FAITH
I awoke to the sight of the bright white light, calling to me as my eyes squinted under the harsh bright light. Was I dying? No, that couldn't be true, as the thick pungent smell of the hospital patients crept towards my nostrils. The tempting glare of the nearby glass window was shielded by two curtains, closing in onto the middle of the windows. Another hospital bed was in the room, the patient still asleep as I awoke in the morning. I checked the time on the small clock beside me, the time being 7:50. One nurse walked into the room, tying her hair back as she stood beside me and asked how I was feeling this morning. I can't help but just nod or sigh, because if I was to be honest with her, I'd shrug and mumble about how bored I had become in this dreadful home for the weak. Needless to say, this torturous series of events came to me and I absolutely hate it. When he attacked me, my life flashed before my eyes. I thought he would kill me, the crazed venom in his eyes, the bloodshot gaze he cast towards me. He looked dangerous, and when he lunged towards me, his wide grin sharpened. Whatever he wanted, he sought out the blood and I sought out saviour.
The nurse smiled, tugging at the sheets as I moved sharply to avoid the pain. She smiles politely before fluffing the two pillows behind my head, speaking quietly as she requested for me to move. The past few days, I'd been able to delve into her life and in moments, I spoke to her and she spoke to me, no medical wording needed. Her name was Rebecca Browning. She told me about her experiences growing up with limited this or limited this, reminiscing of a time she must have wanted to forget. I spent the moments I could speak to her draining on about how I screwed everything up with Reyna. I lied to her too often, and I realise my friendship with her was built on just that; lies. Foolish thoughts I thought I could get away with, mindless acts I thought she would forget. Now, I was alone. Nobody comforted me, nobody visited me beside my parents whenever they could. Nobody cared enough that I was here, because to face the truth, lying was an addiction I've poisoned myself with far too often. I'm driving people away.
The nurse slipped out of the open spaced room, minding to carefully click the door closed against the hinges. The other patient, a girl suffering a similar position as I did, began to stir, lifting her head as she opened her eyes slightly. She was in much better condition than I was, which allowed her to walk both safely and freely on the hospital floors. I groaned in pain as she turned towards me, a small grin appearing, lighting up the usual depressed look she had shown. She began walking towards me, her arms by her side, her soft blue eyes meeting mine as she positioned herself in the dark silver chair beside me. Occasionally, she's ask me how I ended up with the wound on my side, but I couldn't help the shrug she received. Lying would be useless, telling the truth would be painful.
She paused, before opening her lips to speak. "I'm not going to ask what happened to you. That's private, I understand." Her sweet melodic voice filled my ears, the sound I'd imagine mermaids or some other bizarre mythical beast would speak in. She had light blonde hair, which she always let fall beyond her shoulders. She rarely tied it up. Her ice blue eyes complimented the sincerity she always possessed. She lifted her head, smiling. "I hope you get better." I had never asked her what happened to her, either. I assumed she had an accident or something similar, but I couldn't tell. My accident, if you call it that, sounded much worse in my head, and I couldn't bear to think about how horrible it had felt. His cold fingers tracing over my skin. The sinister look swelling over his cheeks, the cold hysteria in his eyes. The pure thought of him scared me shitless. He did all of this to me.
The other patient raised from the chair beside my hospital bed and began to walk towards the entrance way. She turned back towards me, frowning. That's when I realised I had been frozen still, that I hadn't spoken to her when she had spoken to me. "I'm sorry I was quiet." She stopped, smiling.
"It's fine, I know you're weak." She stepped back towards me, pursing her lips. "If you don't mind me asking, is it true?"
"Is what true?" She paused, tilting her head towards the white tile flooring. I tried to think of anything that could be what she was asking for. Had she overheard my talks with the nurse? Had I spoken in my sleep? The questions rattled around in the cage of my brain as she smirked, pausing to speak.
"Is it true that you were attacked by a teenage boy?" I sighed, turning my head towards her as she stopped by the doorway. He was only a teenager; he is only a teenager. His whole life is ahead of him, and so is mine. He attacked me, and now here I was. Trapped in this place of recovery, seeking to be released back into the world. I suppose this place can protect me from him, protect me from the outside world, protect me from myself.
"Yes. He...he launched himself towards me, and it was over before I could scream for help. I'm here now, but I wish I wasn't. Life would be so much greater without me here." She frowned as I finished speaking. For once, I was telling the truth. Maybe the world would be much clearer without me here to crowd the lonely halls of this hospital with my tears?
"I'm sorry to hear that, Faith. It is Faith, right?" I nod, and she smiled. "It's a nice name. I have faith you'll be okay." We share a laugh. Maybe, for once, I'll find a friend who I don't need to lie to, to keep close to me. Maybe, this time, I'll have one for real. A true friend.
I asked for her name, and she smiled, replying. "It's Marcy. I was named after my grandmother." She steps out of the room, the soft click of the glass door as she closes it behind her. After that, she was gone. She walked away from the place she was one sitting and disappeared down the refilling halls of the public hospital. Once more, I would see her again. When she returned to this hell hole of a room, I would smile and she would grin, and this room would be filled with just as usual, the same sense of distance yet now closer. I guess that's just how my life always is with anything and everything, everyone's always so distant to me, even if they feel close. I could never be truly close to Reyna because I didn't know how to stop myself from lying to her, in what I thought would protect her from this cruel world. She's here now, and I don't doubt her death will come sooner or later. This killer the news has so eagerly spread is plaguing this town for the fun of it, and Reyna will never listen to me again. She'll be too eager to protect her close friends and investigate the truth that she won't see it coming, she won't see the knife dig deeper into her skin. She should have listened to me.
------
I awoke to her soothing smile as she perched herself in the chair beside me. The small wrinkles close to her lips seemed to be almost covered with her soft foundation. She rested her hands beside me on the bed, folding her legs as she positioned herself in the chair. "I'm sorry about my son. He's... mentally challenged." I forced my eyes to open as she spoke, shocked from those words. Her son... was the teenage boy who attacked me? She had raised him, and he had become this way, and she hadn't refrained him. I know I wanted for my life to be over, but I still cared for justice, and he needed to be stopped. Now I sound crazy. She moved her hands closer towards me, awaiting a response. When I refused to talk, due to the shock, she spoke up. "I know; I should have raised him better. He's only a teenager, he should be able to have some freedom. However, I know he didn't mean to attack you."
"You seriously don't believe that." I spat, speaking up and turning towards her. She bit her lip at my words as she continued to hold her perfect posture. "Trust me on this, your son definitely wants to kill." She pursed her lips, frowning. The look in his eyes when he attacked me did not speak 'Oh, I am deeply sorry for jumping towards you with a knife in my hands, you must be the wrong person. She must have gone that way.' When he moved towards me, the fire in his eyes sparked as he lingered in my presence. If I hadn't screamed, he would have killed me. The woman before me, his mother, had every right to protect him, but she needed to save that for court, before I experienced what I experienced, and she can't lie about that. Unlike my lies.
"I'm sorry, are you calling me a liar?" She spat, her voice raising as she stood to attention. "My son isn't some devil, or some hell raiser, some killer. He's just afraid, and he attacked you, but he wants to apologize." She breathed a deep breath and almost continued her monologue before stopping, freezing in her stance above me. I saw the same I had seen in Reyna's eyes when I had ended the lies. I saw regret. I'd imagine the very emotion would be enthralling in my pupils. My entire existence is plagued with regret. I turned back to the woman, whose name has never been spoken, and smirked ever so slightly.
"If he truly wants to apologize, tell him I can't accept it. Not unless he pays for what he's done to me." I paused, placing my palm to the wound. "My entire life was undone because of him. I deserve more than an 'I'm Sorry'. I'm sorry for wasting your time, Mrs..." She frowns, sitting back down, resisting for a moment. Her frown widens as she places her hands back on the hospital bed. She ran her fingers through her brown locks of hair, sniffing back a few tears.
"It's Cassandra Artell. I'm sorry I couldn't change your mind." She rested her hand on mine, but I jerked back. Her son, even deep down in her eyes, was still guilt of my near death experience, and for that, he should be charged. Cassandra paused, suddenly remembering something. She moved closer towards me, logging the silver chair inches closer to the hospital bed. "You know, Brady was never a normal kid." She sighed, pausing to cough. "His father was always his best friend, and he struggled to make many in school. His mood swings would get in the way of that. When his father died, oh, he was horrified. Everything went down the drain, he went off his medication, and now, he attacked you. God knows if anyone else." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "He told me he saw you at the meetings. He said something about what you were doing to your friend was wrong, and I suppose that's why he...did what he did." She spoke softly and quietly, frowning. I couldn't tell if she was now agreeing with me or if she was just sympathizing with me after the attack.
She continued to stare towards the scenic view of the glass window as I begin to speak. "I'm sorry I blamed you. It wasn't your fault his father died. It wasn't your fault he felt guilt for that." Her frown faded, and she turned back to face me. She uncrossed her legs and rose from the seat to stand beside the bed. I heard the glass door click open slightly, and the nurse sighed as she noticed Cassandra standing here. She closed the door and walked away.
"I'll see to it that I talk to him, okay?" She sighed, raising an apologetic smile over her cheek. I nodded, a fake smile resting on my face as she turned away. She stopped, freezing in place, and spun back around to see me. The fake smile had washed away. "Can I ask you a question?" I nod, and she turns back towards the chair and sits once more, her arms folded. She coughs, before taking a single breath. "Brady needs more help, doesn't he? I've tried everything and anything I can to help him recover from the loss of his father and sister, but he just hasn't finished grieving as much as I have. Don't get me wrong, losing my husband and my daughter was heartbreaking, but it's been long enough for him to move forward with his life. His grades are dropping. His plans for his future are non-existent. He needs that push, you know, to keep him from falling into an even deeper depression." She pauses. "I suppose I actually wanted to ask you this. Do you think it's normal for a boy like him to experience hallucinations or blackouts?"
My mind raced as I began to process all that had happened this past few weeks. Everything was an uneasy blur of emotions and events that wouldn't rest in my eager mind. One day, I had been completely...normal, I guess. Then, I was whisked into this world of loss and devotion and suffering and cruelty. Who knows where this life of mine will take me next. Death? If he has anything to say about it. I replied to her question quickly. "I don't know, Mrs. Artell. Talk to your son." Cassandra smiled, standing up and walking out of the room after she murmured a short goodbye. I couldn't tell if she'd actually listen to me or not.
-----
The sun glistened as I sat in the dark silver chair by the window. The other patient and I had talked for a while during lunch, and she shared with me her dreams and passions, which was both thrilling and drowning. My dreams weren't as exciting as hers, and my biggest wish was to escape this hell town. She wanted to be some famous performer, I had no talent. She told me about her conservative parents, and how they prohibited her from moving here with her best friend, but she did anyway, and I suppose, she blames their stuck up attitude as the reason for their bus accident. Luckily, the two of them survived. We talked about likes and dislikes, about childhood memories, and I thought about Reyna. All of those years, my parents and I faked my disease. For what? Who knows. I lied to her far too much, and I never apologised enough. I was never her friend. I was only some shoulder for her to cry on, or a pair of lips to praise her. I was only two ears for her to project her thoughts and dreams to.
After we spoke, she disappeared further into the hospital for most of the day. She told me of a window seat somewhere on the floor above where she enjoyed reading and staring out into the distance world below. Her parents still tried to visit her as much as possible, but they were still complained about the drive from their town to here, she told me. I never asked about how she ended up here, in hospital.
Now, I sat alone in our shared hospital room, watching the peaceful wild slowly drift away from me. The soft click of the glass door behind me snapped me out of my longing gaze. The door clicked back into the entrance way as the mystery guest closed it behind them. From a small mirror beside me, I saw who it was. I froze. Oh hell no. He stepped towards me, limping. I stopped him, raising my voice. "Don't come any closer to me." He stopped in his tracks, scratching his forehead. His hair was scruffy, as if he had just woken up. His clothes were freshly pressed. His mother sent him, no doubt.
"I wanted to apologise." He spoke, the first time I had heard his voice. When he attacked me, he didn't speak. His focus was on attempting to kill me.
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THIRD PERSON
~Flashback~
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" The taller girl spoke, following closely behind the shorter one. The girl in the front held tightly to her purse as they neared a dark alleyway.
"Of course, it's just usually a lot lighter in the day." She laughed, stepping into the alleyway with caution. "Don't you trust me, Jemma?" The taller girl, Jemma, followed behind her, drawing her phone from her pocket.
"Sure, but I also trust maps." She tapped on the app on her phone and began to type the address that they were attempting to find. The soft purr of a cat sounded deeper in the alleyway, and the shorter girl followed the sound. She reached the dark tar black cat, reaching down toward it to pet it. The black cat meows as her fingers traced through the soft fur.
"Nice kitty." She continued to ruffle the cat's fur as the other girl continued searching for the address. Her battery cut off, and she watched as the phone died in her palms. A mysterious figure appeared at the other end of the alleyway, wielding an object in their hands. The small clicking of the trigger jolted the two girls' attention towards the figure, who creeped closer towards the shorter girl. The cat scampered away frantically towards the opposite end of the alley. The eerie click of the chainsaw startled them, but neither girl moved. Frozen in fear.
The figure moved closer towards the shorter girl, raising the chainsaw above her head. Jemma lunged towards them, but it was too late, and the other girl felt the chainsaw hit her flesh. Jemma jumped towards the attacker, their eyes meeting. She kicked her in the stomach, before helping her friend out of the alley. She sighed, turning back to see the attacker escaping. The chainsaw continued to flicker the sound of clicks as it remained at the crime scene.
"Don't worry, Marcy, I'll get you to the hospital."