Heart of Glass

Chapter 9

"What's troubling you, bella?"

Michael's shadow enveloped Ariel and she shifted her head. She was curled up in a ball, head resting on her knees under a tree in the garden. Three Ladybugs were crawling along the chest by her side. Every time one of them tried to crawl through the keyhole she gently moved them away.

"Nothing, but if your shadow keeps blocking the sun we'll have trouble."

He chuckled, lowering himself to the ground beside her. Instantly the sun's rays hit her and she soaked up the warmth, wishing she could sleep.

Michael reached out and picked up one of the Ladybugs, letting it crawl along his open palm. "Now I know you don't mean that, Ariel. I overheard Autumn and Emily saying they were worried about you."

"Great so now they're gossiping about me behind my back." she muttered, though it didn't bother her if they were only worrying. It felt nice knowing someone was worrying about her.

"I think it is more concern, than gossip." His voice softened. "You can tell me, Ariel. I am good at keeping secrets."

She looked up at his face, staring at the scar across his nose. "There's no secret. I'm just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night and the Doc had me up early."

That much was true. She'd been woken after only getting three hours sleep and dragged down to the Doc's office to go over some tests. She'd been forced to run on a machine while Zeke and the Doc monitored her heart, taking notes. She hadn't felt comfortable with Zeke being there. She had to admit that he had been more confident and less creepy. Performing his duties, gone was the muttering awkward man. In his place was a clear spoken polite gentleman. The shock of the change was all that had stopped her from asking the Doc to make him leave. The Doc had always said he was good at his job.

After running for three excruciating kilometers, they had then asked her what felt like a hundred questions about her body's reactions. Did she feel exhausted? Were her muscles tired? Did she feel hot? She had answered yes to all of them. Of course she was exhausted. She was tired and even though she was fit, it had been a while since she'd put on her running shoes. She'd like to see them run three kilometers and feel like a million dollars.

At the end, they had then asked her to touch her heart. At this point she was getting cranky and before they could explain their process, she had touched it and collapsed on the floor. Every feeling in her body had doubled. The burning in her lungs became so painful she had trouble breathing. Her limbs had become jelly and her heart was pounding too fast. They had tried to make her let go, but she refused to. She was on the verge of passing out, but to feel her pulse rushing through her veins, her body thrumming with the tempo – it made her feel truly alive.

She didn't want to let go of that feeling.

Even now her body still remembered that feeling. In only a few short hours it had become an echo and she wanted to get up and run a hundred blocks around the house, just to feel that way again.

Michael leaned back, resting his head against the tree. "If you are simply tired, then why are you hiding out here?"

"I'm hiding from everyone so I don't say something I shouldn't." She saw his questioning look and continued. "I'm not the most pleasant person to be around most of the time and when I'm tired I'm a hundred times worse."

"Ah, so you are worried you might hurt someone's feelings. How noble of you."

"Noble?" She scoffed. "I just don't want to get into any more trouble with the Doc. If I keep upsetting people he might kick me out."