What's eating you?

Chapter 24

*Six weeks later*

I brushed the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand, as I took a step back, admiring the painting on the easel. I painted a girl with dark black hair falling around her shoulders and her eyes closed. I placed my hands on my hips, and cocked a eye brow. I couldn't tell what I was missing. Just something about her was missing something. I plucked the pencil off the desk and lightly shaded in a small spot of her face.

I yanked the bottle of red paint off the art stand and twisted the cap off. I tightly squeezed the sides of the bottle sending red paint splattering across my painting. " Uh!" I threw the bottle, sending streams of paint flying. " I"m so sick of not being able to get anything right!" I yanked the parchment  paper off the easel, ripping the painting in two.

You can never do anything right.

She sat in the mirror, twirling a stray piece of hair around her perfect finger.  "No!" I covered my ears with my hands and leaned up against the wall.

You can't escape me.

I slumped against the wall and pulled myself into a tiny little ball, trying desperately to escape her venomous words.

You are such a failure!

You are fat and ugly, and deserve to spend the rest of your miserable life alone!

She was now screaming, but I was the only one who could hear her.

  " No!" I grabbed a paintbrush that had rolled off the easel and flung it at the mirror. The paintbrush hit the mirror with a clink, leaving a blue streak across her face. She gave a screech at started screaming louder.

What did you do to me!? Look at what you did! 

I slowly stood on steady feet, carefully staring at my demon. Blue paint streaked across the mirror, and across her face, leaving her looking not so perfect looking. I grabbed more paint and popped all the caps off, and splattered them all across the mirror.

 I pushed my fingers deeper into the gooey piles of paint. I dragged my hands down the mirror, leaving a trail of finger prints running across her body. I ran ,my fingers along the mirror, leaving words where my fingers once trailed.

Stop!

But I couldn't, once I started writing, it was like I wasn't in control of my body anymore. My finger continued to scribble word after word on the more, until most of the mirror was taken up by green, yellow, and red words. I took a step back, letting my paint covered hands fall to my sides.

"It's not easy being perfect."

"You don't define me." 

"Who are to tell me that I'm less than what I should be?"

"YOU DON"T OWN ME!"

A feeling of happiness began to swell inside my chest as my eyes raced over every word. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence inside my head. I no longer heard her voice screaming hateful things at me. I let the tears slip from my closed eyes. For the first time, since I was released from the hospital, I felt free. 

I slumped against the wall, letting my legs stretch out before. My eyelids felt light as I slowly opened my eyes. My heart raced as I scanned over the mirror for any trace of her. Nothing. The only thing that was left in the mirror was me. Just skin and bones, me. No skeleton, no perfect demon, nothing but me. My faded hair tied into a tight bun on top of my head, with a blue bandanna holding back the stray pieces of hair.

Something glinted in the back of my dull eyes, a brand new spark of life. This was my new beginning, this is where my old life ends, and my new one begins. I gradually crawled over toward the mirror and sat crossed legged in front of my reflection.