Because of Karson

Chapter 14

"You look like shit," my best friend pointed out as we walked to our science class. 

I glared at her. "Thanks."

"Rough day yesterday?" She asked, scoffing as a freshman accidentally bumped into her shoulder. "Watch where you're going asshole!"

The poor kid's eyes widened in fear, his body visible shaking. He gripped his notebooks tightly, scared of Nora knocking them down, even though she never would. He quickly scurried away, tripping on his own feet in the process. Nora sighed before waiting for me to answer her question.

"You could say that," I huffed as we finally reached the classroom.

I didn't bother telling her about Karson because I knew she wouldn't let that one go. I hated lying to her, but I was too exhausted to talk about Karson. I didn't want anything to do with him.

"Was it your mom?" She hesitated, unsure whether to ask or not.

"Yeah," I lied. I shifted uncomfortably as pity seeped through her face, making it obvious she felt sorry for me.

I looked away from her intense gaze and walked to the back of the class, sitting down at the desk furthest away from the board. She followed along next to me, sitting in the chair seated close to mine.

I didn't eat breakfast this morning so I could feel my body shutting down. I felt lightheaded as my stomach grumbled, loud enough to make heads turn in my direction.

"Dakota, are you okay? You look quite pale," Nora stated, her eyes trailing down my pale face.

"I think it's just the lack of sleep I've been getting," I told her truthfully. This was part of the reason why I felt like shit, but it wasn't everything.

"Do you want to see the nurse?" She asked.

I shook my head, not wanting to deal with Mrs. Smith's disappointed gaze. "I think I'll be fine."

She hesitantly nodded before reaching into her bag and pulling out some medication. I seemed to be taking a lot of these recently.

"Here," she placed the medicine in my hand along with a blue powerade. "This should help a little."

"Thank you," I whispered, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

She nodded her head before giving her full attention to our teacher by the front of the class. I quickly took the medication before my teacher saw, not wanting him to think of it as something different.

The cold Powerade made the tablet travel down my throat smoothly, making it easy to swallow. I put the drink down and averted my eyes to look out the window. The gray sky stared back at me as it began to pour. I smiled.

I love the rain.

I loved rainy days. The way the clouds hid the sun, revealing a specific darkness I longed for. The rain made me feel calm, just listening to the droplets hit the window as my tense muscles relaxed.

The throbbing in my head decreased as the medicine finally kicked in. I really needed to eat more. I looked down at my body and frowned, I was so thin. I twisted my hand, studying my small wrist. So thin.

I looked away, not wanting to stare at my insecurities any longer. I tilted my head and looked to the teacher, trying to distract myself. I watched as his mouth opened and closed but I couldn't hear any words come out of his mouth. I pretended to listen as I numbly wrote notes down that were presented on the board.

•~•~•

It was only 3rd period and I already wanted to leave this shit hole. I was drawing on my textbook, erasing it after every drawing so I would have room for the next one.