𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐀, 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘦

ғɪᴠᴇ

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DΣᄂƬΛ

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WHEN DELTA'S EYES OPENED SHE WAS MET WITH THE GRAFFITI LINING THE CEILING OF HER ROOM. The back of her head felt like it had been split down the middle and the metallic tang in her mouth was thick like glue, it sticking to every inch of her mouth until the urge to vomit was overwhelming. Delta clutched her throat before tipping over and spilling her guts onto the crudely painted concrete floor, the noise of her door opening muffled by the feeling of sickness that washed over her. Warm hands pounded on her back and when her senses cleared she was left gasping on her back, vision swirling.

Vi watched the brunette as the vomit left her mouth, a red streak evident in the mess. Her steel eyes widened before narrowing and her hands going on the girls back to assist her, fists gently pounding while she watched the slightly younger girl dry heave. With Vander gone and Benzo dead, Violet was at a loss. Her, Claggor, and Mylo were leaving soon and as much as she wanted Delta to remain by her side she knew it just wasn't possible with the condition the girl was in.

Vi admired Delta once more. Her lips were chapped and pale with a blood smear on the left of her chin, her teeth a pale pink and stained with the aftermath of liquid crimson. Her eyes were lifeless and cold, the skin beneath them sunken in and a dark bruising purple. The dark brunette that was previously always worn in a ponytail was flush against her forehead and the nape of her neck. Vi didn't know whether it stuck to the skin with sweat or blood, or perhaps it was a mixture of the two. Delta looked like death had drug her through the doors already yet all Violet could focus on was how beautiful Delta looked. She would always be stunning to Vi, and being at the brink of death wouldn't change that.

Delta coughed before finally inhaling fresh oxygen into her lungs. Her eyes were watering and she squeezed them shut tightly, the images she had witnessed only an hour beforehand flashing behind her eyelids in violent displays of red. Red was a color that would now never look the same and Delta cursed the universe for the outcome as it used to be one of her favorites. Painting the town used to be a dream but now that she witnessed what crimson looked like coated on concrete she never wanted to see the damned image again.

Red was bad. Red was a curse.

"Hey bite-size, how ya feeling?" The question was aimed at Delta but she didn't know how to answer it truthfully. How was she feeling? Well her mouth tasted like another persons blood and she just watched half of her family die. Again.

"I'm feeling golly-fucking-merry." Vi snorted before pushing a metal can of water towards the girl. Delta sniffed the liquid before throwing it back, guzzling like it was her last time drinking water. She let out a burp before throwing the can to the floor and turning her attention to Vi. Tear tracks stained her cheeks and her cheekbones looked hollower. Delta's eyes welled up with tears, sniffling before turning away. "I'm guessing you saw it too." Vi nodded silently, taking a quiet shaky breath. The room filled with a thick tension, the pair only staring at each other.

Delta opened her arms up and Vi all but jumped into them, the girls desperately hugging each other. All through the years they had been each other's solace, each other's home. Fingers dug into clothing and tears sprung from eyes like fresh water wells, snot dripping trails down ones coat while the other let out silent screams. They clung to each other in a display of agony and desperation, a painting of pinks and reds and browns and silvers. The canvas tore at the corners and revealed the late nights where their lips touched curiously, where fingers griped at hair, and where arms wrapped around one another. Their misery was an art and together they created a masterpiece of tragedy.