Love Where You Shouldn't Find It

The Chase

The ride to school was the usual, ignoring the fact that there was an active wound in her hand, nothing really changed. The smell of hot pies mixed with gas filled the air, the maxis roughly rolling on the pitch, and the occasional horn when someone ran across the road. Hope didn't pay attention to the eyes that traced the bloodstains on her arm, as far as she knew it didn't concern them, she didn't have to answer that 'fass' old lady or the genuinely concerned businessman who didn't come too close because he wouldn't want to stain his jacket.

She couldn't help but think; "Empathy, it's so sad, you don't know what's wrong with me but you want to feel sorry for me" rolling her eyes the more people looked at her. Keeping her head high, she made her way and arrived at school just before the bell rang. It was time for assembly, the time of the morning she hated, all those people packed in one, hot, musty space, saying prayers and pledges that they don't believe or keep; to her, it was almost embarrassing, they prayed and made promises every day and the children were the most demonic and untrained individuals, she genuinely didn't want to be a part of a lie, even though she believed in God and tend to keep her promises, to identify with them even for a few minutes was just too insulting to her nature.

So she did what she usually does, hide in the bathroom, at least it was convenient this morning; as she used the time to wash her wound, not regretting a single choice she made that morning.

By the end of the day her tolerance battery was drained dry she didn't want to be at school or at home frankly, but it was the better option. But this evening felt a little different, there was a feeling in the air that she didn't quite like, "you feel that right" it was Sophie;

Sophie didn't actually exist, she was just in Hope's head. To her, Sophie represented one of her personalities, the one that has a 6th sense but the reality of it is that Hope made a hallucination of her conscience. Hope knew Sophie wasn't actually there, she just didn't understand that Sophie didn't have a mind of her own; for Sophie was the visualizing or her thoughts, "yeah I feel it Sophie" the two looking around as if they'd see an answer in the sky "I wonder if it has to do with me" Hope said trying to understand why the air felt so toxic "I'm not sure" Sophie mumbled but Hope heard it, and with wide eyes, she stopped in her tracks, Sophie disappeared, she looked around, she was alone on the street, Hope felt uncomfortable  "how could Sophie not know, she knows everything, what's going-" Hope felt it, a warm sensation flowed through her body, like the energy of another being transferred to her, she started to cold sweat as she slowly turned around to look into the eyes of a man, he was tall and seemed to be strong under his slim finish, his eyes like honey in the sun and his skin complimenting his blue T-shirt. His afro was coarse and thick but patted like he hadn't combed it for days, he was giving off a strong odor, like old clothes and worn underwear; his breathing was rough but steady, he had missing teeth and a disconnected beard, his mustache was wild and looked wild.

Hope took a step back from the man who appeared out of nowhere "Hope...." She knew that voice, it was Sophie, she didn't think about turning away to look for her, she just listened "I didn't know earlier, but I know now," listening carefully while making prolonged eye contact with the male in front of her who had just taken another step forward to redeem the step Hope took "Hope....run" and within seconds Hope took off, the stranger was startled he didn't expect it, he hadn't thought she'd runoff, but he didn't dare lose her, so he took off behind her. She couldn't breathe, her anemia would only carry her so far, but the adrenaline from her panic canceled its effects, she dropped her school bag to ease the weight and picked up some speed; the heavy sound of his feet gaining on her seemed to be distracting her, she missed a sudden drop in the pavement, and her ankle bent with her body weight, she couldn't let it stop her she was already too far.

It didn't take long for the adrenaline to start running out, she was getting tired, she was feeling the pain, the red blood cells in her body weren't doing their job fast enough, she could hear her heartbeat like someone was in her ear thumping a drum, the air got thick, her eyes got heavy, she was scared, confused, unsure why this stranger was chasing her, she couldn't fathom it but she discovered that maybe she wasn't that lost, because right before she fell limp, Sophie stood at what would've been her freedom; the edge of the pavement, a short distance away from the public eye, out of the lonely street; before Hope went unconscious Sophie with tears in her eyes ran up to her and held her face "I'm sorry Hope, I'm sorry" the light from the 3 o'clock sun beamed on her through her uniform, the pavement was hot and rough, her uniform felt like it weighed tonnes, her chest was tight; these were the last things she felt before feeling nothing.