We walked down the hallway to our sixth period class, Chemistry. Grace said she had to use the bathroom and asked if I wouldn't mind waiting. We had a science project over some atoms or something, I never understood half of it. We got to pick our partner, so naturally, me and Grace picked each other. So I walked to the side of the hallway and waited for Grace. It might take a few minutes, but I’d rather wait here than deal with class.
Suddenly, I heard a deep, booming voice next to me. “Well, well, well.”
I looked next to me. Standing at 6 foot 3 and extremely muscular was Derek. He’s the one who’s bullied me the most throughout my high school years. He always seemed to have beef with me over something, but I never knew what said beef was, and he’d never bother to tell me. Internally, I sighed. “What do you want this time?”
Derek chuckled. He could tell that his presence was affecting me, and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed the suffering of others. Even his own friends. No one was safe from him. It was his personality. That, and sports. “Well, I couldn’t help but overhear your scuffle that you had at lunch a few minutes ago. Personally, I thought it was hilarious.” He chuckled again, slapping my back. It hurt, and the pain continued to sting. But after he stopped chuckling, his expression changed to be more serious. Uh oh. Derek is usually a cocky person, and he never takes anything serious at all. Unless something bad happens to him that ticks him off. So… I’m probably in a world of hurt now. As I was about to take a few steps away, he continued, his tone darkening and more aggressive. “But, uh. You hanging out with her is something I cannot allow.”
Before I could ask for any amount of elaboration, Derek punched me into the wall. Everything hurt all at once. My senses were being overwhelmed and spazzing out. I then felt more pain as I was barraged with punches. Some hit my face, some my torso, and others, my legs. Despite this not being the worst pain I’ve felt before, it still hurt really bad. But… it was killing me. Literally. Is Derek going to kill me? That meant… I was free! No more suffering at my parents hands. No more suffering here. Finally, I can be at peace for once in my pitiful life! Derek stopped punching me and grabbed me by my throat, holding me up into the air. He said… something. I didn’t hear, and I didn’t care. He started to slowly squeeze my neck, depriving me of oxygen and slowly fading my vision. I could feel the pain in my lungs, and I could feel my heart rapidly beating, trying to supply more non-existent air to the rest of my body. Everything kept growing darker and darker, until suddenly… he stopped. What? Why did he stop? Did he know I wanted death? (Hey, it’s me, the author. This is the point in the story where I once again reiterate I AM FINE PLEASE DO NOT WORRY I AM ALL GOOD!) Derek dropped me on the floor and turned around to look at something. Or someone. I couldn’t hear well at the moment, but he was talking to… Grace? She argued with him about something. They went at it for a bit, until Derek reached his fist back to punch Grace.
He was suddenly pulled behind Grace, to another person who also looked to be Derek’s height. He was also really strong, and spoke about something. My hearing was starting to recover, and the person was saying something about “having enough of Derek.” The person threw Derek out of the nearby window, really, REALLY hard. I heard a scream as he flew, until it eventually became silent as he was too far away to be heard.
The person walked over to me, and gently picked me up, very gently. I wanted to speak, tell him to end my suffering already. But I couldn’t speak, I didn’t have the strength to. And then, everything went black.
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I woke up, in some kind of tube. A large mask was strapped to my face, connected to a pipe which also connected to some other container. The tube was filled with a bright red liquid. So the container was probably full of oxygen. Most of my clothing was removed, saved for a pair of shorts. A mirror allowed me to get a good look at myself. I was completely healed. Well, mostly. Scars and bruises still lingered from my parents. But other than that, I was all good. Dang it. I was so close to death.
Something just hit me. Not literally but, I had a realization just now.
Grace was arguing with Derek after he attacked me. I saw that. But why? She knew that Derek would be too much to take in a fight. Almost no one could deal with him. Yeah, that one kid handled him, but still. She didn’t know that he’d be there. Why would she risk her life for me? She cares for me more than anyone else has. Did she…? Does she…? No, no, that’s not possible. There’s no way she cared about me that much. No one does.
Suddenly, the red liquid from the tube started to drain. I could tell at this point that it was most certainly rejuvenation gel, but it was still oddly liquidy. After it all drained, an internal fan started running, drying me off fairly quickly. After I was dried, the fan turned off, and the tube opened from the front. I removed the mask and stepped out of the tube. I was in a smallish room with bright blue walls. There were some medical things lying around the room on carts. I’m definitely in the nurse’s office. There are 2 side rooms, one with an open door, the other with a closed one. And then there was a room where the nurse resided, with large windows. She was typing things on a computer, then turned to look at me. “Hey, welcome back.” She said.
I didn’t respond.
She chuckled. “Silent type, huh? That’s fine. Your clothes are in the open side room. Go change back into your outfit.”
I nodded, and walked into the side room. My clothes were hanging on a coat rack. I changed into my original clothes, and then left the room. When I got out there, I saw Grace nervously waiting for me. As soon as I took a single step forward, Grace ran over to me and gave me a hug. She was hugging me tighter than she ever has before. My instincts started to kick in, screaming to push her away, but I restrained them. I hugged Grace back. She then started to cry.
“I- I thought,” She said in between sobs. “I thought I lost you.”
“Me too.” I replied. “Me too.”
Grace stood there for a few minutes crying, before she eventually calmed down. She released her hug and looked at me, with a relieved smile on her face. It was slightly red from her crying.
The nurse interrupted the moment. “I know this is touching and all, but you two still have classes to go to. It’s 8th period, so make sure you head there.”
We nodded, leaving the nurses office. Neither of us spoke. I don’t think we wanted to after what just happened. It was stressful. I still wish I died, but… I’m… okay with this. I don’t know why, but things felt… different now. Our relationship had strengthened significantly. And I was starting to feel it. Why… Why can’t I feel like this more often?
