The Girl Who Couldn't Feel

I sprinted to the building and ran through the door. I lowered my breathing as I snuck a peak into what used to be a classroom but there wasn’t anything. I looked through all the rooms, disappointed each time. She had to be alright. I had to find her quickly.

After checking all the rooms, only the bathrooms were left. I pushed the girl’s restroom open slightly but no one was inside. I stepped inside to double check and was surprised by how familiar the place looked… odd. I dismissed the thought. My priority right now was Tammy. I checked the boy’s bathroom but no one was there either. Ten more minutes had passed. That meant she had been gone for at least 20 minutes if not more. Kelly liked to take her time… but not THAT much time. Panic was setting in when I got an idea. I ran to Kelly and her group’s hangout.

A couple people were there. I didn’t wait for their response. Instead, I grabbed the nearest guy’s shirt and pulled him towards me. “Where is she?” I yelled, making no attempt of hiding my anger.

“Wh-“ He said stunned.

“WHERE is TAMMY.” I growled at him.

“Who?” He said confused.

I pushed him away and looked at the others. “Where’s Tammy?” Nobody responded. “If I don’t get an answer in the next five seconds I’m going to beat all of you black and blue.” I said, seething.

“We don’t know.” One of the girls said nervous. “Honestly. We haven’t heard anything about her.”

“And Kelly?” I asked. “Where is she?”

“I-in Bio. Her first class. She should be in Lab 4.” She mumbled.

“Right.” I grumbled and ran off to the lab. I quickly glanced through the window on the door. Kelly was inside. I was about to open the door and strangle her till I got an answer when I heard someone call me from behind.

“Marie? What are you doing here?” I turned around to see Tammy walking towards me. My body suddenly relaxed as I looked her over. She looked exactly like she had earlier. She wasn’t bruised or anything which was a good sign.

“Where were you?” I practically screamed. I was still huffing from all the running. Tammy looked at me concerned.

“Mrs. Stewart, the club advisor, asked me to help her carry some test tubes to the labs… Why are you sweating? What’s going on?” She asked. She was walking towards me too slowly so I ran to her and hugged her tightly. I felt even more at ease knowing she wasn’t just in my head. She was here. She was fine.

I sighed, relieved. “Thank God.” I mumbled as I held onto her.

She hugged me back softly. “Marie? What’s wrong?”

I let her go immediately after she asked the question. “Nothing.” I smiled and laughed awkwardly. “What, what would make you think something’s wrong?”

She looked at me sternly. “Really… You mean other than the fact your out of breathe and smiling like you just won the lotto?”

“Am I?” I said as I touched my cheeks. I felt my face fall as I remembered what could have happened right now. I had gotten lucky this time… but next time? “I was worried that maybe Kelly… She might have done something. You know?” I said clumsily.

Tammy smiled at me. “That’s it? Don’t worry so much.” She laughed as she hugged me again.

“Tammy, this isn’t a joke.” I muttered. “I’m serious.”

Tammy smiled softly. “I’m not worried. I have you, don’t I?” She laughed jokingly. I hoped she didn’t realize how that sentence made my heart drop. She trusted me way too much. What if I wasn’t able to protect her? Would she really be able to look at me and say that?

“Promise me. Even if someone tells you I’m in trouble. Even if they say I’m dying. PLEASE do not follow them.” I muttered, sure that at some point this would occur.

She looked at me and shook her head. “I can’t. If there’s a chance you’re in trouble…”

I laughed. “I promise you I will NEVER be in a situation I can’t get out of on my own. Don’t come.” She wasn’t buying it. I needed another reason, so I picked whatever else came to mind first. “You coming would just be a liability….”

After a moment she sighed. “Fine.” She mumbled and I felt a lot better. At least I wasn’t AS worried as I had been.

But this had taught me something. I had to be more aware. I had to be more careful. I couldn’t risk her getting hurt. I memorized her schedule and compared it to mine. Luckily we only didn’t have one class together, meaning my job wouldn’t be that difficult. Plus the class was just Computer Programming. I could come to the class a few minutes late after dropping Tammy off in her class, and then I left the class early as well so I could wait in front of her class before it finished.

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Days passed and soon a week and a half with the same schedule. Wake up early and wait outside Tammy’s house until she was ready. Stalk her all day at school and after school I waited outside her club rooms as she attended several meetings. During this time I did my homework as well. Then I would walk home with her and sit in the tree outside her house to make sure nobody was following or planning anything. By 11 PM Tammy was asleep and I went home and literally fell into bed.

Almost every other day, someone or the other would be following us. After dropping Tammy off at home I went after the people Kelly sent and fought them before going back to check on Tammy.

Slowly, I was sleeping for smaller and smaller amounts of time. Kelly would purposefully send people to Tammy’s house in the dead of night armed with pipes or whatever else they could find. Though I did win every fight, the problem was it was taking its toll. I was covered in bruises and every muscle hurt.

Though the fighting meant I got less sleep another problem was that my nights were restless anyways. Every night I saw that girl in my dreams. I could fight everyone and beat them, but not her. Every night I lost to her. It was pathetic. She would tease me and when I tried to hurt her I found myself on the ground in unbearable pain. Slowly, I was starting to prefer staying awake rather than sleeping.


“She won’t stop you know.” She laughed at me as I glared at her.

“Seriously, what’s your problem? All I’m asking for is one night where I don’t see you in my dreams.” I grumbled.

“Hey… that hurt my feelings.” She mumbled.

“What? The fact that I hate you?” I laughed. “Apparently I haven’t made it clear enough. I HATE YOU. Leave me alone.”

The girl started sniffling while I just stood a few feet away. I had fallen for this before, but for some reason even now a lump formed in my throat and I felt guilty. Suddenly she looked up angrily. “Take it back.”

“What?” I mumbled, surprised by her rage.

“TAKE it back! TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT BACK! ” She shrieked slowly getting louder and louder. My head felt like it was going to explode.

I bit my lip tightly, trying to control the pain, but with every word she said the pain doubled. “FINE! I take it back!” I finally screamed out, but I could barely hear myself saying the words through the pain in my head. The pain stopped abruptly and I fell to the ground. “Damn it.” I muttered angrily to myself. I didn’t like losing.

The girl giggled. She stood several feet away from me. “It’s alright. I forgive you.” She smiled and suddenly she was not even a foot from me. I didn’t even have time to get up. She bent down a bit and whispered into my ear. “For now…”

“Get AWAY from me!” I growled as I pushed something away. I found myself sitting up in my bed with Jaden looking at me, concerned. Apparently I had pushed him away.

“Are you alright? You looked like you were having a bad dream.” He said as he reached to place his hand on my cheek but I flinched so he stopped and moved back and sighed. “Marie… I told you before that I’m your friend. So, you can trust me. I can help you.”

“I don’t need any help.” I managed to say as my breathing became steady. For some reason, I felt unusually dizzy and once again, the head ache was back. My throat was also really sore.

Jaden smiled, but it didn’t seem as happy as usual. “Well, just keep it in mind. If it gets too hard, ask me and I’ll take care of it. I promise.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I muttered as I mentally cursed myself for the warm feeling his words gave me. He always knew what to say… I looked at the time and realized I was late. I had to hurry to Tammy’s house.

“You should probably get going, Princess, or you’ll be late.” Jaden smiled and I glanced at him, surprised that he knew, though I didn’t know how much. But, I didn’t have time to think about it since he was right. I had to get ready quickly.

Jaden’s word actually made me feel a bit energized. Though I knew I wouldn’t long with the way things were now, at least for today I felt like I could overcome this. Even the bruises and other aches hurt a bit less.

I walked with Tammy to her class and after I had dropped her off was walking to mine, Kelly approached me, laughing. “How long do you really think you can keep this up for?”

“As long as I need to.” I spat back.

“For the rest of your life? That might be difficult.” She scoffed. “You should just give up. One beating won’t kill her… hopefully.” She smiled.

I stood so that my face was just inches from her. “If you don’t stop this, I promise I will beat the crap out of you. If killing you will stop this, I’ll do it, even if it kills me as well.” I glared at her.

I saw the fear in her eyes that she tried to hide. “I’m the only one who’s going to be making the conditions here.” She glared back and then began to walk away. “However, I have considered making an offer. I’ll let Tammy go if you give Jaden to me. That means you don’t talk to him and you move out of that house. In general, you can never go near him again.”

“Sorry, no can do.” I smiled back. Immediately I felt stupid for doing that. All she was asking was that I stay away from ONE person. I was actually getting off easy. But… Jaden said he was my friend. The friend I’d ever really had other than Tammy. I actually hoped maybe we could get to know each other. Even if he only managed to get on my nerves. Had I always been this stupidly sentimental? Scratch that. The real reason I didn’t agree was to get on Kelly’s nerves. I would even risk Tammy’s life to do it. Because, that’s the kind of person I was.

“Well then, I guess I’ll have to wait till you can barely stand. Maybe then you’ll understand this situation.” She smiled, and though I only smiled back I was suddenly worried as to what she might do in retaliation. One thing that I knew about her was that she was not used to hearing the word ‘no’.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Tammy didn’t have anything to do after school so we walked home, and I began to feel that maybe I was worrying for nothing. It was after I had dropped her off that Jaden called me.

“Hey, Marie. Did you pick Candy up from school?” He asked somewhat concerned.

“What? No. Why would I?” I asked, confused. My head was already hurting enough; I really didn’t want to have to deal with anything else. I felt so… tired.

“Well, did you ask anyone else to?”

“Uh, no. Jaden. What’s wrong?”

“Marie, your aunt was going to pick her up but apparently someone called as said they drop her off. She said it was the granddaughter who owns the private school Candy goes to. Apparently she’s met the girl and is not that worried… But I was thinking… Maybe…” I didn’t even continue listening to Jaden. I was already running as fast as I could to get home. It couldn’t be… could it?

I got home and as if on cue a black limo pulled up. The driver came and opened the door and Candy hopped out as well as… Kelly. “MARIE!!!” Candy giggled as she ran up to me and hugged my legs.

“Hey Bunny.” I smiled as I bent down to see her face. “Are you alright? Did she do anything to you?”

“She gave me ice cream! Kelly is sooo nice!” She said smiled and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I glanced up and saw Kelly walking towards us. “Hey, why don’t you go inside while I talk to Kelly?” I said as calmly as I could. Candy nodded and ran towards the door, which Jaden had opened. I turned to see her run to him. “Jaden, why don’t you take her inside, please?” I said, not wanting Candy to see me explode. He looked surprised, but then he nodded and walked inside.

I walked up to Kelly, barely able to hold in my anger. “WHAT THE HELL do you think you’re doing?!” I growled as I grabbed the front of the hoodie she was wearing.

She slowly pushed my hand away as she spoke. “I wouldn’t touch me if I were you. Or next time it will be more than just a threat.” She smiled. “I just wanted to remind you of the extent of my power. Don’t get too cocky.”

I could feel my face turn red from anger. “If you EVER go near her again…” I began to say, but she cut me off.

“OH! Mrs. Grace! It’s so nice to see you.” She said to my aunt behind me. I turned around to see my aunt walking towards us with Candy holding her hand.

“Hello, Kelly. It’s so good to see you again. I wanted to thank you for bringing Candy home.” She smiled politely.

“Oh, it was no problem at all, Mrs. Grace. Candy is such an angel.” She smiled while looking at me.

“Candy, don’t you have something to say.” My aunt said as she pushed Candy forward a little bit.

“Thank you!” Candy smiled widely.

“You’re welcome, Candy.” Kelly so Candy would shake it. As Candy put her hand out, I stepped in front of her and shook hands with her instead. I gripped her hand extremely tightly, making her flinch.

“Yes. Thanks.” I smiled.

“No worries. Just a friendly reminder that I’m always around.” Kelly said, but only I understood what she meant.

“Bye.” I muttered. She said ‘bye’ as well and then left.

As soon as she was out of sight, my aunt grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. I saw what she was going to do, but I didn’t stop her. She slapped me on my cheek with as much strength as she could muster. It took me a second to steady myself.

“HOW DARE you talk to HER that way! Do you KNOW who she is?!” She yelled at me. “Candy. We are going back inside right NOW.” She growled as she grabbed Candy’s hand.

“B-but Marie…” Candy said as she reached for me while her mom dragged her away.

“NOT right now!” Her mom yelled as they went inside. As she was about to close the door, Jaden appeared. He waited till my aunt and Candy walked away. He looked at me and immediately I looked away.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” He finally asked. I did, but not enough to ask for it. “Like I said, if you ask me to I will take care of it for you. But, only if you ask, Princess.” He smiled.

I looked up and glared. He was playing with me. But, I refused to ask him. “I’m fine.” I muttered, as I walked away. I noticed that my vision was a bit blurry and halfway to her house I began coughing as well, which only made my sore throat hurt more. I hadn’t eaten anything all day either, so I decided I would get something to eat at Tammy’s house.

By the time I got there, a couple of Kelly’s buddies were already waiting for me. She really never quit. After I fought them more came and after a couple hours there were a few more. She was sending them in small swarms of 6 to 7 each time, and by 11 I had already fought over eighteen people. I waited a couple more hours to make sure no more were coming and then I headed home.

I was sure I had a fever and the fighting hadn’t helped. I could barely get one foot in front of the other as I walked. Everything hurt, and I had gotten several more injuries than usual. My ribs and shoulders definitely had some new bruises that were extremely painful.

I don’t know how I got home. By the time I was somewhat conscious, I was standing in front of my house and I slowly made my way to the door. When I finally got there, it took me forever to get my key to fit in the lock. Because of the dizziness, the lock looked like it kept moving. Finally, after several attempts, I fell to the floor. My body was so fatigued I couldn’t even stand. I felt so cold. “You… have to get inside.” I mumbled, trying to will myself to get up. For the first time ever, just for a second, I wished someone would help me. Just for a second. For one stupid second, I hoped someone would help me. I leaned against the door, when suddenly it gave way and I felt my head hit the ground, but at this point it didn’t hurt.

“Marie?” I heard Jaden’s voice as I looked up to see him standing above me.

“Jaden?” I tried to speak but my voice was raspy.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He said softly as he helped me up and half carried me to our room. We were only a few feet away from my bed when I told him to let go of me.

“I can do it myself.” I muttered as I tried to push him away, but was too weak to do so.

“Fine.” He sighed as he slowly let go. I turned towards my bed and took one slow step. It took so much energy. Just a few more, I thought to myself. I took one more, but I ended up stumbling and falling to my knees. “Damn it!” I growled angrily. “DAMN IT.” I felt stupid.

“Marie…” I heard Jaden say as he slowly walked to me and put his hand out. “Let me help.” I was breathing heavily and my ears were ringing. I looked at his hand for a long time before I finally put my embarrassment aside and grabbed his hand. He pulled me up easily and helped me sit down on my bed. “I’ll get some medicine.” He said as he touched my forehead. He turned to walk away but I grabbed the back of his shirt. He was still in the shirt and jeans he was wearing earlier. He had been waiting for me.

I kept my head down as I held onto him, unable to look at him while I said what I was about to say. I kept trying to get the words out, but I didn’t want to say it. They were words I hated having to say and I despised other people who used them.

“Marie?” Jaden finally said since I wasn’t speaking, but he didn’t pull away or say anything else. He waited patiently.

I took a deep breath before I spoke. “H… me…” I mumbled.

“What?” Jaden said as he turned around to face me, but I kept my head down.

“H-help me… P-please.” I managed to say. “J-Jaden… “ My voice cracked as I said the words. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this close to tears.

Suddenly, Jaden’s arms were around me as he hugged me tightly. “Shhh. It’s alright now. I’ll take care of it. You can rest now, Princess. Go to sleep. And, by the time you wake, I promise this will all be over.”

I wanted to tell him that wasn’t possible. I wanted to warn him about Kelly, but I was tired I couldn’t get the words out. After taking the medicine I quickly fell into a deep sleep…