“What?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. There’s no way that the nurse is going to try to talk me into leaving the school too, is there?
“You heard me, Abigail. Things aren’t going to get better for you. In fact, I’d wager that as soon as you leave my room, things are going to get a whole hell of a lot worse, and you need to be prepared for that. Are you ready to handle whatever gets thrown at you?” She lets go of my arm and I immediately sway a little under the impact of her words.
“Spell it out for me. What are you talking about?”
“You want to make it out of here in one piece, Abigail? Then I suggest that you leave Trinity Prep as quickly as possible. Sticking around here is going to be bad for your health.”
I back away from her, reaching behind me for the door. She hasn’t done anything to hurt me, but there are some things that she knows about me that I don’t like.
Such as the fact that I broke my wrist by falling on it. And my name. I’m sure that I didn’t tell her my name.
It’s almost like she knew I was coming.
She watches me turn the handle on the door and then tosses me a bottle. Grabbing it out of the air with my left hand, I hear the pills rattle inside. “For your pain,” she explains when she catches a glance at my face. “I think that you’ll find that once the adrenaline really wears off that you’re going to need them.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, then I’m out the door, slamming it shut behind me and leaning against it to catch my breath. Once I’ve calmed down, I glance at the bottle in my hand. Abigail Williams.
It’s like she knew I was coming and had the medication ready for me when I got there.
Nothing makes sense. Shaking my head to try to clear it some, I start down the hall. Dinner smells better and better as I walk towards the dining hall, but I don’t have an appetite right now.
I just want to find Madeline and figure out what the hell is going on.
Chapter Eighteen
It takes me banging on her door for a solid two minutes before she swings it open. Her arms are crossed and she has a foul look on her face, but I’ve never been so happy to see my best friend.
“Madeline!” Relief floods through my body and I suddenly realize how exhausted I am. I grab her doorframe with my good hand and lean on it. “I’m just so glad to see you! I…I can’t even begin to tell you what’s been going on.” Pushing up off of the doorframe, I step towards her, meaning to walk past her into her room, but she blocks my way.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Her voice is cold and flat and it stops me in my tracks. “And why the hell do you think that I give a shit what’s been going on with you? Whatever it was, you probably deserve it.”
“What?” Instinctively, I take a step back and lift my hand up to my chest to protect it. My wrist aches and throbs, but I can’t tear my eyes away from my friend’s face.
Well, I thought that she was my friend. But the way she’s looking at me right now makes me nervous. I want to push past her and stretch out on her bed while I tell her all about my day, but I’m scared to make a move.
“You heart me,” she says, brushing her hair back behind her ear as she talks. “You’re not welcome here, and I don’t give a flying fuck about what happened to you. Now, go. Get out of here, you little whore.”
Her words sting me and I step back into the hall. Turning from her, I’m surprised to see that girls are leaning out of their rooms, staring at us. They’ve all been listening to everything we’re saying. The thought makes my heart pound and my stomach twists.
My room is just a little way down the hall, but I feel like it takes forever for me to reach my door. Once there, I struggle to get the key in the lock, but I finally do, and I turn it, shoving open the door to step inside.
There, I collapse against it, reaching down to lock it with my good hand.
What the hell just happened?
Why would Madeline turn on me like that? It doesn’t make any sense, not when she’s been there for me since day one. Even when other people turned their back on me and didn’t want me around, Madeline always made me feel welcome.
Like she cared.
Then I remember what Quinn told me in the woods. That Madeline wasn’t going to come and that she wasn’t going to care about me anymore. I don’t know what he did, but it’s obvious that he’s the reason my best friend has turned on me.
I have to go see him.
Instead of opening the door, however, I lean against it and sigh, letting the tears flow down my cheeks. I can’t go see him right now. Not after what happened today. I have to just…hide out for now.
It’s early but I need to go to bed. Tomorrow is going to bring a whole new set of challenges with my wrist, and I have to rest if I’m going to be able to face them. Without even stripping down to change, I throw myself onto my bed, careful not to land on my wrist.
I need rest, but it’s going to pound and ache all night. My eyes are exhausted, but I read the label on the medication the nurse gave me.
Two pills as needed for pain.
Alright, then.
Swallowing
