Free Being the Bad Boy's Victim by Claire Monette

against the wall, feeling the beginnings of a migraine.
    “Bella, are you…?” My mum’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw me. I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the scolding.
    “I’ll be right back,” she said, rubbing my back soothingly.
     
    Twenty minutes later
     
    “Take this,” she ordered, holding out two aspirin.
    The brightness in the room hurt my eyes when I opened them, causing me to wince. Nevertheless, I followed her instructions and took the pills, finishing the cup of water.
    “Now drink this,” she said, holding out a mug filled with a dark brown, almost black, liquid.
    “What…?”
    “Just drink,” she insisted, holding it out to me.
    Immediately, I grabbed the mug, hesitating a bit before taking a sip. I nearly gagged at the taste. It tasted like black coffee that had been experimented on, mixed with a bunch of other liquids.
    “It’ll help with your hangover,” my mum said, leaning against the counter. “Pumpkin, I could smell you from a mile away when you got home,” she said when she noticed my questioning look.
    I groaned and pressed my cheek against the cool tiled wall.
    “I’m sorry,” I murmured, not looking at her.
    “It’s okay, sweetie, I get it. Kids these days drink a lot. Hell, all kids drink a lot. Let me tell you something,” my mum said, pausing, “I drank a lot when I was younger. A lot! That’s how I ended up creating a little remedy for it.”
    “Oh God, Mum, please tell me I’m not the result of one of your drunken mistakes,” I said, looking up at her.
    She looked at me, completely surprised, then started laughing. Soon enough I joined in, and we laughed for a good five minutes.
    “Mum, what time is it?” I asked, standing up slowly. Whatever had been in that mug had worked, I was already feeling better.
    She checked her watch and told me that it was 4:00 pm. My eyes bugged out and I looked at her, astonished.
    “Pumpkin, you fell asleep as soon as you got upstairs while you were hungover. Of course you were going to sleep for a while. And don’t worry about school. You can skip tomorrow, too, if you want,” my mum casually said with shrug.
    “Thanks, Mum,” I murmured, yawning a bit.
    She smiled and started cleaning up the bathroom. “Go, get some rest. You need to get your strength back,” my mum said as she took out the Febreze.
    “Thanks, Mum,” I said again, slowly exiting the bathroom and heading to my room. Tomorrow’s Friday, I thought to myself, I guess it wouldn’t matter if I skipped.
    If only I knew what Connor had planned.
     

     
    Eleven hours later
     
    My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest and a thin layer of sweat coated my body. Everyone has that one nightmare—that one bad dream that they will always remember. Yeah, well, I just had that.
    Calm down. Calm down, Bella, I chanted in my head, rocking my body back and forth. I squeezed my eyes shut, continuously telling myself that I needed to calm down.
    After a couple of minutes, my heart returned to its normal pace, and I was able to move around. I glanced at the clock—2:49 am. I groaned, lying back down on my bed.
    Screw school!
    Oh, Bella, if only you could predict the future.
     

     
    Eight hours later
     
    “And it feels like I am just too close to love you.” [1]
    My eyes flew open at the sound of my ringtone blaring from my nightstand.
    I didn’t bother checking the screen as I answered. If I had, I wouldn’t be nearly deaf right now.
    “Hu——”
    “Bellatrix Annaliese Brown! Where the hell are you?” Jessica’s shrill voice screamed straight into my ear.
    “Owww,” I complained, holding the phone far away from my ear. I glanced at the clock, it’s 10:37 am. Stupid Jessica, interrupting my beauty sleep.
    “Jess, did it ever occur to you that I was at the doctors?” I asked, trying to sound stern and somewhat annoyed. There was a slight pause before she spoke.
    “I, well… um… I’m sorry.”
    “Meh, it’s okay, I was not