7

Elisa entered the school office like a hurricane. The door slammed hard against the wall, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Her eyes were wide, her breathing was panting, and her heart was hammering so hard that it seemed about to jump out of her chest.

“I need to talk to Mia! Now!” she practically shouted, causing everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and stare at her desperate figure.

The secretary, a middle-aged woman with gray hair and reading glasses on the end of her nose, blinked a few times in surprise at her abrupt approach.

“Ma'am, please calm down. We can call your daughter, but there's no need for this scandal.”

Elisa couldn't think clearly. All she wanted was to see Mia, to make sure she was all right.

“You don't understand! It's an emergency! I need to see my daughter now!”

The principal, a tall woman with an imposing posture, came out of her office and walked up to the reception desk with a stern expression.

“Ma'am, I understand your concern, but we can't allow you to enter the school like this. We'll send a member of staff to pick Mia up from her classroom and she'll come here, okay?”

Elisa closed her eyes for a moment, trying to control the despair that was growing inside her like an untamed beast. Finally, she nodded, but she couldn't stay still. She began to pace back and forth, mumbling disconnected words. Her thoughts were in a whirlwind of terrible scenarios.

“This isn't right... something's wrong... she needs to be here... it can't be...” she kept repeating to herself, ignoring the worried looks from the staff.

The minutes seemed like hours, but finally the secretary returned, with a frightened expression and a nervousness that made Elisa's stomach turn.

“I'm sorry, ma'am, but your daughter isn't at school. Are you sure she came today?”

Elisa felt the ground disappear beneath her feet. A desperate cry escaped her throat before she could control herself.

“NO! NO! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE! MIA! MIA!” She ran towards the school corridor, determined to look for her herself.

The principal and some security guards tried to stop her, but before she could go any further, her cell phone rang. Her heart leapt with hope when she saw the name “Mom” on the screen.

With trembling hands, she slid her finger across the screen and answered.

“Mom? Where are you? Something's happened! I...”

But the voice on the other end wasn't Tereza's.

“Hello, this is the Central Hospital. Are you related to the owner of this cell phone?”

All the strength left Elisa's body. Her legs weakened and she fell into the nearest armchair, feeling a gigantic emptiness fill her chest.

“It's my mother's...” her voice came out weak, almost a whisper.

The voice on the other end maintained a professional tone, but there was a certain urgency.

“Ma'am, your mother and a man have been in a serious accident. We need you to come to the hospital now.”

The world spun around her. Her parents were injured... or worse. She couldn't even process what that meant. But one thing was certain: she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

She jumped up and ran out into the street, without even looking back. The cab that had brought her was no longer there. But that didn't matter. She would run if she had to.

In the schoolyard, Amy watched everything from a discreet corner. Her eyes followed the figure of Elisa running down the street, and her heart filled with worry. Something terrible had happened, she was sure of it. Mia needed to know.

But she hesitated. Mia was with Liam, and Amy knew how much her friend wanted this moment with him. However, seeing Elisa's devastated expression and the way she had despaired, she knew she couldn't ignore it.

Taking a deep breath, Amy reached for her cell phone. She needed to warn Mia.

The atmosphere in Liam's house was increasingly charged with a palpable electricity. Sitting on the bed, Mia felt the heat of Liam's body against hers, the closeness between them becoming a delicious torture. The kiss was no longer shy or hesitant; it was intense, full of feelings that Mia could barely comprehend. Every touch, every sigh, every little movement seemed to set her skin on fire.

Liam's hands became bolder, slowly traversing Mia's body, exploring her with a mixture of reverence and desire. He traced the outline of her waist, moving slowly up to her shoulders, then down again to her thighs. The touch was light, but laden with silent promises. Mia felt a shiver run down her spine, her senses completely taken over by it. She hadn't known she could feel this way, so vulnerable and yet so alive.

Her heart beat frantically, and her body responded to each caress with ragged sighs. Her fingers clung to Liam's arms, pulling him closer, wanting to feel more, wanting to explore those new sensations that were consuming her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her body responding instinctively to the passion that Liam was arousing in her.

Then something vibrated next to her.

Mia's cell phone was flashing insistently on the mattress, but she didn't even notice. All her attention was on Liam, the way he touched her, the kisses he lavished on her neck, the way his breathing mingled with hers. The device flickered once, twice, three times before falling silent, completely ignored.

But then it happened.

A deafening roar echoed in her mind, so loud that it made her jerk away from Liam, as if she had been hit by an invisible blow. Her eyes widened in sheer terror as she looked around, trying to understand where that overwhelming sound was coming from. The room was silent, except for the choppy sound of her own breathing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the sound still vibrated in her head, as real as Liam's touch moments before.

Panic began to take hold of her body. Her skin lost color in a matter of seconds, and an overwhelming feeling of unease hit her like a storm. She could barely breathe. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her legs seemed to lose their strength. Liam watched her, concerned, his dark eyes full of confusion.

“Have I gone too far?” he asked, his voice hesitant, almost guilty.

Mia shook her head frantically, struggling to control her rapid breathing.

“No... It's not you. It's me... I'm not feeling well. Can I use your bathroom?”

Liam nodded immediately, pointing to the next door

. “Sure, go ahead. Do you want me to get you a glass of water?”

But Mia was already getting up, her legs weak, her steps unsteady. She crossed the room with difficulty, as if she were carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. As soon as she entered the bathroom, she closed the door and rested her hands on the sink, staring at her own reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were wide open, dilated with fear. Her chest was rising and falling frantically, sweat dripping down her forehead.

She knew what was happening.

“Please... not now. Not here,” she begged herself, as if she could avoid the inevitable.

The pain came like a bolt of lightning cutting through her body. A scream escaped her throat as an overwhelming wave of agony spread through every cell of her being. Her body arched involuntarily, her knees gave way and she fell to the cold bathroom floor. The spasms began, every muscle in her body contracting uncontrollably. It was as if her skin was burning, as if something inside her was trying to break free.

She gasped, her eyes wide with despair. Her body was on fire inside. It was an impossible sensation to describe, a mixture of pain and something deeper, primal. Something she didn't want to name, something she had feared ever since the seizures began.

In the bedroom, Liam heard the sound of the fall and immediately got up, knocking on the bathroom door.

“Mia? What's going on? Are you all right?”

But Mia couldn't answer. Her body was stiff, her face as pale as snow. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she bit down hard on her lip, trying to hold back another scream. Her chest was heaving, her breathing completely out of control. And then, for the first time, Mia felt something other than pain.