𝙂𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨 || A R C A N E

Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN:

GHOSTS

Everything hurt. Even breathing was difficult

Vi could barely keep her eyes open, her hand that had been clenching her wounded stomach had now fallen limp against her.

"That's what you get for trying to take on Sevika"

Vi groaned at the sound of the voice inside her head. The voice of her best friend that was once more acting as her logic, reprimanding her for her thick headedness. Vi remembered the first time she heard the voice in her head-when she got into a fight with a much bigger inmate, her very first week at Stillwater which of course went as well as anyone would ex, and she ended up with a busted lip, moving on forward she gathered plenty of scars on her body from her prison time. The ghost in her head said something similar back then too, and since then every time she was fighting between consciousness and darkness she heard her, she saw her standing somewhere, every time she blinked she would appear in another place, but she could never touch her. And the ghost couldn't touch her either.

"Like, come on, Violet, that was stupid. Did you even have a plan?" Andrea's voice rang in her ear, this time it sounded closer. Usually, her voice would sound like she was at the very end of a tunnel and Vi was on the other side. This time the voice was coming closer but in her pained state Vi did not pay it any mind, instead croaking out a weak willed

"Shut up, Andy"

"Gee thanks." The voice was clear, and this time Vi couldn't help but notice. Struggling, she managed to raise her head a bit straighter when familiar brown eyes appeared in front of her, the female voice of the ghost laced with sarcasm. Blinking a few times, Vi's grey eyes finally cleared just enough for her to realize that the Andrea kneeled in front of her did not resemble a ghost, nor did she look like a fifteen-year-old girl. For a second she wasn't sure if it was Andrea, but it was. In spite of the higher cheek bones and sharper jawline, changes that are inevitable as you grow up; she still had the same full lips, the strong, rounded nose that scrunched up as she focused on the pink haired woman's beaten up face.

Andrea softly took hold of her chin, trying not to hurt her as she moved her head a bit, the bit of light given by the neon purple sign on top of the construction helping her see the purple and red bruises forming on Vi's face better. She could not help but bite on her lower lip, both in anxiety and wanting to stop it from trembling, feeling her eyes getting glassy. Blinking rapidly, she got rid of the tears, her fingers travelling to the hem of the white shirt, pushing up the material, apologizing softly at the pained sound that escaped Vi's lips. The sight of the wound made her gag, turning her head to the other side.

"Vi, fuck..."

This was way worse than she had imagined. Sevika really did not hold back. Still, Andrea felt a little proud knowing that while Sevika had the advantage with her shimmer powered prosthetic, Vi really managed to deal a lot of damage to her credit.

Taking a second to gather herself, she returned her eyes to the mess of blood, scarred skin and muscle. When she was younger Andrea was interested in being a doctor, obviously that did not work out, but she was also familiar with wounds, clients could go off and sometimes the girls and boys at the brothel got hurt; badly. But this was something else entirely, she was useless here. A soft sigh escaped her chapped lips, closing her eyes for a second, then looking up at the brawler who was already watching her under heavy eyelids which she kept open with struggle, refusing to let the brunette out of her sight even though in her beaten state everything was blurry again, clearing up once in a while ever so slightly.