Vicky

It's rather strange where I am. I'm not supposed to be in Archie's childhood home. I can see Angie there. She's laying on the ground, bleeding. The bike I stole isn't far from her. Archie is shaking her. Crying and screaming. I don't understand. My mind is hazy, I'm so confused.

Archie looks at me, calls me a murderer. He points at me, almost poking me. I'm not a murderer. I try to explain, I try to say something, but I can't. It's like my mouth has been shut. He lunges at me, grabbing my shirt. He's shaking me. I'm crying. My throat is dry, my armpit damp with sweat.

"Vicky, snap out of it!" Someone shakes me violently. I open my eyes. Jesse is beside my bed looking so worried. I don't get a word out because he's hugging me.

Magnus, Gideon and Ander come in at some point during the hug. It's only when I try to close my eyes that I realize I've been crying. There are tear stains down to my chin.

"You had a nightmare. You were screaming and crying so loud. What happened? Who's Angie? You kept mentioning her."

I see Ander stiffen from my peripheral view. He clenches his jaw, focusing on anything else but me. I feel sick to my stomach. I turn my attention back to Jesse who's patiently waiting for me to say something.

"It's," I cough a little because of how hoarse my throat is. "An old memory. Nothing important. I'm okay."

Ander doesn't physically react to my statement, but I know if he were the only one in the room with me, he'd have punched me across the mouth.

"Are you sure?," Gideon inquires. I nod again, assuring them I'm all right. Eventually, they believe me and leave. I fall back on my bed panting. I'm near panic attack at this moment. My breath is getting erratic. Just as I'm about to fall back into the pool of misery, Magnus opens the door.

"Come have breakfast. I'm sure you're starving."

I'm not, but anything to keep myself busy is well accepted. Gideon is leaving as I come out. He gives me a hug, assuring me I'm going to be fine. I nod and smile, half not understanding why he'd do that.

The only other person still having breakfast is Ander. He's the last person I want to see right now. I still sit down on the farthest chair from him.

"Is that your best effort at avoiding me? You have to do better."

"I'm not avoiding you." Nothing else leaves my mouth. Left to me, I wouldn't even be in the same school with him right now.

"Then come closer Vicky." I do, but not too close. I can still make a run for it. "She used to call you Vicky. She's the one that started calling you Vicky. Archie's friend Vicky."

My mind is drifting back to Angie. She did call me Vicky. She'd lost her front teeth once and couldn't pronounce the V anymore. She was so cute.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh no sweetie. What are you sorry for? Don't apologize to me. Your fucking apology won't change the course of history will it?." His hands are leaving the table. I know where exactly they're aiming. He wants to grab my neck. I shift a little, but his hands don't move. They just stay there on his lap.

"I have a dead sister, an insane mother and an avoidant father. That's so amazing isn't it? So fucking amazing." Ander is done with his plate so he gets up to leave. Just when I think he's going to leave, he goes behind me and bends to whisper.

"You ruined my family. I won't stop saying it. I won't stop talking about it. An eye for a fucking eye. Vicky." He walks out of the dorm, slamming the door so hard it startles me.

Tears are streaming down my face. I'm sniffing and my shoulders are shaking. I really really want to go back home. I don't want to stay here. I feel so miserable.

My alarm dings, indicating I have to get ready for class, but I don't have a student in me right now. I almost literally crawl back to my room, leaving my cereal untouched. There's nobody else in the dorms with me, so I bawl my eyeballs out. I'm sniffing and coughing and any longer, I'll puke.

Just my luck, because my mother calls me. I don't want to pick, but I know not answering her will make her worry. I wipe my face with my sleeve and clear my throat.

"Hey mommy." I try to sound cheery, but it's not working. I feel like death right now.

"Hello sweet thing. I miss you so much, so I decided to call you. I hope I'm not interrupting your lectures or anything? Why is your voice so low?"

"No, you're not interrupting. I'm in the hall, but our professor hasn't come. It's okay." My lips quiver, begging me to let my tears out. I can't start crying while on the phone with my mother.

"Okay. Let me know when they arrive okay? I wouldn't want to take your time."

I laugh a little. Not because I feel like, but I have to. "Like I wouldn't mind my time being taken."

She goes on to talk about life in our neighborhood and her office place. I know pretty much everybody she's talking about. Being an only child makes you cling to your parents like there's no tomorrow.

"Margaret was asking about you. She said she'd text you. Has she? And no, I'm not trying to set you up with Margaret. She genuinely, platonically misses you."

Margaret was the first and only friend I made when we moved from the city to the suburbs. We don't have a lot of things in common, but she was great company whenever I felt miserable.

"No, she hasn't messaged me. If you run into her again, you can just give her my number to call me. It'd be nice to hear from her again." I'm taking deep breaths now. Anything to not make me cry.

"Are you really okay sweetie? You can talk to me about it right?" I can, but I don't want to. If my parents find out I'm around the Matheos brothers, they can go as far as withdrawing me from the school. That's how bad it could get.

"I'm fine. Just caught a bit of a cold this morning. Jesse gave me something to take. I'm feeling better already." Before she can bombard me with questions, I'm speaking again. "I'd love to talk some more, but I have to go now."

"Oh yes. Your classes. Get better soon. Kisses."

She ends the call and back on my bed I go. I don't even realize when I fall asleep.

* * *

I know I slept because I'm waking up. Or rather, someone is shaking me awake. I think I have another nightmare, but that's not the case. Magnus and Gideon are smiling at me.

"Come on, we're going out."

"Out?" I am still dressed in my pyjamas - unbathed! "Where are we going?"

Magnus sits beside me. "So, there was one senior that used to be in my faculty, but he was expelled for illegal drug dealing on campus. He opened a very cool bowling alley and today is the opening night."

I open my mouth to argue, but Gideon is already pulling me to the bathroom. I take a shower, not as long as I'd like it to be, and dress in the most comfortable thing I own. Sweatpants and Crocs.

"Where are Ander and Jesse?," I ask when I see we're the only ones.

"They're on a date. We single bros are going to bowl till the morning." Magnus says that and 30 minutes later, he's regretting it. If he can do many things, bowling isn't among those things. He hasn't hit a single pin.

At the end of the day, I don't feel as shitty as I did at the beginning. I laughed so hard, juice came out of my nose.

"Thanks." I tell the both of them as we're walking back home. Magnus interlocks his fingers with mine and responds. I shrug, even though I know they'll never know how much they helped me today.