I was hungry, but nothing soothed the pain in my stomach. It was gnawing away at me, driving me insane. Everything I consumed tasted wrong. If the chicken salad sandwich I had at lunch wasn’t a sign, then this morning’s breakfast was. I ate pancakes, bacon, and eggs that Uncle Dorian had prepared. Even if it felt like I was eating rubber straight up. Not even an hour later, I was puking my guts up in the bathroom, like a drunk college girl who had too much alcohol at a frat party.

Uncle Dorain had left a few minutes before, but I texted him to get some Pedialyte from the store when he gets back home from work. Hopefully, I will be able to keep that down. My stomach grumbles mockingly as I groan rolling over on the couch burying myself deeper into the blankets on top of me.

I was sick.

Maybe from that take-out the other night. Maybe I caught a bug at school.

Whatever it is this isn’t how I planned to spend my weekend. Periwinkle was supposed to be coming today to drop off my homework and the schoolwork that I missed the last three days. I dreaded it as I watched the clock on the wall tick with each passing minute. I didn’t know how I could look at her. After what I did to her. After I... No, I refused to let that dream stand between me and my friendship with Periwinkle. Plus, it’s just a dream, right? None of it was real.

Despite my reassurances, a twisted feeling forms in my gut.

The doorbell jolts me out of my thoughts. I sighed, in dismay that I had to get up from my comfortable position. Stalking slowly to the door the recognizable smell of periwinkles and ozone hits my nose immediately.

It’s Periwinkle. She’s here earlier than I expected. I didn’t even have enough time to prepare. How do I approach her? What do I say? Do I mention the dream? No. I shook my head. Stay calm, Beatrice. Stay calm. You’ve got this. It’s just some silly-

I opened the door and there she stood alive and well. Her sapphire blue eyes glistening.

“Bea!” She shrieks, causing me to wince as my ears begin to ring. The sensitive ear thing was really getting on my nerves. “I miss you so much.”

She rushes up and hugs me tight. I hug her back awkwardly afraid that I might hurt her. Peri released me. She continued to smile, but I could see concern in her eyes. Thankfully she didn’t question me further.

“I missed you too, Peri.” I smiled back at her. “Do you want to come in?” I asked, opening the door wider. Alaram bells were ringing off in my head, telling me that what I just did was foolish and stupid.

“Sure,” she said, walking into the house.

I closed the door, hurrying to the living room where she made herself comfortable in the armchair. I kept my distance and sat in my original place on the couch. Periwinkle shuffles around her blue book bag until she pulls out a manilla folder with my name on it.

“Here,” she hands me the folder. “I put all your material in there. Ms. Dunn wants an essay on Global finance, and we have a Meiosis vs. Mitosis project in Mr. Fisher’s class.”

I pulled out all my work and laid it on the coffee table in front of me.

“Thanks for bringing my work, Peri.”

“No problem what are friends for? If you need help with anything I’m always here to help.”

We sat there, an awkward silence settles between us. My stomach thought it was an excellent idea to start rumbling, causing my cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.

“Are you hungry, Bea?”

“Yea, but my stomach can’t seem to keep anything down,” I tell her honestly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I think the take-out the other night was bad.”

She nods, “Do you have soup in the cabinets? I can make it for you.”

I opened my mouth to tell her that I was fine, but she was already in the kitchen before I could protest.

Periwinkle shuffles around the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets and drawers. She lets out a satisfied yes when she finds what she’s looking for. A few minutes later she enters the living room carrying a food tray with a bowl of soup crackers and water. I moved the Pre-Cal homework I was working on onto the corner of the table as she set the food in front of me.

“Thanks again, Periwinkle.”

She hums in response, before disappearing back into the kitchen to clean up.

I hesitantly stared down at my soup. Inhaling the horrifying smell of chicken and carrots swimming around the broth made my stomach churn. I gagged as I lifted the spoon up to my mouth. When the chicken broth hit my taste buds all I tasted was salty water. The carrot I got in there also tasted like plastic. Spitting the food back out on the napkin, I grabbed the water to rid myself of the taste.

I sighed. Standing up I grabbed the food tray with the remaining untouched soup and entered the kitchen where Periwinkle was putting up the dishes. When she saw me, a smile spread across her lips, but it quickly turned to a frown when she saw the uneaten soup.

“Was it not to your liking?” She asked taking the bowl off the tray along with the crackers and water. I felt terrible honestly. She didn’t have to make me anything and yet she did. And I only ate a small portion of it.

I remove the dishes from her hands and place them in their proper place. “It tastes weird,” I say. Periwinkle’s frown deepens, but she doesn’t respond. She returns to her task at the sink washing the remaining dishes in the soupy water. We keep this rotation ongoing until she’s on the last dish, and Peri helps me put the remaining few away. As I’m putting the silverware away in the drawer, a sharp hiss leaves Periwinkle’s lips drawing my attention to her.

The blood rushes to the surface where she had just cut her finger with a knife, before it drops to the ground. My stomach rumbled at the sight and the urge to lick the blood off her finger clouded my senses. The smell was overwhelmingly sweet.

I took a step towards her but stopped myself when memories from the dream flashed into my memory, making me stop where I stood. How is this possible? Why does it smell so delicious? Why am I craving my best friends’ blood? Questions plagued my mind that would have to remain unanswered for now. At the moment, I needed to stop thinking about how pleasant Periwinkle’s blood smelled and focus on treating the wound before I did something I regret.

Shaking myself out of my trance I hurried towards the bathroom to get the First Aid Kit.