Colorful Love

Leave Me Alone

"I don't know why you hate Asher so much." Rhidian muttered. Here we were, in class, a day later, and still arguing about this.

"I don't know why you're defending him." Two could play this game.

He seemed like he was about to retort back when Mr. Sade walked over. "Is your project coming along well?" We had barely even started.

"Yeah, we're decently far along." I lied.

"Great," Mr. Sade said, smiling. He seemed to think that either Rhidian was a good influence for me or the other way around. He walked away, checking in with other groups.

"We really need to work on this project." I whispered.

"We do," he agreed grudgingly.

"Do you want to come to my house after school? It's a short walk, and my mom will be there. You can ask your parents." I only asked because we needed to work on this project, or else we wouldn't have anything to turn in.

"I don't need to ask my parents. They won't care. I'll come over after school today." He confirmed. I was curious as to why his parents wouldn't care, but it seemed too personal of a question during a time when we were barely speaking.

"Meet me by the willow tree after school."

***

How did Rhidian manage to get to hg willow tree so fast? It wasn't like I was far away, but he always managed to get there and look perfectly composed, leaning on the tree.

"Ready?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Let's go."

We walk in silence for the entire walk. I usually don't mind silence, but between us, it just seems awkward.

"It's right here," I said, pointing to my small, dingy house. My house has always been small, but before this, I never cared. Home was home.

I took out my key and listened to the jangle of the mismatched set of keychains and keys. I inserted the pink chipped key into the keyhole and pushed the door open to a large creak and a musty smell.

We walked into the cramped space. I set my bag down on the fading couch and yelled, "Mom? I'm here! I've got a friend."

I walked into the kitchen and saw my mother's back, facing the window. She turns, and her eyes glow. Not now. "The daughter," she chants in a raspy voice.

I run into the living room. "We need to go, now," I grabbed Rhidian by the arm and pulled him towards the door, but he was too strong and stubborn.

"Why?" He asks, not moving an inch.

"Please just trust me, we need to-" my whisper was cut off.

My mother appears in the living room doorway. She's holding a knife. "Intrudersss... Mussst Sssuffer." She hisses. She takes aim and throws the knife towards me.

"No!" Rhidian yells, jumping in front of my paralyzed body. The blade hits his shoulder and he collapses.

"Rhidian!" I yell. I can't do anything for him now except keep my mother occupied.

"Mom." I got up and started talking to her slowly. "It's okay. You won't hurt me. Put down the other knife."

She seemed to be calming down. She crouched still hissing. I moved closer, muttering kind words.

But then, all of a sudden, she jumped on top of me, knocking me to the floor. She held my arms down. I did everything I could to get up, but whatever was possessing her seemed to have injected her with superhuman strength.

I became still. I stopped trying to escape her steel grip. After I relaxed, her grip loosened. I kicked and flailed, all at once so that she lost her grip. I felt the knife in her hand dig into my face, dragging along my cheek. She tried to get back on top of me, but I punched her in the face, and she collapsed. I didn't want to hurt my mother, but a bruise on her face was better than me being dead.

I picked up my mother. She was so skinny that she was light enough for me to walk her to her bedroom easily. I set her down softly on her bed, easing the knife out of her hand so that she didn't accidentally hurt herself. I brushed her black hair out of her face, and once again felt as if we had switched roles. I was the one taking care of her.

I walked to the living room where Rhidian had collapsed. I crouched down next to him, assessing the damage on his shoulder without touching it. I wouldn't want to inflame  the wound. I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a roll of gauze and some gloves. We wouldn't want to mix our blood, as my hand was covered with blood from my face.

I wrapped his shoulder in gauze, praying that this wasn't a major injury. Rhidian would have definitely too big for me to carry, so I grabbed a blanket and set it over his unconscious body.

I then set out to care for myself. The knife had dug far into my face. It was disgusting, I don't even want to describe it. The knife had dug straight into my right cheekbone, and it hurt. The cut ran all the way down to my chin. I used a bit of the gauze to stop such heavy blood flow. I needed stitches, but I couldn't go to the hospital without heavy questioning. I would have to endure it here.

The entire time I tended to my wound, I was anxious. I could feel the presence of my unconscious mother and Rhidian in the other rooms. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to wake up first, which one I wanted to face about this whole ordeal.