Beautifully Damaged

1. Awakened

I searched for ID. In a clear plastic compartment was my driver’s license. Printed in type was the fact that I was sixteen and my name was… I fished for the flashlight and shone it on the small card. My name was Blaise Anthony. In vain I waited in the darkness, anticipating something that would never come. I had hoped for a flashback or something, anything, but still my memories remained mercilessly blank.

Blaise Anthony was a bizarrely beautiful girl. Her silvery blonde hair didn’t strike me as normal, nor did the perfection of her skin- or the bright violet of her eyes. Even so, I couldn't tear my eyes off of her. While it was obvious that she was breathtaking, I couldn't help but feel wary of her. There was something shut off about the girl, as though she only allowed people to take her at face value. It made me feel like she was trouble, and no amount of beauty could hide that fact.

But she's you, I reminded myself, taken aback by my assessment. Maybe I was just looking too far into it. My stomach was doing acrobatics, twisting hard enough that I wanted to puke. What did I have to hide, anyway? My head spun as I realized that I might have more to hide than even I knew.

Frustrated, I stuffed the contents of the wallet back in and took out the cell phone. There were no contacts but it was fully charged. I dropped the hand that held it back into my lap. It was as if I had literally just appeared here, on earth, for the first time. That couldn't be true. I gritted my teeth and tossed the phone back in the bag.

Against my better judgment, I decided to call a taxi. While I waited I counted cars, if only to stop my head from spinning off my shoulders, and got to a total of two.

To my utter delight, it started to rain. Within fifteen minutes, I was dragging extra weight and my teeth chattered. The earlier burning sensation had long left my body, leaving me more chilled than ever. I sighed, feeling drained and weary as the taxi finally pulled up. Silently, I climbed into the back seat, keeping my bag clutched tightly in my hands.

“Taurus Building, please.”

Not for the first time, I wondered what I was doing, abiding by blind faith and following the instructions of the letter.

It soon hit me how small this town was, if the taxi driver knew the building by name. The ride was silent and long. Few street lamps lit the roads and were only slightly more common than houses. I was left alone in my mind, so I closed my eyes and listened to the darkness. 

“All of this hassle, and for what?”

“You have to realize that your actions have consequences.”

“It's a little much, don't you think?”

“You tell me. Does the punishment fit the crime?”

Staring at the back of the taxi drivers head, I quelled the nausea that racked my body.

“I’m sorry?” I asked, hesitantly.

“I didn’t say anything,” He answered gruffly.

My mouth clicked shut audibly. Would it have killed him to at least be a little friendlier? My eyes stung with exhaustion, offense and fear. I just wanted to be somewhere that I knew, with people I was close to. Honestly, just huddling up in a quilt and feeling the reassuring warmth pressed around me while I slept would do wonders for my mentality.

For the rest of the ride, I concentrated on keeping my eyes open.

***

The Taurus Building was among a ton of other grey, uniform apartment blocks. I paid the taxi driver and slid out onto the sidewalk, my backpack slung over my shoulder. Apprehension had me standing in the rain for a little longer than I had planned. What was I walking into? I fished the note out of my bag once more and smoothed it out between my hands. It was my silent assurance, though I didn't know what of, as well as the source of the sense of foreboding I felt.