Gateway to hell.

Chapter 6

Kendall

Friday morning.

I pulled my knees up to my chin protectively, as I called " Come in" to the persistent knocking on my bedroom door.

Morgan slid through the gap sheepishly.

" Hey! Mom said you're not going to school today? Is this about last night what happened between you and Alex? Did you guys have a row?"

She said, her eyebrows arched in a question."

" What did he tell you?"

I asked her, suspiciously.

She gave a half hearted shrug, and waved a limp hand around in response :

"umm...not a lot really, he was kinda upset and I couldn't get much sense out of him."

" I really don't want to talk about this now, ok? I'll tell you about it after school." I mumbled into my hot pink pajamas.

I stared at my purple and pink walls like there was a naked Harry Style's on it, refusing to meet her prying eye's until soon enough I heard my bedroom door click shut.

With an angry sweep, I flung the stuffed animals off my bed, and lay down to resume staring at my pastel prison. Before I could begin to try and sort through a single thought, my mobile began to shrill from my bedside table. I snatched it up and glimpsed Alex's number and photo starting at me from the generous 5 inch screen. 'ugh' It was only 8am and this was the 13th call I had rejected from him, I thought to myself. I flung the phone across the bed and scrambled through my drawer for a cigarette and lighter. With trembling hands I lit up, and sucked down a lungfull of the acrid fumes. Exhaling a satisfying stream I began to replay last night in my head, trying desperately to make some sense of what I had seen, and the million questions I so desperately needed an answer to.

*************

The night before

Alex's face once again resembled the features she thought she had known so well. Through narrowed eye's Kendall studied every contour and fine hair, making sure a transformation was not about to reoccur and stop her jackhammering heart. She lunged for a fuzzy purple throw that had been discarded over her desk chair, and clumsily tried to conceal her nakedness.

" Get out Alex! Just go. Now! I mean it get out!" She screamed :

Alex stared at her, complete incredulity spread across his face. He started toward her his hand outstretched as if to touch her trembling form ;

" Kendall what the hell? What did I do? Is this because I asked about the cut on your arm? I know you don't like hospitals but all this over me asking you to go and get a cut stitched up...?"

" Don't touch me..I mean it get out!!" She screamed, shrinking away from him.

He ran his hand through his hair, eye's wet with tears. With a final shake of his head in disbelief he strode quickly toward the door and slammed it behind him, the door frame rattling with the force.

Alex leant against the door at his back, and slid down to a crouching position. He buried his head in his hands and groaned softly. What the hell was going on? One moment he was admonishing her about the cut on her arm, the next second she was screaming at him to get out? The incident with Neve, and now this? What the hell was going on with her, was she having some kind of breakdown? He thought to himself. He heard her scrambling around on the other side of the door. Resolute to try and help her somehow, he sprang to his feet and headed downstairs to see if Morgan was home. If anyone could find out what was happening, she could.