She woke to the echo of her screams dancing around the room to their frightening music. The figures stood before her, clear as glass.
“GO AWAY!” she screamed.
But they simply wouldn’t budge. She clamped her ears shut as the screams in her head grew louder and louder and louder. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks and she rocked back and forth to ease out the shaking of her body. A sob escaped every now and then. Suddenly, like a dream a soft hand pulled her back to reality. She felt her body being adjusted until she heard the steady thump, thump, thump of her mom’s heart. Slowly her sobs increased until she was in a crying fit, grabbing her mom’s shirt to keep from falling back into the black pit that was her mind.
“Sssshhh I’m here now,” her mom planted a small kiss atop her head. “Go to sleep, Hun”
“Ok.”
Slowly, bit by bit, she dropped back into oblivion.
*
He looked briefly at her chair for the thousandth time. Where was she? He thought in the privacy of his own mind. She had never been late for class; in fact she was normally the first one there, before even the teacher. The end of class was signified by the sharp wails of the bell. He shrugged. He would listen to his father, she wasn’t his responsibility. At the arrival of break a few periods after, he noticed she was missing yet again, where was she? Once more he shrugged. He shouldn’t let her become part of his mind. And yet, his eyes drifted to her empty place unknowingly.
*
She stared into empty space, earphones in and iPod on. Sweet smells lifted from the kitchen, a clear sign her mom was working there. She inhaled in the soon to be food. She couldn’t let Kyle come over to finish the project like he insisted on yesterday. She couldn’t let him come because that meant giving him a freeway ticket into her life and no one, NO ONE, was allowed into the dark void that was her life. Not her mom. Not her sister. And defiantly not Kyle. It was too dangerous for any of them. She would know she was proof of this living hell. She sighed and dropped her head on her arms, tapping slowly to the beat. A quick off-beat tap suddenly alarmed her of her mom’s presence. She turned and rejected the earphones.
“What’s up?” Her best attempt of a smile dropped into a curious frown.
“Come with me.”
“To where?”
“I thought we’d decorate this place a bit, make it more... homey. You didn’t think I’d let you sit there and mope all day did you?”
“Of course not,” she pushed herself up. “Where are we going?”
“To the paint store.”
*
As he walked to the house he swallowed hard, he wasn’t quite sure why he was doing this or for what but the fact that he was just ten feet away from a person whom he only met last week’s house made him nervous. He straightened out his shirt and despite the uselessness of it, straightened his hair. He knocked a few times on the door before it finally swung open, admitting music and laughter.
“Hello, how can I help you?” a middle-aged woman stood in the doorway; a deep furrow carved between her eyebrows and grey streaking through her hair. Probably Jackie’s mom.
“I’m Kyle. I’m here to see Jackie; she doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Oh, well welcome Kyle. Why don’t you come in?” the crease suddenly lifted and was replaced by a toothy smile.
He followed her in the music filled, sweet smelling yet empty house. Jackie leaned over the balustrade at the top of the stairs, reaching for a corner to taint blue but something seemed off. She hummed and balanced on the tip of her toes as a giggle formed at her lips. Then she spotted him. In one movement she gasped, turned, pulled down her sleeves, fell and messed blue paint all over herself. Then he figured out what was wrong. Across her arms were scars like the one on her face, except these seemed like real pictures etched into her skin.
“Kyle,” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“I just... I thought...You know... the project.”
“Right.”
“Soooooo,” he rocked back and forth. “I’m guessing now’s a bad time.”
“It’s ok,” she skipped down. “Now that your here I guess we can finish it. (She leaned in closer and lowered her voice to a whisper) you’ll have to get past my mom first though. And how did you know where I lived?”
“I might’ve asked the guidance counsellor. How exactly do you propose I ‘get past’ your mom?”
“I don’t know it was your idea.”
“I’m actually glad you’re here Kyle,” her mom said lifting two paint cans.
“You are?” Jackie and Kyle asked in perfect confusion.
“Yes. You can help us paint now.”