They Say Opposites Attract

XIV. Trust

"You don't have to keep such a distance you know..." Raven spoke up after a long moment of silence. "I get that you're still wary of me..." she let her voice trail off, causing me to glance over at her.

She was looking at the ground, clearly forcefully. We were walking along (on opposite sides) a dirt path that ran through the largest forest in the city.

With millions of leaves coating the entire ground beside the path, the trees looked quite bare. Raven sighed before speaking up again. "Now that I think about it," she started as we both stopped walking.

"It's obvious that you hate me, but..." her voice trailed off when she hesitated. Raven bit her lip lightly as she spoke up again, "why do you let me get so close?"

At that, I couldn't help but look away. There are many questions in life without answers... this was one of them.

I don't know either.

I simply shrugged once, staring down at a spot on the ground.

Raven took a step towards me, making me look up. She had a serious expression on her face that I didn't like the sight of. She looked at me silently for a long moment before taking a few more steps towards me, closing the distance between us.

I took a step back and immediately found my back to a tree. At this close of a range from her, I had to look up at her now.

"Or," Raven started, "you actually don't hate me," she says, the statement sounding more like a question than anything else. If it were as such, then I've got no answer.

Raven, you're too close.

At this point, I could practically hear my heart beating. For what reason, I've no clue. I couldn't help but bite my lip, looking away from her.

"Sumiko," Raven says in a near whisper. I couldn't bring myself to look at her, even as she spoke. "You should be pushing me away," she told me. "Or you'll only get hurt more."

What finally made me meet her eyes was when her voice shook at the end. Anyone could tell what she really meant by this.
But she's right, isn't she?

I should hate her.

Why don't I?

Raven bit her lip when I decided to stay in this one spot. She looked reluctant about something, but it wasn't long until I knew just what exactly she was reluctant about.

I pressed my back further against the tree behind me as a cold metal pressed itself into my thigh, biting though my shorts. I couldn't help but gasp at that.

"I'm serious," Raven says, clearly trying to hide the emotion in her voice. "I hate you, and you should hate me. How can you not hate someone like me!" She says, near yelling that last sentence.

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!

"Fine. I'll make you hate me," she tells me in a near whisper. "Or else you'll end up like her," she says that part in such a silent voice, I almost missed it.

Especially when she pushed the blade in her hand into my thigh, dragging it upwards. I bit my lip roughly at that, part of me wanting to push her away. To apologize. To make her stop.

But it goes without saying.

Despite the pain, I really didn't want to push her away. Raven clenched her jaw when she realized and yanked the knife out. "What the hell is wrong with you!" Raven yelled at me, making me flinch.

"You're just like her! I hate it!" Raven tells louder, closing her eyes tightly. She clenched her other hand tightly into a fist and swung it at my stomach.

I couldn't help but let the air flow out of my lungs at that. I pressed my arms to and held my stomach, as if to nullify the pain that came immediately after. I looked up at Raven, who was now hiding her face.

"Just stay away from me," Raven muttered as she spun around, staring at the ground. She didn't so much as glance at me as she started walking away.

Out of everything between us.

All I can think about.

The biggest question in my mind.

Why?

I don't know how long I sat there before pushing off the tree. Only to fall back. I looked back to see that the ends of my hair had gotten caught in the bark of the tree I was leaning against.

I blew out a silent sigh as I tried to get the few strands unstuck, to no avail. I slid my hands in my pockets as I realized that I had forgotten to bring my own knife. I couldn't just yank myself free for multiple reasons either.

Raven...

I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hand, my eyes watery. There was blood on my thigh, but it had already dried up. The cut didn't feel at all that deep... is she conscious about that?

She's right though. Staying with her... at this rate, she might kill me.

She's hurt me twice already and more than anyone else has.

I closed my eyes and sighed again. My best option is to just put an end to this. Raven and I won't have to see each other anymore. Forever.

It wasn't long until I heard footsteps approaching. I coughed loudly as the person nearly passed me, getting their attention. Now that they looked at me, I could tell that it was another girl.

She took one look at my bloodied leg and gasped, hurrying to my side. "Oh my! Is that your blood?" She asked loudly. I gestured to the strands of hair that were caught in the tree.

She immediately started untangling it from the tree. It took a while (probably got even more tangled whenever I started moving), but it didn't take too long thankfully.

When she finally finished, I let my control in my legs give out now that I didn't have to stand anymore. The girl caught me before I hit the ground before saying, "Who did this to you?"

I hesitated a bit before shaking my head, deciding not to tell her. She seemed to somewhat understand why I wasn't telling her somehow and gave a small nod.

"Do you live nearby? Or do you not wanna go home?" She asked as she carried me to the bench nearby, setting me down softly. At this point, my thoughts were all messed up. "You really don't look well," she told me.

I reached my hand out to her before my vision went completely black.