BOUND TO KILL MY MATE

THE AWAKENING

In the sitting room of the Garfield house, Mr. and Mrs. Garfield sat close together on the wide leather couch. The room was quiet, too quiet, the kind of silence that made every breath sound louder than it should. Mrs. Garfield rested her head on her husband’s chest, her body stiff despite the closeness, her brows drawn together in a disturbed expression that refused to soften.

Mrs. Garfield

“I just hope she hasn’t found out yet,” she said tiredly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah, I hope so too,” mr Garfield replied, stroking her hair in slow, repetitive motions meant to calm both of them. His eyes were fixed on the far wall, but his thoughts were nowhere near the sitting room.

“I don’t know what happened… her birthday was two days ago,” she continued, lifting her head slightly as if the answer might suddenly appear in the air between them. Her voice wavered with uncertainty, and the worry she had been suppressing all morning finally seeped through.

“I have my fears too. It’s been too long,” he said, frowning deeply. He hated that this situation stirred fear inside him, a feeling he prided himself on rarely experiencing. He opened his mouth to say more, when his wife’s phone rang abruptly, shattering the fragile calm.

“Who’s that?” he asked, his body tensing instantly.

“The principal,” she replied, glancing at the screen with a sharp frown. Her heart skipped a beat. She clearly hadn’t expected this call, not now. Still, she answered it, forcing her voice to steady.

“Hello,” she greeted dryly. There was a thin edge of tension in her tone, one that made it obvious she and the principal were not exactly on friendly terms.

The voice on the other end spoke, low and urgent. As the words sank in, Mrs. Garfield’s eyes widened, her grip on the phone tightening until her knuckles turned white. Her breath caught in her throat.

“WHAT!!” she screamed, her voice echoing through the sitting room.

Mr. Garfield shot upright, panic flashing across his face as he stared at his wife, already fearing the worst.

Sofia’s POV

I woke up with my head feeling fuzzy. A constant headache throbbed behind my eyes,threatening to split my brain in two if I moved too fast.

Everything felt irritating. The light filtering through the curtains annoyed me. The sound of footsteps in the hallway annoyed me. Even my own breathing felt too loud.

Still, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for school. My parents don’t tolerate excuses, not even headaches or exhaustion. If I tried to stay home, they’d only ask more questions, and honestly, I didn’t have the energy for that. At least Tom didn’t pull my legs this morning, and for that, I was grateful.

Two days ago, I turned eighteen, and since then, Mum and Dad have been hovering around me. Endless questions, strange looks, pauses in conversations whenever I walked into a room. Questions I didn’t even understand anymore. I shoved the thoughts aside as another wave of pain hit my head, making me wince.

After breakfast, Tom and I left for school. The driver was already waiting in the car, seated stiffly behind the wheel. The moment we got in, the engine roared to life, and we zoomed off down the driveway. I leaned my head against the window, the cool glass pressing against my temple. The headache was getting worse, pounding in time with my heartbeat.

I think Tom noticed. He glanced at me more than once, his mouth opening slightly as if he wanted to say something. But he didn’t. He stayed quiet, and I appreciated that more than he knew. Talking felt like too much effort today. Gosh, I hate this.

When we arrived at school, the noise hit me immediately.

Laughter, shouting, lockers slamming, voices made me wanna go nuts although it felt too loud than usual. I forced myself to breathe and walked into my classroom, scanning the room out of habit.

A sigh of relief escaped me. Thank goodness Betty wasn’t there yet. I did not have the patience for her nonsense today. If she started anything, I honestly wasn’t sure I could control myself. I dropped into my seat and pulled out a novel, hoping the familiar words would distract me from the ache in my head.

I am Sofia Garfield, eighteen years old. My parents are wealthy and i think that's cool for me. I recently had trouble with my brother, Tom, though we’ve been pretending everything is fine.

I just turned eighteen, and this is my final year in high school. Over the past few days, I’ve been feeling strange, off in a way I can’t explain. My parents’ constant questioning isn’t helping, and today’s headache only added to my stress, pressing down on me until it felt hard to breathe.

I was halfway through a paragraph when I felt a sharp tap on my shoulder. I stiffened and turned slowly, already knowing who it was.

“Hi,” Betty greeted mischievously, her lips curling into a smile that made my skin crawl.

“Hi,” I replied, my voice flat as I rolled my eyes.

“Pathetic,” she muttered, still smiling, clearly enjoying herself.

“Betty, I’m not in the mood for your foul games,” I said tiredly. Even speaking made my head throb harder.

“Oh no, baby, you don’t mean that?” she said loudly, raising her voice on purpose. A few students nearby turned to watch, interest lighting up their faces. Of course she wanted an audience.

“I said I’m tired,” I half-yelled, gripping the edge of my desk to steady myself.

“Really?” she chuckled, folding her fists as if preparing for something more.

Something inside me snapped. The noise, the headache, the past few days, the questions, the stares, all of it crashed together in one overwhelming surge.

“I SAID I’M TIRED!!!!” I screamed.

The moment the words left my mouth, everything changed. The air felt heavy, as though the walls were closing in. A strange pressure filled my ears, and the room seemed to tilt violently. For a split second, I thought I heard glass cracking, desks scraping, someone shouting my name.

Then the walls seemed to crumble, and everything went blank.

There was no pain after that. No sound. Just darkness swallowing me whole.