**
"The tick-tock of the clock is painful
All sane and logical
I want to tear it off the wall"
Eve 6, "Inside Out"
**
My arms thrashed above my head and my eyes snapped open. Lucky's room was dark, except for the light apparently coming from a streetlight outside the window. The light fell through the slats in his shade, creating a zebra-like pattern on the bedspread.
The blankets covering me began to stifle me with heat. I kicked at them until they no longer covered my body. The colder air outside the blankets caused my skin to prickle with goosebumps. I rolled my head to the left, to see Lucky's bedside clock. The hands were glow-in-the-dark green. It ticked each second away.
4:31. In the AM.
I shivered. There was no way I was going back to sleep now. Tears welled up in my eyes when my mind involuntarily returned to the nightmare I had been having.
I rolled over, painfully aware of my body's condition, and buried my face in Lucky's pillow. The breath that I inhaled shuddered in my lungs. Lucky's scent filled my nostrils. Being here, in his room, was driving me crazy. I could still see his eyes -- those beautiful blue eyes -- filled with sympathy. Pity even! The thought of Lucky's pity sent bile to my throat.
I attempted to arrange myself comfortably in the bed. No go.
The clock continued ticking.
My legs began to tense up. Perhaps they just needed a little stretching. I sat up and kicked my legs over the side of the mattress. When my feet touched the wood flooring, I jumped. I found my way slowly to Lucky's door, and eased it open. Thankfully, it didn't squeak or anything.
The hallway was darker than his room had been. I tried to remember exactly how many feet it was to the bathroom, but I bumped into the doorway anyway. My body made a loud thump and I almost cried out from the impact on my bruises. I stepped through the doorway and closed the door before I dared turn on the light. What if Lucky's parents woke up?
I stood in front of the mirror, propping myself against the sink. My face was chalk white, most of my body an ugly rainbow of blue, green and purple.
The lights were harsh compared to what my eyes had been used to. It made my head ache.
I leaned over the sink and turned the faucet on its lowest setting. Once I had splashed my face with water, I prepared to return to Lucky's room. I had barely cracked open the door when a masculine hand, arm and shoulder appeared in front of my face.
I did the only thing I could. I screamed.
End chapter five.