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A water bucket dumped itself onto my head, soaking my pajamas and bed sheets. “I don’t think it’s fire, sweetheart,” the bucket rattled.
Itchy. I was so, so itchy; I wanted to just pare off my skin with a knife—
“None of that!” Gaksi chided.
“Do something!” I wailed. Heat bit every movement of my face, every scrape of my nails against my skin.
I ripped off my clothes like I could take my skin off with it. The bucket flew out the window.
The last time misery consumed me like this, my mother had just switched up my laundry detergent to one that wasn’t hypoallergenic.
Wait. I did laundry yesterday.
Did someone tamper with my laundry?
I ran to the bathroom, dousing myself in freezing cold shower water and soap. It eased the burn for a moment.
Pain ripped through my system again, making me howl in agony.
After minutes of scrubbing through, I still used my fingers like talons to scratch up and down my body. Ugly red lines followed my streaks. How was I supposed to go on like this? I was so itchy I couldn’t even focus!
Maintenance alert, my phone voiced out.A student has snuck poison ivy into the laundry machines. If you had any exposed wounds before re-applying recently washed clothes, please report to the infirmary.
Exposed wounds? I pounded my fist into the shower wall, spraying water everywhere. Half my flesh was exposed when I was flaring up!
Useless, pointless, malfunctioning skin barrier!
I sank onto the floor of the tub. Water blasted at my back, stinging the worst of my splotches. It didn’t matter. It was nothing compared to walking out in public in this state.
This had to be aimed at me. I should have never shown my hand in class. Everyone that saw it knew that, one, I was smart, and two, I was easily felled by my own autoimmunity.
Argh!Any potential weakness can be exploited.
I clutched my head in my hands. My shadows moaned in agony, desperate to jump out of my skin. I let them encircle me in misery, succumbing to a vortex of dark.
* * *
I emergedfrom my blackout in a pair of brawny arms, cradling me to a warm chest. Flames licked weakly up and down my skin. Sea breeze wafted through the air.
“Lukas?” I asked.
“And me, too,” Cordelia said. She sat in the same cot Lukas did, holding me. “I dressed you and got Lukas to bring you here since I couldn’t carry you myself.” Harsh white lights blinded me. Hospital beeps indicated I was, unfortunately, still alive.
She knew, I realized with a start. She saw the shadows.
She knew, and she was going to tell, and all of this will be for naught—
“It’s okay,”Gaksi reassured.“I said it was me, protecting your privacy.”
I exhaled.
“As soon as I saw that message, I knew it was probably, well… aimed at you.” Cordelia patted my hand. “Gaksi let me in.”
A sea foam haired girl popped in shortly after, examining my skin.
“Are you a healer?” I asked. Her green eyes roamed my red skin. “Yes, I’m Aloe, from Rose House.” She extended her hand, using magic to wrap aloe leaves around my torso and lower body like a cocoon. Lukas released me for her to do so.
“Fitting,” I muttered.
