screams compounded in my head and I was left curled up in a crying heap on the floor. 

  I haven't tried to fix it again.

  I said goodbye to my fathers and got into the car with Cynthia. The air between us was awkward, it always seemed like that nowadays, but I tried my best to ignore it. I didn't want to think about it. Because then I would start thinking about her.

  We got to school and were almost late, but Cynthia didn't even bring it up as we got out. I wanted to apologise, but instead let her kiss me on the cheek before we walked off to our respective classes. 

  I didn't go to Angelica. I – I couldn't look at their faces. Those same faces that had laughed at my tears. Those same faces that had promised to eat – I just couldn't.

  I didn't know how far the range was with sensing other souls, but I hoped that as long as I couldn't sense them then they couldn't sense me. So I waited the minute or so until the bell rang, and quickly rushed to my registration class.

  For the next few periods, I found it impossible to focus on anything. The teachers' voices would drone on, student chatter would buzz around me, but inside my head, I was trying my hardest to not think about it, don't think about her, what she'd told me, what she'd promised to do to me –

  When first break came, I walked out of my classroom with Katie by my side. This was awkward, I knew it was, made only more awkward by my refusal to look at her.

  "So," she began.

  "I need to go to the toilet," I blurted out. "I'll meet you at the benches." And before I could hear her say another word, I veered off to the left and headed for the toilets. Locked myself into one of the stalls. And screamed silently as I choked on my tears.

  When the day ended, I made a beeline right for the school entrance, to get to Chakra as soon as I could. But before I had stepped out of the gate, I suddenly felt her presence, quickly walking towards me, and her voice raising up to say a concerned, "Conrad!"