Chapter 4

“How was school?” Indianna’s mum asked when she walked into the house later that day.

“It was school,” Indianna shrugged and walked up the stairs to her room. She walked in and sat on her bed, opening her laptop.

Her room was pretty bare. There were boxes stacked up and pushed against the wall, the walls were a boring beige color, and the only furniture she had was her bed, wardrobe, and a chest of drawers. She still had a lot to unpack.

She stayed on her laptop for a few hours, scrolling through Tumblr and stalking Dylan O’Brien and Andy Biersack on Twitter. It was how she spent most evenings. She only got up to pee and eat.

“Indianna, dinner’s ready!”

Indianna pried her eyes away from her laptop screen, which was making her eyes water when she blinked and looked at the door.

“I’ll be down in a minute!” she called and shut her laptop.

With a loud yawn, she climbed off her bed and walked over to the door, but as soon as her hand touched the doorknob, her stomach churned, and her hand flew to her mouth. She rushed to the bathroom connected to her room and spewed the contents of her gut into the toilet. She chucked her beanie on the floor and tied her hair back just as she puked again.

“Oh God,” she moaned as she felt the pushing feeling in her head. The voice, however, didn’t say anything. She puked again and slumped down onto the floor, leaning her head against the wall.

She sat there for a few minutes, waiting to see if she would be sick again, but fortunately, she wasn’t.

She groaned and pulled herself up from the floor, flushing the toilet and washing her mouth out with water. She suddenly didn’t feel like eating.

Like a sloth, she slowly made her way downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Mum, I’m not hungry,” she said and turned back around, going back up to her room. She collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes. Sleep took her within seconds.

***

It was dark when Indianna woke up. Her bed sheets were twisted around her legs, and she was sweating like a pig. She groaned and sat up, pressing her palm to her forehead. The voice was in her head, like before she went to bed. It wasn’t saying anything which creeped her out.

Her whole body ached, and it felt like she was bruised all over. She managed to get out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, using the wall for support. She turned the shower on and looked in the mirror, cringing at what she saw.

There were dark circles under her eyes, and her face was slick with sweat. Her hair was matted to her head, and her usually tanned skin was a sickly grey. She stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water would soothe her aching body.

It didn’t.

It made her feel worse. When she climbed out of the shower, she was burning up, and her skin felt like she had extreme pins and needles. She wrapped her towel around her and splashed her face with cold water, but it did nothing for her temperature. She managed to make it back to her room, and she fell onto her bed, too exhausted to dry herself. She just lay there until she dried off.

She didn’t know what was wrong with her—she was just grateful that she hadn’t been sick again.

***

It was only 7 a.m. when Indianna finished getting dressed. She had fallen asleep in her towel for an hour, but she awoke to the feeling of wanting to puke. Luckily, she didn’t.

She was still hot, and her temperature seemed to be rising, so she chose to wear some denim shorts and a loose white vest top. She threw her dark brown hair, which was still slightly damp, up into a messy bun and put her glasses on. She could see without them, but she needed them for close-up things like reading, so she chose to leave them on. It was easier than hunting through her bag to find them.

‘Why are you going to school? You are clearly ill, sugar.’

‘You took your time to speak up.’

‘How did you know I was already in your head?’

‘I can sense you.’

‘Right. So why are you going to school?’

‘It’s my second day. I can’t skip.’

‘Yes, you can.’

‘No. Besides, I am not being stuck at home with my mother.’

‘You don’t get along?’

‘Not really.’

Indianna shoved her bare feet into a pair of black Converse and lay down on her bed, closing her eyes.

‘That shouldn’t be the reason you are going to school.’

‘Well, it’s one of them.’

‘You should stay at home, sugar.’

‘I’m fine. This will probably all be gone in a couple of hours.’ She sounded like she wasn’t only trying to convince the voice but herself too.

‘Hmm, sure.’

‘I’m just going to go slee—’

She didn’t finish the end of the sentence because sleep had already taken over. She welcomed it eagerly.

***

The sun was shining brightly, and it was making Indianna feel worse as she walked into school that day.

‘You shouldn’t have come in.’

‘If you aren’t going to answer my questions, then don’t talk to me.’

Indianna sighed and walked up the steps to the school. She could feel gazes on her ass, and she doubted her choice of clothes.

“Hey, beautiful.”

Indianna stopped in her tracks when a guy walked in front of her in the hallway.

“You new around here? I would remember somebody like you...” The guy’s eyes landed on her boobs, and she shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah, um, excuse me,” she muttered and tried to walk past him, but he followed her movements.

“Where are you in a rush to?” The guy smirked, placing a hand on her arm, making her want to puke again. “I can show you around, sweet cheeks.”

“N-no, I’m fine, thanks,” she mumbled and stepped back, but the guy pulled her forward.

“You should be more grateful!” the guy snapped, yanking Indianna into his chest. “A pretty little thing like you shouldn’t be left alone. There are some mean guys around here.” His smile turned into an evil grin, and Indianna squirmed, trying to push the guy off her.

“G-get off me!” she whimpered, her heart pounding in her chest.

“The girl said leave her alone.”

Indianna looked behind the guy and saw Greyson standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Fuck off, mate, I’m busy,” the guy snapped, and Greyson rolled his eyes, grabbing the guy by the collar of his shirt. He yanked the guy backward, and he let go of Indianna, but she stumbled and went flying toward the floor.

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact, but luckily, somebody caught her and steadied her.

“It’s alright,” the familiar voice said, and she looked behind her to see Ace. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah, thank you,” she whispered, and her head snapped to Greyson as he shoved the guy into the lockers.

There was a crowd forming now, and Indianna saw Brooke among them. Her eyes landed on Indianna, and she rushed over to her.

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost, hun!” she exclaimed, but Indianna was too busy looking at the fight.

“Don’t you fucking dare call me mate,” Greyson hissed, and the guy’s eyes widened.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you!” the guy gasped and groaned when Greyson punched him in the stomach.

“Apologize to her!” Greyson yelled and looked at Indianna, along with the rest of the crowd. Greyson pressed his arm to the guy’s throat and glared at him. “Fucking apologize right now, or I’ll make sure you won’t live to see the sun, mate.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry!” he managed to get out between gasps.

“I don’t think you mean it,” Greyson hissed, pressing his arm down more.

“I do!” the guy yelled and pried at Greyson’s hands. “I’m sorry!”

“Better,” Greyson snapped and shoved the guy onto the floor. “Now get out of my sight before I do something I regret!”

The guy jumped up from the floor and scurried away quicker than you could blink, and Greyson sighed, cracking his knuckles.

“This isn’t a freaking show. Now all of you, fuck off!”

The crowd didn’t have to be told twice, and they all dispersed, whispering about what they had just witnessed.

“What happened?” Brooke whispered, frowning at Indianna, who stood there in shock. She didn’t know that Greyson could be so... scary. He was scary in the classroom yesterday, but she thought that was an act.

Obviously not.

“I-I, err—” She didn’t know what to say and shook her head. “I have to, um... go.”

“Indie, wait!”

Before she could spin around, Greyson grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes.

“Sorry you had to see that. Josh is a sick bastard. He won’t bother you anymore.”

“O-okay,” she stuttered, and Kal and Harry walked over to them.

“Dude, we heard what happened,” Kal said, and Brooke raised her eyebrows.

“What did happen?” she wondered.

“Josh was being a creep and manhandling Indianna,” Ace explained.

“That’s horrible!”

“Well, um, thanks, but I have to go,” Indianna muttered and pulled her arm from Greyson’s wrist.

“Indie, are you alright?” Greyson wondered. “Not because of what happened—I mean, you look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks,” she mumbled.

“No, Indianna, he’s right. You don’t look very well,” Brooke said as Harry wrapped his arms around her, making her roll her eyes and elbow him in the ribs.

“I’m fine,” Indianna muttered and spun around, walking away from the group before they could say anything else.

She sighed and pressed her hand to her forehead. She was burning up, and the world was starting to spin.

‘Go home, sugar. You’re ill.’

‘Shut up.’

‘Go home!’

‘Make me.’

Indianna walked into the girls’ toilets, and suddenly, the pain in her head appeared again. She groaned and gripped the sink as it got worse.

‘Stop it!’

She gripped her head in pain and squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Please!’

‘Agree to go home, and I will.’

‘No! Just make it stop!’