Welcome to My World

Chapter 10 Rayla's POV {Fading Away}

I sigh, trying not to glance over at Callum. I already miss talking to him. How did we end up like this? Just yesterday, we'd made plans to sit together, study together, and basically do everything together.

I sigh again. Ok, I'm going to just... Walk over and finish it. I stand up and push back my chair, turning to see another boy walking over to their table, a swagger in his step. His green hoodie and black skinny jeans are kind of like mine, but you can tell they cost a lot more. I can hear shouts of "Hey, hey, hey! Ravi, my main man!" And other stuff like that.

My cheeks burning, I change my mind and pick up my food tray, heading for the door. I'm so focused on how to deal with the situation between me and Callum that I don't see the foot enclad in a high heel sticking into my path. It catches my foot, and I trip and fall, my face smashing into my leftover food.

I stand up, growling. Genelyn bats her eyelashes at me. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. You should watch where you're going." She says sweetly.

The whole canteen laughs. I leave my tray on the floor, dashing out of the canteen with a noodle stuck in my hair. It's turning brown from the sauce. Once outside, I find a place to hide. I brush tears from my eyes furiously. What is high school doing to Callum and I?

But even as I think that, it's looming over me, like a hungry lion about to devour its prey. I can't believe he did that. As I fell, Callum and his new 'friends' laughed. They didn't do anything. They just laughed. The Callum I used to know would never do that. He'd rush over, and rant while helping. I used to find his big heart annoying, but now I realize I just took it for granted.

Eventually I get up and head to the girls' bathroom to try and wash out the noodle stains. And I sigh, because my shirt is now stained. Good thing I do the laundry at home, because otherwise Runaan would ask why it's stained.

The girl I met earlier, Ellis, walks in. "Hey, are you ok?" She asks, her big brown eyes wide with concern. "What happened?"

"Nothing! I'm fine!" I snap. I storm out of the bathroom angrily, going to my next class. It seems I can't get away from the lot of them. Callum, Ez, and Ellis are all in the same classes as I am.

Not only that, we have to work together tomorrow for the Spooks' Ball, because it's already October 20. Great.

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"I'm home!" I yell, slamming the screen door behind me.

"In the back!" Runaan yells back.

I go up to my room. I just moved in, so boxes of my scattered belongings are everywhere. Books, clothes, assorted junk, and LEGO. I roll my eyes. I'm too old for LEGO, but that's what I get every Christmas.

Xadiamas, my mind suggests. What? That's crazy! What the heck is a Xadia? I brush it off with a sigh. No wonder Callum didn't believe me. I sling my backpack of my shoulder and throw it onto my bed. I glance out my window. By the looks of it, Runaan is trying to garden while an Archangel Lunaris flaps around his head, and he keeps dropping his shovel to swat at it.

I smile slightly and run downstairs and out the back door. Runaan is indeed attempting to garden. "Rayla. How was your first day of school?"

For a moment, I hesitate, then lie quickly. "It was great. Callum and I hung out, made lotsa new friends, had fun..."

Then he looks up at me, and his eyes widen, then narrow. "Rayla. What happened to your head?"

I rub at the bandage, feeling his gaze boring into my soul, searching out answers. "Um, there was an accident in P.E. I fell. I just banged my head a little, nothing wrong. No concussion or anything, no broken bones..."

I trail off, because Runaan's giving me the Small-Child-The-Time-Has-Come-To-Face-Justice-I-Know-You're-Lying-Tell-Me-The-Truth look. The one that usually means I'm grounded.

I sigh. "Can we have dinner soon? I'm hungry."

He sighs, and I know this discussion isn't over. I go upstairs to change my shirt before Runaan notices that there are some suspicious brown stains on the white fabric. I head downstairs again, holding the rail to keep my balance.

Runaan's making pasta in the kitchen, and I get out the plates. We ignore the unused dining table sitting sadly in the house and head outside to sit under the stars. I start eating, hoping Runaan's forgotten.

"So." He starts, twirling a fork through his noodles. "Why, exactly, did you fall in P.E.?"

I wince. It seems like Runaan can always tell when I'm lying. "I got pushed." I decide. Technically true.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "I thought you said school was going great?" He notes. I winced. I've been trapped with my own net.

"It is, it is." I quickly correct. "It was an accident."

He nods slightly, but now the pasta is making me feel dizzy and nauseous. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to remember that that's a symptom of something. I dismiss it quickly.

He looks at me again. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, then I lean over and throw up on the ground in front of my sneakers. Runaan puts down his plate. "Rayla Lunarson, go to your room and get in bed." He orders.

I'm not even resisting now. I just nod and start towards the stairs, my vision blurring. Some clearer part of my mind says that there shouldn't be two Runaans, but I ignore it, focusing instead on getting up the stairs. Then my eyes sag closed and I fall to the ground with a dull thud.

"Rayla?" Runaan calls. "Rayla, are you ok? Rayla!"

His face appears above mine, tight with worry, and it's the last thing I see before darkness swallows me, but I still hear him, his voice sounding like he's shouting through a pillow. Then darkness swallows me, and I drift off.