Zion
I didn't know what possessed me to kick the mirrors on the back porch. In fact I had cherished their odd placement, for it was the first time I'd seen mirrors on backyard walls. My Aunt had said she loved to see her reflection from the pool. She was a very weird woman but I loved her all the more. Thank God she was now resting in peace or I would've been in for an ear full.
One minute I was thinking of the incident that occured on Friday....the next, I was kicking my aunt's beautiful mirrors.
You could say I wasn't too pleased by the image of my ex and ex-bestfriend kissing. Especially when the image kept popping up randomly a whole day after it all occurred. Well 2 days after it occurred because it was now Sunday and the sun was already setting.
In my attempt to clean up the mess, I had cut myself and it wasn't a little cut...In fact it was pretty ugly. Looking around frantically for something that would stop the bleeding, I pin pointed an old rag, it was hung on the fence that separated my aunt's house from the neighbor's. Making my way over to the only piece of cloth in sight, I paused midway.
There was a bit of rustling coming from the side of the house. Which I found strange as my dog Vince was out on his evening stroll, searching for company. Yeah he was a very busy dog, one I found hard to control. Yet I'd never give him up as he was a gift from my dad.
I was drawn from my thoughts about Vince; back to the sound as it seemed to be getting closer. Then the rustling suddenly stopped. So I made an attempt to check on what it could be but I stopped in my tracks at the sight of an unknown girl staring straight at me.
Well more specifically my hand. My hand that was bleeding all over the grass on which I stood. I was confused, why in the world was there a strange girl in my back yard?
More importantly why was she in her sleep attire?
Before I could say anything to the girl. She came marching over to me. Grabbing my bleeding hand in one graceful move, to inspect my injury.
I pulled my hand away from her as if she had burnt me. Who the hell was she? That was what was important in this moment, not my hand.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked firmly, a bit of edge to my voice.
She seemed a bit embarrassed. As if just now realizing how weird it was to walk into someone's backyard and then proceed to touch them without permission. She then reached into her shorts pocket and took something out. Now I was even more confused by her. Did all girls have secret pockets on their sleep wear? And why in the world was she now holding my blue envelope?
"For some reason this letter was mailed to me instead of the person it was intended for and I'm here to see the person who wrote it. Which I'm guessing is you..." She explained, causing me to get an understanding of why she was here.
So mom never got the letter......
"Did you read it?" I asked, my voice a bit low.
I already knew the answer. She wouldn't have been here if she hadn't read it. I was just hoping she didn't read more than the first line. I had gone really indepth in that stupid letter.
"I read everything word" she confirmed, her voice now soft. It was one of both warmth and concern.
"Are you Zion?" She asked, although it was obvious who I was from my behavior.
"Yeah" I answered awkwardly, genuinely unsure of what to say.
She didn't really react to my revelation. Instead she grabbed my hand again, reinspecting my injury. Then she did something unexpected, so unexpected it caused me to look at her in utter shock.
She had torn her shirt...
As if it was nothing, she began wrapping my hand tightly. The girl was trying her best to stop the bleeding but silk wasn't the best to do the job. Yet she still persisted. Completely focused on what she was doing.
"Do you have a first aid kit?" She asked, finally realizing the silk wouldn't do, which caused me to roll my eyes.
Not at her but more at my own stupidity. As I hadn't remembered my Aunt had a first aid kit in the bathroom. Nodding my head at her because I was still in shock from her ripping her shirt and merely being here.
I slipped my hand from hers and made my way inside to get the kit.
She wasn't following me, as I could only hear my own footsteps. Which to me was for the best, she was still a stranger...regardless of her reading my letter. A letter that I had probably sent to her because of one missed number on the address.
As I retrieved the kit, I pondered on why she was even really here. In the world we live in, who would've really left the other side of the country to see a guy who wrote a suicide letter. In fact how did she even know if I was still alive? All I knew was that she was definitely something else and she had some serious explaining to do.
Making my way to her, I gave her a once over. She stood around 5'6, with slight curves and short kinky hair, she had dark brown eyes...that were almost black. Her lips were full and her nose was round around the edges but pointy at the tip. She was a beauty to say the least, her dark skin looking ethereal as the sunset cast a beautiful shadow on her.
"I think it's best I work inside" She spoke, pulling me out of my daze.
"why?" I asked simply, trying to play off my intense observation of her.
"Well it's getting a bit dark, I need light to work" she pointed out.
I quickly invited her in, not caring if she was a serial killer. I was already begging for death anyway, there was no point in caring who she really was anymore. Yet a piece of me deep down inside...knew she wasn't going to hurt me.
I entered the kitchen first, switching on the light so she could see what she was doing. She had taken a brief observation of the kitchen, something dancing in her eyes when they landed on my aunt's weird wall decals. I cleared my throat to get her attention and she quickly grabbed the first aid kit.
"Sit over there" she somewhat ordered, pointing at the counter top by the sink.
Trusting she knew what she was doing, I sat on the counter top, waiting patiently for her as she got what was necessary from the kit. She took some tweezers out, then some isopropyl alcohol and lastly some wound dressing. I didn't really care about the other stuff.
All I wanted to know was what in the world were the tweezers for?
Ashlin
I had asked him to sit by the sink because it would be much easier to clean his wound from that spot. I tried my best to grab what was needed from the kit and made my way over to him. Taking his injured hand in mine, I swiftly removed the piece of silk I had tied around it. I could tell he was tense, as his hand felt extremely stiff in mine. He would have to relax in order for this to go smoothly.
"Calm down, I don't bite" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Which seemed to have worked as his hand relaxed a bit.
I held it under the water, washing away the dirt and whatever may have made it's way into the cut while it was out in the open. I then turned the tap off and rested his hand on his lap in order to wash the tweezer with the isopropyl alcohol. I could sense his worry, as I held the tweezer and took his hand once more.
Finally looking up at him, I smiled a reassuring smile.
"Zion, trust me...it won't hurt "
At my words he gave a nod, telling me to continue and I did just that.
I quickly focused on the cut, using the tweezer to remove the piece of glass that was inside. Zion was really quiet and I could tell by the burning sensation a top my head that he was invested in what I was doing. After cleaning, removing the glass and double checking the cut; I wrapped it up with the wound dressing. Thank God it turned out to be minor and easy to clean.
"All done" I spoke awkwardly as I stepped away from him. Feeling the tension building.
We both knew what was next with the cut now a thing of the past.
It was time to clear the air and talk. Talk about why he wrote the letter, what was wrong with his dad. Why I was here and how to move forward.
"Sooooo...." I began, as he slowly got off the counter.
"Why are you really here?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
I scratched my head at that question because I didn't have an answer for that myself.
"Human decency I guess" I replied with a sigh.
He wasn't buying it, I could tell by the look in his hazel eyes. Yet I couldn't blame him because after all he had been through with his mom, the people who were supposed to be his friends and his ex...human decency might've seemed like a silly answer. So I knew I had to be a bit more expressive and just be honest.
Yet before I could speak up, he beat me to it.
"I bet you felt sorry for me, felt sorry for the pathetic boy with mommy issues" He spat, his voice dripping with venom.
I was taken a back, as i tried wrapping my head around his mood swing.
How did the quiet guy on the counter become the one filled with hatred across from me.
I tried to get a word in but he didn't give me a chance.
"Look, I know you probably came here to save me but I don't need a stranger to show up out of pity." He continued, his breathing becoming erratic.
I was starting to see just how broken he was and that truly shook me to my core.
As he kept going off, I could feel the tears coming. I wasn't a stranger to the rescue, I was a girl that didn't understand his situation and wanted to help. To help by listening to his every thought and showing him that in life you are never really alone. Yes, I felt sorry for him but I wasn't here to rub it in his face.
He had stopped talking at the sight of my tears. Looking at me in bewilderment, I could tell he was probably wondering if I was crazy. Yet I wasn't crazy, I was empathizing with him. I knew what he needed in that moment and even if it made me look crazy I was going to hug him.
So that's what I did, without warning I pulled him into a tight embrace.
He gasped at the gesture and the impact of my body crashing into his. However as soon as he recovered...he hugged me back.
Which caused me to smile because deep down inside, I knew I had successfully broken down the first wall.
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See you in the next bit;)
~Axela