Dead Love

Beaten and Broken

A year passed on Earth; leaving me with only one person I'd have to confess to last, Lydia. The thing was, I never found the right time. Often I found myself mesmerized by how happy she could be, causing me to laugh. Her smile brightened anyone's mood if she walked past. Those days, when she'd always be laughing, I found myself unable to speak, only laugh with her.

I ended that year having confessed to Alex (and how annoying he was), confessing to my principal (almost got Rei in detention), confessing to my teachers (telling them that I was always sad in their rooms), and confessing to Mr. Mackenzie at his grave. I left a book there, with all my feelings about him. I knew he might never read it, but just in case he became a confession ghost, I didn't want him to never see it.

Light pulled me back into The Land of Confessions occasionally, telling me random tidbits of knowledge. She encouraged me to pretend like I was Rei and act like Rei knew all my feelings. Or she'd tell me to write more in different diaries. She'd tell me to stop dilly-dallying and confess to Lydia.

At the end of the year, she pulled me up there and told me I had exactly one more year before I'd become a permanent confession ghost.

"Kyle. It's been one year and you still have a person you need to confess to," she said, annoyed.

"Oh...sorry," I replied.

"KYLE! This is important. Trust me you do not want to get stuck as a confession ghost!!"

"Light, I know! I'm just...struggling."

"Well, you need to hurry."

That day she sent me back to earth immediately after the conversation. I invaded Rei and walked around trying to find Lydia.

Omg dude are you finally gonna confess??

I ignored him. I walked around the school for an hour in an attempt to find Lydia. On the way, I found John and Charlotte, who were chatting on a bench. Charlotte went to Promise High. Her hair was styled in a messy bun and she wore a pink t-shirt covered in pretzels. She wore blue, ripped jeans and a pair of converse. John's hair was still blue and he wore a Pokémon t-shirt; something he'd never wear. I assumed he had been dared to wear it. He wore a pair of shorts and tennis shoes.

I gave up on trying to find her, assuming she was sick or something. The rest of the day was just me and Light chilling around the lovely garden area of the school. We danced around for hours, admiring the beautiful colors of the plants and animals. Streams flowed around us as we sang about idiotic things, laughing. We ended the day by writing in the sad with our hands.

The next day Lydia was back at school. Her hair was dyed a dark blue instead of black and she wore a colorful shirt and ripped shorts. Her feet were covered by rainbow sandals. Her hair was down and she wore a bright yellow headband.

"Yeah I re-dyed my hair, I didn't like the original look," she said, smiling. I nodded in response. We said our goodbyes as the homeroom class bell rung. I left Rei and started floating around the school, looking at all the different students. Then I saw Jane.

She was glaring at Lydia, who was a mere five feet away. The teacher, Mrs. Nelony, was talking about math ideas that I did not understand. She was oblivious of Jane's glare, which seemed to pierce through the air like a laser. Jane was wearing a crop top and skinny jeans, no different from her usual style. However, there was something off about her purple purse that she carried around everywhere. There was a tear in it, and something glinted inside. I assumed it was just another lipstick, but I couldn't help but worry. So I stayed in that room for the rest of the class.

Luckily, Jane left Lydia alone for the rest of the day and I was able to peacefully return to The Land of Confessions, where I stayed for another hour or two. Me and Light chilled by different buildings, admiring the many colors and flowers. She rarely explored, apparently, and was just as astonished by the places as I was! We ate at a restaurant serving the best ice-cream I had ever tasted. The cold dessert was pink and tasted like an angel mixed sugar, chocolate, and strawberries into an ice-cream cone.

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I relaxed on the back of a cold, brick fence, as I stared at the blue sky above me. Students walked past the school in groups as if they all belonged to categories. I guess they did though, cliques and all. The green grass felt like massaging fuzz on my legs, tickling me with their blades. Their immaculate emerald pieces flowed in the wind like dandelion seeds that were plugged into the grown. My rambunctious peers trampled the beautiful ground as if they were giants who wanted to destroy everything. Clouds covered sections of the sky, rugs in the air. Shadows cast down on the earth, covering patches of dirt in dark, dismal gray.

Then she came over to me. Her disturbing steps in those gigantic, stiletto heels ruined the beautiful picture of green beside me. She wore her typical outfit, a crop top, skinny jeans, a purple, leather purse that was so dear to her. Makeup covered her scarred mess of a face, making it look innocent. A face that had fooled more than one stupid guy. Her lips were stained with the darkest of reds. She wore natural eye shadow that enhanced her disgustingly pretty, green eyes, that shone with envy and greed. Blush covered her defined jawline, and foundation covered any blemishes, pimples, or scars.

"Hey, idiot! How are you doing today??" She smiled delightfully, evilly.

"None of your business hon. Besides, you've already killed a few people today with that annoying smile of yours. Take it somewhere else, would ya?" I retorted, knowing what she was planning to do.

"Oh, darling. I'm afraid I'd rather not. Besides, I have something to ask you. You know that boy, Rei?"

"No. Definitely not. Totally don't hang out with him EVERY day."

"And you know he's Kyle, correct?"

"Wait. How the heck do you know-"

I was interrupted with a sharp slap to the face. She smiled that devilish smile again, giggling.

"You know, that's a hot boy with a super cute personality you've been talking to."

"Ow..."

She laughed as she took out her lipstick, twisting it as she continued to rant about how she loved Kyle. Her green eyes glinted in the light as if she was a Disney villain. She popped off the cap of the lipstick. The silvery cover was thrown to the side as she finished twisting the bottom of the container, revealing a sharp, glowing blade that was far more dangerous than her fists. I gasped. She continued talking as she laughed at my trembling body. She giggled about her obsession and waved the knife in front of my face dangerously. I found myself lost for words. I couldn't open my mouth, I wasn't able to speak without stuttering, my teeth chattered uncontrollably, my voice was dry and shaky. Finally, she stopped talking. Taking the knife, she ran it across her finger, drawing the smallest bit of blood.

"Quite a dangerous thing isn't it. Wouldn't want it to touch anyone where they'd get really hurt, would we?"

I shook my head, scared. She laughed again, her eyes starting to form tears of joy. She brought the weapon closer to my face, pinning me down so I couldn't escape. She pushed the dull edge into my thigh, drawing a silent scream. She slashed the skin lightly, causing tears to stream down my face. I tried to wriggled away, to no avail. She slashed every place that skin touched, leading up to my head. She stopped for a second, investigating where she'd want to attack next. Then, she slashed directly where the hippocampus would be if I didn't have a skull. She took my face in her hands, blood running down my forehead. She threw me across the wall, before walking away.

"Next time, don't talk to the man I like, Lydia," Jane said, smiling.