🎼Tick tock

Ugh, what is that?

Tick tock

Shut up.

Tick tock

You're killing me!

TICK TOCK

I opened my eyes blinking a few times to get used to the bright light glaring back and found myself in a white room, a hospital room lying on an uncomfortable bed. Tick tock.

"Shut up!" I whined trying to sit up. I expected that pain to return in my back but nothing did and thank god because that really killed me.  I remained a little light-headed but I was able to process the events that had occurred today.

What the hell happened?

I remembered arguing with the mole and Henry holding me when my legs grew weak, then everything went black. I settled with the stress that my father and those gunmen in the alley provoked. Yeah, that sounds right. Stress, a lot happened earlier, I must be just sick with stress. And sick with dread. Great now I feel worse than before. I looked to my left to see a big glass window showing the hospital hallway. I noticed more nurses running past than I did doctors in their usual scrubs. My moment of solitude was quickly vanquished as I heard the familiar frest of my mother down the hall and then my mother and father came into view. She was in a white fuzzy faux coat flushed with worry or from midday drinks with the girls and when she spotted me her worry lines deepened. My father looked similarly troubled but I didn't care about him, in fact, when he met my eye I avoid his and focused on mum. 

"Angelica, my poor baby what happened!?" she all but screamed and pulled me to her chest, crushing me.

"I might need to breathe," I said and she begrudgingly let go of me. However, not wanting to fully separate as she kept her manicured hands on my arms searching for any wounds. When satisfied she still clung onto me - her grip constricting.

"Are you alright?" my dad asked concerned but I wouldn't look at him.

"I'm fine,"

"Don't mumble,  Angie, look at us.," my mother ordered so I did. Theystood shoulder to shoulder flooded with concern for me. All I could think was how he dared to be near her without guilt. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I just felt dizzy and pain..."

"Pain? Oh my poor baby! Where? Are you still hurting? Show me where it hurts!" Mother said growing more frantic. I could see all these paranoid ideas sprout in her head of every impossible thing that could be wrong with me

"It doesn't hurt anymore. It was my back and my head," I said squeezingher hands in a way to relax her. I gazed through the window again to see Henry running right past before backing up to find me. Relief filled his face when he ran into the room and took his spot next to my dad.

"The nurses wouldn't let me come and see you. So, they should be coming to take me out very soon but I don't care because I needed to make sure you're okay. So are you?" He said quickly then took in a deep breath.

"That's right, Henry, remember to breathe." I laughed despite myself. I couldn't believe how hysterical everyone was acting. I suppose for my mother it's not so much of a surprise.

"Are. You. OK?" Henry said.

"No, the doctor says I only have five days to live," I said throwing a hand to my head.

"No Angelica you can't leave me! I can't live without you. I'll follow you up there if I have to," He said over dramatically and I rolled my eyes.

"You're too sweet," I said then remembered my parents were in the room sharing amused glances. I nudged Henry's shoulder and he stood up nodding at my parents.

"No need to go to extremes Henry she will be fine," My father said. I didn't need him talking for me but I stayed silent. I looked at my mother instead who gave me a really ominous smile. I knew she was sending me a some kind of message that I couldn't compute.

"Sooo.... when can I go home? Oh my God!" I covered my face with my hands, "please tell me I did not faint in front of Nicole?"

"I can but that would be lying." Henry sighed patting my back. I straightened up putting my hands in my lap. "I'll tell you about it later," he said with his head gesturing to my parents.

The doctor walked in wearing the usual lab coat and held a clipboard in his hand. He glanced up at me and gasped a little. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again.

Oh boy.

He stood there for half a minute staring at me in wonderment.

"So am I going to live doctor?" I said and he snapped back to life.

"Well, there are no symptoms of any kind of sickness. I think it might just be dehydration," he said pulling a tired smile.

"But what about the back pains?" my mum added worriedly.

"It's probably just menstral stuff, mum. Can I go home now?" I said and looked at the doctor.

"You should be fine. If anything like this happens again come back and we'll check out what is wrong." Well, we all heard him time to go. I stood up and everyone watched, expecting either for me to collapse to the ground or have my head roll off my body but neither happened and I grew impatient, not to mention embarrassed.

"He said I'm fine let's go home."

~★★★~

My parents took me home straight after so I never got the chance to talk to Henry about what happened but I didn't need to. Lara called me explaining all the bullshit Nicole spread about it on Facebook. I didn't have Facebook because I didn't give a rat's arse about how people went out to awesome parties or who was hooking up with who. Facebook was invented not to talk to people but to grab everyone's attention so you could gaze as the lacklustre life of a teenager.  I don't want any attention so Facebook is a big no-no. And I pray adult life is way more interesting this awkward phase. Why on Earth would I want to see all that boring crap people post on there anyway? Perhaps I was getting too defensive.

Apparently Nicole was telling everyone I had blacked out and that I might have a deadly disease that could be contagious. Pathetic right? Who in their right mind would believe something as moronic as that? I slowly walked into the kitchen only to find my father standing there looking through the pantry. Anger boiled within me but I wasn't ready to go through with argument yet, so I turned to get out of there. He caught me before I got the chance.

"How are you feeling?" he asked concerned but I felt like he didn't truly care. He didn't care about mum, what did that mean with me? If he truly cared about us he wouldn't be acting up.

"Fine," I  walked down the hallway to get away from him.

This was probably one of the worst days of my life. When will being fifteen be over? I stalked up to my bedroom and slammed the door shut. I tore off my jumper and slid out of my dress and accidentally caught my reflection in the mirror. I was in awe of myself so I tried to avert my eyes turning away but I gasped at what I found sticking out from my back. What the heck? I reached for it, this pale thing protruding from my skin and tried tugging it off my but when I pulled I felt a little pain in my back. It was wedged in there as if it had always been there, as if it had grown from me. A feather. How was that even possible? Perhaps I was hallucinating from stress and that blackout, that makes sense right? I pulled at it again and ripped it from its pore earning a pained hiss from me. Blood drooled down my back and I held the soft white feather in my hand. Soft, iridescent, pearlescent, it shimmered like the inside of a shell. It was beautiful.

"Angelica are you okay?" Mum said from behind the door. How could I explain that her only daughter might be evolving into a chicken? I held the feather tightly in my hand and stared at the door.

"I'm alright, a little tired" I lied.

"Dinner will be ready soon, oh and I want to talk to you about your birthday party. But that can wait!" I listened to her heels tap away. I didn't want to think about my birthday and what a mess that would be, the thought of celebrating made me want to curl up and die. I opened my hand only to see the feather was gone all that was left was grey sand. Okay, this was too weird...

I turned around to look at my back in the mirror again and saw that the blood was gone too.

Have I lost my mind?

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So what do you think I'm not very proud of this chapter but it will have to do.

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