Chapter 20: Seeking an Audience
I walked back to the dorm like a ghost, each step heavier than the last. My hands were still stained with blood. My clothes, my shoes, everything felt tainted. I tried to wipe it off, but it was like that girl’s blood had soaked into my soul. Her lifeless eyes kept flashing behind mine every time I blinked.
The door creaked open, and my friends were there in the common room, chatting quietly. The second Elise saw me, she jumped up.
"Lorraine! Why did the cleaning duty take so long, we were starting to get worried!"
I wanted to speak, to tell them everything, but my throat locked up. My voice just wasn’t there.
She had cooked. A warm, comforting smell drifted through the air, something with spices and maybe rosemary. I barely registered it. The sight of the food only made my stomach twist.
Callum, ever gentle, tilted his head and looked at me with concern. "Maybe she’s just exhausted from cleaning," he offered, placing a light hand on my shoulder.
"Or maybe she heard about it" Felix muttered from the corner. "Thanks to someone leaving the kitchen messy, Silas docked us ten dorm points. Its barely been a week since we came and we’ve lost ten dorm points. I swear, we’re gonna get locked out in the rain at this rate."
I couldn’t bring myself to argue, or even respond. I just gave them all a weak nod and left them in the common room, their voices fading into static behind me.
I stepped into the bedroom and shut the door. My legs gave out the moment I reached my bed. I collapsed face-first onto the sheets, still fully clothed, my fist clenched tightly around the blood-stained fabric. I couldn’t let go of it. Even in sleep, my hand stayed closed around it, like it was the only thing tethering me to reality.
I don’t even remember falling asleep.
All I know is I was suddenly ripped from whatever dreamless pit I had sunk into by the sharp, blaring morning siren. It screamed through the dorm like a drill through bone, shaking me awake. I blinked against the faint morning light spilling through the dusty window.
I was still wearing yesterday’s clothes.