Now I'll Torture You

5

I went to take a shower as soon as I got home from volleyball practice. The ridicule all day at school, following yesterday and last night's nightmare just made life feel unbearable. I took my dad's razors and violently began to cut my wrists and thighs. I hated this. I hated everything. And especially, I hated myself.

Why did I have to be such a bitch? If I could've just been her friend...

I didn't have time to finish that thought before I passed out.

"Kelsey!!!" my mom sat next to me in the hospital bed. She looked overjoyed when she saw me open my eyes. Tears were stained on her face. "Why did you do that? You almost died!" she sobbed.

"You don't believe me," I whispered.

The next few hours passed in a blur because of the pain pills. I just remember the psychiatrist prescribing me anti-psychotics and sending me home.

A week had passed and the pills did nothing but make me feel sick.

I continued to cut myself deeply, multiple times a day. By now I was covered in deep cuts on my whole arms and legs, along with my stomach. My skin burned and tore every time I moved. I groaned and cried out in pain a lot.

I stopped eating. I skipped school and never went to volleyball. I mostly just laid in my bed and tried to forget about everything.

But Janie was always there. In the corner. Laying next to me. In the closet. She was Always. There. And it scared me. She would whisper to me, sing to me, scratch me, bite me. She would pull my skin off and open the cuts I had made. It was constant torture, but I didn't have the will to get up or even try to stop her.

I was in a barely-lit ballroom.  I looked down to see myself in a very short red dress with sleeves that only covered my shoulders.  I was embarrassed to see every scar I had made.  Some of them dripped blood even as I stood there.

"Hi, Kelsey! What a surprise, seeing you here." Janie's evil grin spread across her face and I felt myself shrink back in fear.

Janie was wearing a pink dress in a style similar to mine.  Her stringy dark hair was pulled up into a knot.  Her white eyes were surrounded in black makeup.  Her skin was clean.  I could see all her scars, too.

"Now do you understand all the pain you caused me?" she paused and snickered menacingly, "Plus more."

I nodded and backed up until I hit the wall.

"Aww, Kelsey don't be like that I'm sure I'm not that bad."  She grinned.

She walked up to me and slid her hand across my cheek.  "Dance with me," she whispered.

She led me across the floor and held me close.  "You're going to die soon, Kelsey Kappernick.  I'm going to kill you."

She put her hands around my neck and squeezed them, choking me and digging her nails into my skin.

I tried to scream.

But then everything got dark.

I woke up in a sweat to see my mom and dad at my bedside.

"Kelsey, you were screaming..." said my dad, "can you tell us what's wrong?"

"You guys think I'm crazy!! That's what's wrong!" Panic and anger overcame me.

My dad picked me up as I cried and brought me to the car.

"What are you doing?" I screamed.

"I'm so sorry sweetie we're doing what we need to do." my mom cooed at me and I began to cry in frustration.

We drove for 2 hours and arrived at a psychiatric hospital. They dropped me off at the front desk and I suddenly felt so alone.

The lady at the desk took me up an elevator and into a dark hallway. There was a sign on the set of large doors in front of us.

Do not let anyone leave this area without supervision by an authority. Thank you in advance.

I could feel the fear bubbling up inside me and I could feel it.

This is where I'm going to die.