A Brighter Tomorrow

• f o r t y t w o •

Before my thoughts could progress further, a knock boomed against my door.

"Ki, you okay in there?" Blaze's voice, sluggish with sleep, called out and I panicked as I saw all the blood on the sink.

My mind felt fuzzy as I tried to stand on my feet. Wetting a dark towel, I ran it across the entire surface of the counter.

The knocking grated against my head, and I clamped my hands over my ears.

"Blaze, knock it off," I snapped.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was more alert and I sighed.

"Yes, B. I'll be out in a second," I muttered.

The knocking ceased and after wiping the marble clean, I unlocked the door to come face to face with Blaze. Her cheeks were flushed red, something that was a common sight when she slept, considering the girl was in slumber for almost ten hours every night.

"What are you doing up at 3 AM?" she furrowed her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing."

She scowled before a yawn escaped her mouth.

"Dude I wanted to pee, but you were taking forever," she muttered before yanking me out of the bathroom. The movement sent jolts of pain up my arm and I bit the inside of my cheek harshly.

"Aiden's bathroom was right across the hallway," I nudged her and she bit her lip nervously.

"Yeah, but I'd have to go through his bedroom." Even though they'd been dating for a few months, the shyness was palpable like an ebbing wave.

"I didn't think you'd mind, considering you were sucking each other's faces off in there two days ago." Her face paled and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You saw that?" Blaze squeaked and I nodded eagerly.

"You weren't too subtle about it, the door was literally open for a show," I teased and her lips widened in shock.

"Get out." The door was slammed in my face.

I smiled to myself when I heard muttering on the other side, but it fell when I remembered the pain searing through my arms. I had only cut a few times and the bleeding had stopped, but combined with the pounding in my skull, it seemed like my skin had been stripped away.

With a newly found exhaustion, I crawled under the covers and ignored the shards of agony as I shifted my arms to get comfortable. I couldn't bandage them, not with Blaze around.

Images of kitchen knives and nooses whizzed past my eyes and I clamped them shut, tears rolling down my face at the mere thoughts that ran through my mind. I had no control of my head, and I hated it.

The sound of the bathroom door unlocking interrupted my dark thoughts, and I was thankful when Blaze slipped into the bed beside me. I don't know what I would've done if I was alone.

"Kay? You still awake?" she murmured and I nodded.

"You nodded, didn't you?" Her voice was tinged with amusement.