Chapter 21

Maddie

As I was getting ready to sleep, my phone started ringing and when I checked the caller id, it was Claudia calling. 'Maybe she wants to let me know she has reached safely.' I said to myself picking up. 'Hey, how was the trip?' 'Okay' she faintly said. It was a little bit hard to get what she said. 'Why are you whispering, are you okay?' 'I am not okay' she began sniffing, she was surely crying. 'What's wrong? Where are you? Talk to me.' I paced around the room as she continued to cry. I went downstairs and told my mom Claudia isn't feeling well so I am going to her house. She and dad were watching tv, to be honest it was my mom watching tv; my dad seemed to have long dozed off. I don't blame him though, my mom's choice of movies would surely make you sleepy. I made my way to their house, as I began knocking on the door her mom's car parked on the driveway. 'Oh, hi Maddie. How are you?' She said walking towards me. 'I am good, and you? Need any help?' She had lot of bags on her hands. 'Yeah, can you reach down in my pocket and get the key.' I reached into her pocket and opened the door. 'Thank you honey.' 'My pleasure.' I left her in the kitchen as she unpacked the groceries.

I faintly knocked on Claudia's door. 'It's me Maddie.' The door instantly opened and seeing my friend like this made my whole body go numb. I have never seen her this devastated. 'A-r-e yo-u o- okay?' It felt to hard to even construct a sentence at this point. Without saying anything, she threw herself into my arms. 'It's okay, it's okay.' I kept on saying as I stroked her back and head. I sat her down and went to lock the door. 'Talk to me Claudia, what happened when you went to see Ken? Did he say something, or do something?' She continued to cry and I waited for her to say something.

She began telling me what happened and it made me so agitated that I wasn't there with her when all this happened. I would have beat the crap out of them. 'I am so sorry Claudia.' I embraced her. 'I am such a fool Maddie, you tried so hard to warn me but I never listened. All this time I thought you were jealous of me when you were just looking out for me. I am such a god-damn fool.' Her cried escalated. With the back of my hand I wiped her tears. I embraced her again and hearing her sob like that in my arms made me tear up as well. After some moments, Claudia's mom knocked on the door. 'Are you girls okay? I am making hamburgers, do you want some?' 'Yeah' I answered. I left Claudia in the room as I went to the kitchen to help her mom. 'Oh before I forget thank you so much for the hair oil, I can't seem to stop getting compliments of how good my hair smells.' 'You are welcome.' 'When they ask me what I applied on my hair, I tell them it's an oil I made for myself because I love organic stuff.' She said in between laugh. 'You lie!' I began laughing as well. 'I don't want the whole hospital to smell like me. If I tell them what I am applying on my hair, they are all gonna buy it.' She had a point, I nodded in agreement.

I found Claudia lying on the bed hugging her knees close to her chest. 'I brought you something to eat.' 'I am not hungry.' 'Come on Claudia, you have to eat something.' She finally sat down and I cut a piece of hamburger for her and fed it to her. 'I am full.' She said after swallowing the first bite. 'You only took one bite, at least eat half of the hamburger.' Thank god she complied, I continued cutting pieces of the burger for her. 'This is the last bite; see, you finished it.' She smirked. 'Come on, you should be proud of yourself that you finished the whole hamburger. Let me go get some juice for you.' When I came back with the juice I found her sleeping.

Claudia

I woke up to the brightest light getting into my eyes. Turned out Maddie opened the blinds. 'Please close the blinds.' I said in a sleepy voice turning my head to face a different direction. 'Time to wake up and do something productive.' 'I am not in the mood to do anything.' She began jumping on the bed. 'Come on, come on, come on.' she repeatedly said whilst jumping on the bed. I had no choice but to get up. 'I hate you Maddie.' 'And I love you too. I have prepared a bath for you.' While you take a bath, I will go make something to eat.'

She left me in the room while she went to the kitchen. I got up and went to the bathroom, she prepared a bubble for me, how sweet of her. I undressed and got in the bathtub. The water was so soothing. Maddie came to tell me the food is ready a about a hour later and I was done getting dressed. She made me a smiley face sandwich. I loved how creative she is. 'How are you this morning?' she asked. 'I am good, I am much better.' I was feeling like myself again. She took my hand into hers and kissed it while she continued to look deep into my eyes. 'That's good to hear.' She broadly smiled at me, she looked so precious.'

After eating we decided to go to my room and play Fortnite. 'Your phone is ringing' Maddie notified me. I looked at the caller id and instantly put my phone down. The phone rang again a while later and again I looked at the caller id and just let it ring til it stopped. 'Who is calling?' 'Its nobody.' I was already irritated at this point that he kept on calling me repeatedly even though I ain't picking up his calls. 'It's clearly somebody, if it wasn't nobody you wouldn't be this annoyed.' My phone rang again, this time i decided to pick it up and ask him to stop calling me. 'I told you I don't want to talk to you, why can't you get the hint.' 'Hey, it's not Ken. Listen, Ken doesn't know I called you, he, he_' His voice was cracking. 'Is he in danger, talk to me.' I was already standing up and pacing around at this point. 'Hello, hello. fuck!' the call had ended before he could tell me what's going on. I started dialing his number again but it rang once before it went straight to voice mail, 'Fuck!' I threw the phone on the bed agitated . 'What if Ken is hurt?' I thought. my phone beeped, I immediately grabbed it and opened the message. It was a video from the number that just called me. it was a video of Ken cutting himself with a blade and I could hear the voice of the person I just talked yelling to him to stop. Wait i recognise that voice, it is Mason. 'I wanna die, I wanna die.' Ken repeated with blood dripping from both his wrists. I was so grief-stricken, and barfy from what i was seeing in the video. 'What's going on?' Maddie asked. I even forgot she was still in the room with me. I passed her the phone so she can also see.