I slowly open my eyes again, and I notice Toby sitting by my bed on the floor.
"..Toby?" I spoke out, slowly sitting up.
He soon noticed me being awake, and stood up and made me stable.
"Careful.."
I softly smiled, and my eyes lit up as I remembered what today was.
"I have two main ideas!"
He seemed to have realized what I was talking about and sighed.
"First things first, up bitch!" I happily demanded, making grabby hands at him.
He hesitantly picked me up again, and I wrapped one arm around him.
"Now, the first thing I want to do is..."
"Hm?"
"Finish my father off."
A small grin rose from my lips, and I looked at him.
"Are you sure?" He asked, slowly making his way towards the door.
"Hell yeah, I'd rather finish that fucker off myself with the same box cutter I used to carve this stupid thing into my eye than have anything else happen to him." I ranted, and slowly but surely we were making our way to wherever he was.
"Could you hurry up, slowpoke? I'm not a fucking egg!" I shouted, shifting myself in his arms.
I felt a bit of pain but ignored it.
He slowly picked up the pace, and soon we were going downstairs to a creepy basement of sorts.
It looked like something from Yandere Sim since sitting in the middle of the room was my father, tied to a chair.
I took a glance around the room and turned my head toward Toby.
"What is this place exactly?"
"Training room and... It has other uses as well.."
I nodded, before turning my gaze to my unmoving father.
"Did y'all kill him already?" I asked, annoyed if they had already finished him off.
"No, we left that to you, Heart." He responded, and soon we were in front of the chair that he was sitting in.
He lightly put me down, and I sat on my knees as I watched him slowly, and gently remove the ties on his face before slapping him hard on the cheek.
I watched him walk backward, grab my cutter, and kick it toward me with a thumbs-up.
I smiled at him a bit, before turning to my father who was now looking around in both alarm and anger before landing his eyes on me.
His eyes widened, and he just stayed silent for a moment, before I waved a bit at him.
"A-Ash...?" He croaked, voice horse and barely above a whisper.
I took a good look at him, he looked like complete dogshit, clothes torn, scars, bruises, and blood all over his body, his eyes looked bloodshot, and what was left of his hair was a complete mess, with bits and pieces missing as if they had been chopped off, with marks on his head where they used to be.
"What- What's... What's going on?! Why are you here?! I was trying to save you!!" He badgered, trying to get out of the restraints that were around his arms and wrists, but just ended up wincing in pain soon after he started.
"You know, I have a question for you..." I started, trying to stand up on my own, almost falling, but Toby caught me in time and held me so I could stand.
I slowly started making my way toward him, noticing Toby had my box cutter in his hand.
"I wonder... Tell me, what would you have done if I hadn't escaped your wrath in time?" I asked him, my left hand moving his head to face mine.
He didn't respond and tried to escape my grasp, but it slowly tightened with what strength I had.
"Look at me and answer me, you cocksucking bitch!" I raged and ended up punching him in his face.
"I told you, the consequences wouldn't have been pretty..."
I just stared at him, slowly starting to feel lightheaded.
"I have things to do today, I fell down a flight of stairs, and now my partner in crime is doing whatever I want to do today because of it, so I just want you to answer this before I kill your abusive ass."
He looked at me, eyes widened.
"Partner... In crime?" He managed to say, and I smiled a halfhearted smile, as I stared at him with the coldest eyes I've ever had.
"Mhm. This little twitchy asshole is my new partner in crime." I glanced at him and gave a small smile before returning my gaze back to him.
He just stared at me, tears forming in his eyes.
I backed away a bit, trying to calm down.
"Where... Where did my little gir-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, I jumped out of Toby's hold on me, and clocked him straight in the face, probably breaking his nose in the process even though I could barely stand up straight.
"I. Am. Not. Your. Little. Girl." I just stared at him, tears now falling down my cheeks.
"I am a Proxy now, I am no longer your little girl, I am no longer- No longer your child, I am a Non-Binary Proxy, and you are just a victim that is in my way." I grumbled, trying to walk backward, but almost falling.
"Maybe we should-" Toby tried to reason with me, but I held my hand up, and stood back up.
I pulled my box cutter out of his hand, and walked over to the chair again, stabilizing myself on one of the arms.
"As I said, I have things to do today... So, answer me this, do you feel bad that you caused this? That all you've caused me is pain and suffering? That if I was just a few seconds too late, you could've hurt me, or worse? That I look like this?!" I snapped, turning his head to face me, but he tried to resist and look away.
"Look at me, look at my scarred face, and tell me, do. You. Feel. Bad." I demanded, tears now streaming down my face.
His eyes looked dull but full of hatred, hatred for his own 'child' that had turned into a monster...
"No. No, I do not. And you will never be a 'Non-Binary' in my eyes, you will always be my little girl, so, please... Ash, spar-"
"PICK A FUCKING SIDE!"
I gripped his chin, and I felt a rush of adrenaline and warmth rush through my body.
"Fine. I'll pick a side... I do not feel bad, if you had been late to run away, I probably would have killed your spoiled ass. You will never be a 'Non-Binary' to me, you are and will always be a girl, and nothing can ever change that, you have female parts, and you were born female, nothing will ever change that. I do not feel bad that you turned into this monster, and criminal, and the fact you decided to stray away from the path of God, and I'll see you in hell, where you belong." He declared flatly, eyes glaring into mine.
And that's when I felt it.
Something just... Snap. Inside of me.
Most of what happened next was a blur, but I can try to...-
-
On my face was anger, and sadness, before a twisted grin was etched onto my face, my scars moving with my lips as I cackled.
I quickly took my box cutter and plunged it into his chest, and I heard a blood-curdling scream come from this man.
And as he screamed, a grin was plastered on my face, I looked into his eyes, and from what I can imagine, they looked crazy, and broken.
He looked back at me and mustered a half smile.
I started carving a heart-shaped wound into his chest and soon pulled on the skin, throwing it away.
A bit after I did, I looked back up at him.
"I'll... See you-... In hell, you- Monster... You- You... De- demon....." He muttered, looking at me, with a small grin on his face.
"If I'm going to hell for killing an abusing prick like you, I better be running the fucking place." I scoffed, smiling.
His grin faded and turned into a look of disappointment, and disgust.
I didn't care, as I soon pulled his heart out of his now open chest, and watched as the life drained from his eyes.
Soon his eyes became lifeless, his body becoming limp, and I took a bit out of my prize.
"Mm... Not as bad as I thought it would be." I mumbled, mouth full as I stood up and turned to face Toby.
His face was plastered with surprise, but I couldn't tell if he was proud of me, or disappointed.
"Hey... Want some-?.." I asked, falling unconscious into his arms.
-
My eyes opened, to see I'm in Toby's lap... On his bed?
"Toby?..."
His eyes slowly looked down and met mine.
"Morning princess, what was the other thing you wanted to do?"
I scoffed, crossed my arms, and pouted.
"Are you okay though?..." He asked concern in his voice ever so slightly.
"Mostly.. What happened?" I questioned, sitting up.
"Well, you went crazy and completely murdered your father in cold blood, took a bite of his heart, and fell unconscious." He responded, scratching his head.
"Can I keep eating the heart?" I asked out of the blue, I'm not sure why I did.
His eyes widened slightly and he patted my head.
"Sure, but I did say we were doing anything you wanted today, right?"
My eyes lit up again, I had almost forgotten!
I pulled on him and screamed into his ear after a minute of silence.
"MCDONALDS!!"
-
I had been sitting on his bed for a little while now as he was getting ready to go out.
He walked back in with a case of makeup, a brush, and my mask and eyepatch.
"Okay, pick, makeup to cover the scars, or look like an emo?"
"Emo, dude!"
Soon enough, he was messing with my hair, and I felt weird.
The only person who would do my hair was my mom... I pushed my thoughts of her out of my mind as I saw Toby stand up.
"Done! And I couldn't find any clothes for you, are you alright with going in my sweatshirt and shorts?" He asked, placing the stuff on my bed.
"Hell yeah, McDonald's for the win BABIEEE!!" I exclaimed, jumping up and off of the bed, almost falling on top of the items on my bed in the process.
"Y-you need to relax, I-I can't have something happening to you, especially when we're going to be far away from the mansion..." He stammered, catching me before I could fall any farther.
I nodded, and he scooped me up and started taking off toward the staircase.
I gripped him a bit tighter as we went down the stairs and toward the front doors.
Before we could get out the door, we heard someone clearing their throat behind us, which caused me to jump a bit.
"Where are you two going?" We looked to see it was Slendick, and I gave him the middle finger before Toby pushed me up a bit.
"We're going out for a bit, sir."
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
"I told Black Heart that I would do anything they wanted for the day..."
"And why should I let you two go out, especially when Black Heart is on bed rest in Nurse Ann's office?"
Toby turned around, and I gave pleading hands, while he gave the puppy eyes.
"Pleaseee?" I pleaded and pointed to my face.
"We won't get caught, promise bitch!" I bubbled before Toby lifted me up a bit again.
"...Be back by sundown." He had finally given in, and I waved as me and Toby ran out of the mansion and through the woods.
I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air, it was still morning, maybe 10-11 am?
I realized that I didn't have my phone, and I turned to Toby who assured me he had it.
Soon we made it out of the forest, and I kept his hood up in case there were police looking for me.
...Which there were.
Soon we were stopped by a police officer, and she looked us up and down.
"Have you two seen the missing girl, Ash Reenstra?" She asked, taking a closer look at me as I hood inside Toby's hoodie.
"No, we haven't. Why?"
"Because she was last seen entering the forest by her house, and may they take off their hood?"
I looked at Toby in a panic, and he just smiled at me.
"She would actually rather not, she doesn't speak English, and if a bit chilly so..." Toby spoke, and I hid my face deeper in his hood.
"...Alright, if you do see her, call the police immediately, or her father, he was last spotted going into the forest to find his daughter, but never returned."
"Will do, ma'am!"
She slowly walked off, and I slightly peeked out to see her just walking away.
"Nice lie." I whispered, chuckling a bit.
"Thanks, you have to lie when you have a job like mine." He responded, and we were back on the road to burgery goodness and shit WiFi...
I groaned loudly, "When are we getting there?! I've been waiting forever!"
"Says the one being carried bridal style, I'm the one doing all of the heavy lifting and walking!"
At the 'heavy lifting' comment, I looked away, then at my stomach.
"No, no- You're not heavy, you're actually light as hell-"
"Really?"
"Of course."
I smiled at him and snuggled into his chest.
-
I opened my eyes to being shaken awake by Toby, and I yawned a bit.
"We're here, shitty WiFi and diabetes!"
I looked up to see Mcdonald's, and I could barely contain my excitement.
He walked inside and we ordered our stuff at the kiosk, and once we got our food, we sit down somewhere 'quiet'.
"Want to go somewhere actually quiet?"
"No, later- I want to eat my Happy Meal in a Mcdonald's, I haven't in foreverr-"
He just nodded, and I pulled down my mask to take a few bites.
Every once in a while I noticed some more food being added to my thing, but I didn't mind.
-
Once I finished my food, Toby picked me up and started walking out.
"Sir, sir! Your card declined!" We heard the worker from behind the counter shout at us.
"That wasn't my card, try to catch me sucker!" Toby exclaimed, before running out of the restaurant with the worker chasing after us.
I pulled my mask down and stuck my tongue out at him, and his face turned white as my hair flew out of my eye, and my hood came off.
"I'd put that back on, I can run faster than him, but probably not cop cars!" I heard Toby's urge, and I pulled it back on and moved my hair back in front of my eye.
I looked around us to see we were in the middle of the street, and I yelled out in excitement as cars passed us.
Soon, we heard sirens, and Toby picked up the pace, and I started to feel a bit dizzy.
"I'm feeling dizzy..." I muttered into his ear, and he quickly nodded before continuing to run.
A few minutes passed, and we were surrounded by cars.
"Nonononono, they can't take me!" I whimpered and held his neck tighter.
"Hand over the girl, and we'll let you go!" I heard an officer shout, and Toby put me down gently and pulled out his hatchets.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." He refused, and I held my cutter close to me, I didn't know how to fight...
Soon they all started to fight, and once he was busy with a cop, I stood up, and tried walking away, but got stopped.
"We'll bring you home, and away from this maniac miss Reenstra." I heard from behind me, and I kicked my leg back in their nuts and ran over to Toby once they let go of me, and jumped on his back.
"What happened?!"
"Someone tried to take me!"
He just nodded and continued with what he was doing.
I looked above me and saw a helicopter.
'I'm just a 14-year-old child, I'm not the president, for fucks sake...' I thought to myself, as I pushed myself closer to Toby.
Time seemed to slow down, as I watched him go through everyone that tried to get between him and me, or tried to hurt one of us.
I quickly got off of him and slipped away from the crowd of bodies that was growing larger by the second.
I made it out of the mess, and fell to my knees, breathing heavily.
I soon felt arms bring me to my feet, and I looked up to see my mother... My mother?!
She held me in a tight, yet warm embrace.
I just let myself sink into the hug, and I forgot everything that was going on around me as I felt her warmth again...
"Honey, you're alright..." I heard her whisper in my ear, and I just hugged her as tight as I could with what strength I had left.
I soon stopped hearing the bloodshed, and I was let go of the hug.
"Honey... What happened to you?" She asked, gently caressing my cheek, and I started crying.
I didn't know why, I just...
"It's been around a week since you went missing, tell me you aren't with that maniac..." She softly muttered, and I felt my skin go cold.
"...Maniac?"
She just looked at me with a confused face and nodded before pulling me back into the hug.
"Of course darling, but all of that's over now... We just need to find your father and go ho-"
"I killed him."
Her eyed shot open, and she slowly let me out of the hug again.
"W-what...?"
I just stared at her, my lips parting before I spoke up.
But before I could say anything, I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
"Your precious 'child' murdered your husband in cold blood, then took a bite out of his heart! Pretty impressive if I do say so myself, and it was deserved." Toby said coldly, and I smiled softly at the older woman standing in front of me.
She let me go, hands trembling, soon she placed them on her mouth and started shaking her head while tears fell down her face.
She looked at me, then at Toby, who was by my side helping me stand. Then back at me, then Toby again.
"My baby Ash... You didn't, please tell me-" She gulped, placing her hands on her chest.
"Sorry mom, I don't know what came over me, swear! But... I must say, it was fun as fuck to watch the life drain from his eyes as he called me a demon." I responded, a small grin forming on my lips again.
"And his heart, bitter, but a bit of sweetness, mmm!" I chirped, placing the blade of my cutter to my masked mouth.
"Whatever your father did, I'm sure we can fix it-" She tried to plead, but I had already jumped on top of her.
"You let him TWIST MY HAND BACK UNTIL IT FELT LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BREAK!" I hissed, placing the blade on her neck.
"And now, you will suffer a worse fate than him, I let him die quickly, I'll let you die slowly." I pulled my mask down and smiled.
"My heart was broken, now yours will be too..." I muttered in her ear, before quickly pulling the blade across the side of her throat, and she let out an ear-bleeding scream.
"PLEASE-" She tried to scream again, but I sliced everywhere on her throat so that she did't say anything again.
"This is what you get, you monster." I muttered flatly.
"I never deserved his abuse, and you let it all happen, and you passed it off as 'punishment', I hope you rot in hell with him and Matt."
"I was... Ne-v- er like- H...im..."
"No, you're a bit better than him, I still hope you rot in hell."
And like that, I got off of her and stumbled over to Toby who picked me up and started walking away.
"A-...Sh...!" I heard her weak voice plead as we walked through the bloodied mess that was that highway, or something-.
"My name... Is Black Heart now."
I saw her hand try to reach toward me, but I cuddled into Toby's chest.
"Do I want to ask who-"
"No. Not now..."
He just let his head rest on mine, and we started making our way back toward the forest.
"Wait... I still haven't done everything I've wanted to do!" My head perked up, and I looked at him with pleading eyes.
He sighed and stopped, and I told him everything that I wanted to do, except for one.
-
We soon arrived at the boardwalk and walked into the arcade.
"You still have money on you, right?" I asked, a smile slowly forming behind my mask.
"Yeah, I stole a bunch of money, and I took Slender's credit card. So have fun, princess."
"He has a-? Nevermind!"
He let me down, and I led him to what I assumed was their own little credit card machine.
We got a bunch of money for it, and I squealed with excitement as he handed it to me.
I led him to all of the things I wanted to try out before I noticed a dance dance revolution type game, and I started stimming without realizing it.
"Go on, I'll make sure you don't get hurt."
And I was off to try the game.
-
I started feeling a bit better, so I told Toby I would be fine walking on my own, but he insisted on holding my hand...
I ran around the boardwalk, looking at all of the stuff, and going in everything.
I soon got a popsicle and handed my mask to Toby so I could eat it without it getting on the mask.
"Mmm, not as good as the heart, but I am coming here every summer!" I bubbled, licking my chocolate popsicle as he trailed behind me.
"I'm surprised there are not that many people here..."
"Yeahh, I think it's off-season, so there's that-"
It might have been around 1-2 pm, and I got an idea.
"The beach! Can we go, please?!" I jumped up and down like a little kid, I barely got to go here, and the fact I came with my new partner in crime made it all the better.
He just chuckled at my excitement and nodded.
Then I was picked up, and as long as I had my stuff, I didn't care.
-
After a little while, I had thrown my popsicle stick who knows where, and I saw the beach.
"Can I-"
"Sorry, princess, I'd rather not have to wash my sweatshirt of sand and seawater, plus, it'll be cold."
I gave him the middle finger, and as soon as he let me down, I made a run for it.
I could hear his footsteps slowly closing in behind me, and I knew he was faster than me.
"I'm going in that water if it's the last thing I do!"
"Black Heart! It'll also get in your scars and it'll hurt like a bitch!!"
I ignored him and made my way to the shore.
I ran into the water, and immediately felt the cold water, but I didn't care- And before I knew it I could barely stand up.
And that's when I realized it.
I barely know how to swim.
Soon I was swept off of my feet and fell completely into the water, and I could hear Toby's distant voice.
I managed to pull myself above water, and I noticed I have swept away, and I couldn't see Toby anymore.
Why did I think this was a smart idea...?
I tried to stay calm, but I felt all of the pain of the saltwater in my scars, and I could barely keep myself above water.
But I was quickly picked up, and I looked to see it was Toby.
"WHY?!" He screamed, and I just stared at him, both of our hairs in front of our faces.
"Do you even know how to swim?!"
"Not really!"
"Of course you don't..." He cursed and made me get onto his back as he swam back to shore.
Once we were back on the sand, I yelped out in pain as all of the water had gotten into my scars.
"I told you..." He muttered as he took a few deep breaths, before turning to me.
And I just sat there, staring at the sand.
"Are you alright?" He asked, and I didn't respond.
"I'm stupid..."
"You're not--" He paused, then looked in his pocket before pulling out a sparking electronic...
...That sparking electronic...
...Was my phone.
I immediately took it out of his hands and looked at it, panicking.
"Please turn on, please turn on... Please..." I pleaded as I kept pressing the power button.
Tears started to fill my eyes as I realized it wouldn't turn back on.
"I was so careless that I put us both in danger, and I killed my phone!" I cried and held it to my chest.
"Black Heart, I have two ideas to get your phone fixed."
"How?! You dove completely underwater just to save me! How can it be fixed..."
"Come on."
He picked me back up, and I took off my wet eyepatch and mask, I was honestly surprised neither got swept away.
After a little while, I noticed we were in front of an apple store.
"Oh yeah, walk in there and they'll make you buy an entirely new phone if you have a smudge on your screen! Not. A. Chance." I mocked, but he was already walking inside.
"Hello, can you fix their phone?" Toby asked the associate, who just stared at us in shock.
I held out the phone, and she looked at it for not even five seconds before saying; "What in the world did you do to this?! Try to save a drowning person with it in your pocket?!"
We both looked at her, before saying at the same time: "That is exactly what happened." And she looked at us dumbfounded.
"You need an entirely new phone, I just pray that the SD card wasn't in here or something."
And I burst out into tears, pushing my face against Toby's chest.
"Just give it back."
"Are you-"
"Crazy? Yes, now hand. It. Over."
She quickly placed it in the middle of me and Toby and he talked to her for a minute before running out of the store.
"What happened?" I asked, trying to stop crying before I heard the alarms from the store.
"Got you a new phone! But I have one more idea to see if we can fix your phone, is there a last-minute stop you want us to go to?" He asked quickly, and I thought for a second before nodding.
-
I had been leading him around for a good while back toward my house, and through the woods where we first met.
Soon we cleared out and I saw the hill I loved.
I let go of his hand, and we got to the top.
"This is our 'last-minute' stop?" He asked, confused.
I nodded and laid back.
"Before I had met you, I came here... It feels so weird for me to be back here again..-"
"It's beautiful, like you."
My eyes widened, and I looked over at him, he wasn't even looking at anything but me...?
"What- Do you mean?" I asked, lightly blushing a bit.
He held my cheek softly, and it looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't.
I was about to say something as well, but I noticed the sun starting to go down quickly.
"Toby... We were supposed to be back by sundown, right?" I asked, looking away from him, and at the rapidly changing sky.
"Yeah, why--? Shit, come on."
And like that, I was being carried in his arms as he ran down the hill and through the forest again.
"Mm.. Is someone watching us, or am I just hallucinating?" I asked, worry now lacing my voice as I felt a worry I'd never felt before.
"Not sure, just stay close." He responded, holding me closer as he ran faster through the woods.
"Don't have to tell me twice, bitch!"
As it was getting darker, I noticed he was jumping more often, and I started to feel sick.
Soon, he must have tripped on something because I went flying out of his arms and rolling to who knows where.
"Black Heart!"
"Ngh!"
I soon got stopped and picked up by my stomach, and I knew who it was just because of how high up I was.
I gulped looking down, and I felt sick to my stomach.
"I told you, be back by sundown, and do not get caught. What did you do? Got caught, and came back later."
I look to see I'm entangled in whatever this fucker has, and I instinctively try to punch and kick my way out.
Soon, my soft gaze meets Toby's, and for a split second, everything stops, I'm calm, nothing's going on, and I... Blush a bit.
But that's all ruined when I feel something come up in my throat and I puke whatever it is out, and I feel a searing pain in my right eye.
I hear Toby shout my name, but everything becomes hazy and I feel lightheaded again.
"Why... Me?" I managed to get out, and I feel my body become limp.
"Because. Why not toy with someone one of my most trusted Proxies loves, and will protect with his life?"
I then feel my body become light, and I open my eyes to see I'm freefalling and I just accept my death at this point.
But I feel someone catch me, and I feel the wind rush against my face again.
"Toby...?"
"Stay awake for me, princess. I'll get you back to the mansion, where you'll be safe with me."
"Just let me die at this point.. Please!.."
I tried pleading with him as I slowly felt a bit better, but he ignored me and continued on.
I just curled up the best I could, and I wondered how I got into this situation in the first place.
I just wanted to hang out with Gloria, and now I might have a serial killer obsessed with me, and I'm a slave to some demon being...
I started to feel heavy, and I looked at Toby, he looked back at me with worried plastered all over his face.
I soon couldn't resist the sweet release of sleep, and I fell asleep, holding him close.
...
...
My eyes shoot open, and I sit up in a panic.
"Black Heart! Are you okay? I know I said I wanted you to sleep, but not that long..." I heard Toby say from beside me.
"What? What do you mean?"
"Was it just a bad dream?"
"What?! No, no no- Don't you remember the day we had together? The fact I almost drowned? I took you to the..."
I trailed off at the end, looking at his confused and worried state.
"So it really was all a dream...?" I looked at him with sad eyes as I felt the softness of the hospital-type bed underneath me.
"I guess so... Want to tell me about it?"
"Not now.."
He nodded and pat my head, slowly moving to play with my hair.
I laid back down, and gave in to sleep again, relaxing at his touch.
How did I get myself into this nightmare of a situation in the first place.....
[Notable Word Count: 5036/5392]