The Enchantress

Eight

TW: GRAPHIC SELF HARM AND DEPRESSION SERIOUSLY DON'T READ THIS IF EASILY TRIGGERED

The ocean was deep and vast, with waves growing bigger and bigger each passing minute. Ada lay on her back, struggling to stay afloat as each wave threatened to swallow her whole. Every time a wave crashed over Ada, she lost a little more hope, no one was coming for her, no one cared for the broken twin, not her sister, not her parents, no one. Abruptly, Ada was pulled below the water, she thrashed and kicked, but 6 pairs of cold boney hands had a tight grip on her, dragging her lower and lower. Ada tried to scream, but only bubbles escaped her mouth, and voices started filling her head. "you're a monster" It was her mother's voice, "you deserve this" Caroline's voice whispered, "you'd be better off dead" Her father whispered in her ear, "I never loved you, Ada, you will be alone forever" Aria. Ada stopped fighting the hands, she accepted her fate, and slowly, the light slipped away, allowing darkness to consume her.

Ada jolted upright in her bed, it was just a dream. But yet Ada swore she could still feel the sensation of where the ice-cold hands lay on her body, and the voices still lingered in her mind. Her forehead was plastered with sweat and her pajamas clung to her body most uncomfortably, not to mention her duvet was sprawled out on the floor. Ada let out a groan as she reached for her phone, October 10th, 5:34 AM, fantastic, it was the worst day of the year, and Ada wouldn't be able to sleep through it. Slowly, Ada stood up and looked at the mess that was in her room, months worth of laundry lay on the floor, bits of a broken vase littered the floor, and dirty dishes lined every surface imaginable, yet Ada still didn't have the energy to clean it up. Hopping around her room, Ada threw her duvet back on her bed and peeled off her sweaty clothing, changing into leggings and a zip-up hoodie, she grabbed her phone and earbuds off her bedside table before tip-toeing down the stairs and out the front door. The minute Ada was out of the house, she shoved in her earbuds, turned up her music, and booked it down the street.

Running was like a small symphony going on inside your body, at least that's what Ada thought, each time your foot hit the pavement it created a tempo, your heartbeat was the beat, the air rushing in and out of your lungs were your instruments, and your moving arms conducted it all. Ada always liked running, it allowed her to sort out her thoughts, listen to music and exercise all at the same time. When she was younger, she was even on the trace and field team, but that dream fell apart when Ada started chain-smoking cigarettes, but when Ada was really confused, she made her lungs suck it up and endure the pain.

As Taylor swift's crisp voice flooded Ada's ears, her mind started to wander. The dream had felt so real, she swore she could still hear the whispers if she was quiet enough, but she was just being crazy, the voices were just Ada's own fucked up mind screaming at her. Ada knew this for a fact because, throughout their four-year relationship, Aria never said a single negative thing about Ada, no matter how many times Ada pushed her away, or snapped at her, Aria was the epitome of patient, and would just wait until Ada felt like talking about it. 

However, when it came to Ada's family, she wouldn't put it past them to say something so hurtful, last year when Caroline was at her bitchiest, she indirectly told Ada that she was unloveable, Ada's mother had told her that she was 'faking depression for attention' which was very helpful to Ada's mental state, and not to mention Ada hadn't spoken to her father since she was twelve. 

It wasn't like the voices were a new thing, they ran through Ada's mind every minute of every day, but usually, they were quiet, barely a whisper, today though, they felt like they were ramming themselves at the walls of Ada's brain. Ada could predict that today was going to be awful by the date alone, but the volume of the voices confirmed it, why was today so bad you ask?

Today was Caroline's birthday, which meant it was Ada's as well. 

When Ada and Caroline were young, they would share a birthday party, so even though no one would come to celebrate Ada's birthday, they would come for Caroline's, making it look like kids liked Ada. But over time, Ada realized that no one cared about her, so when she was 10, Ada told her parents she wanted a separate birthday party, not because that was what she genuinely wanted, but because Ada hated being pitied and she knew that it was what Caroline wanted, although she was too kind to ever say it. So while Caroline threw extravagant parties, Ada baked herself a cupcake and wished herself a happy birthday. At first, it was kind of fun, it was freedom, but then it got sad and Ada came to despise the day. That was until she met Aria when she was 13, and from every birthday onward, they would celebrate together, usually with a movie, or stargazing, or whatever Aria planned that year, because, unlike Ada, Aria loved birthdays.