It's Somewhere Beneath Us

Body Temperature

The nurse guided me down the hallway of sterile lights and stopped at a door near the end. She gave a halfhearted smile, clearly pitying me based on what she knew about the situation, then nodded to the room before turning to leave. Through the glass to the side of the door, I could see her lying in bed, fidgeting with the band on her wrist and looking out the window. I had been so upset and confused the past few days, but as soon as I saw her turn to look at me, it melted away. At the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was that she was safe. Slowly I pushed open the door and slipped inside. She skirted her eyes to the bed sheets to avoid my gaze as I crossed the room and sat in a chair next to her bed. When she still didn't look at me, I grabbed her hand.

"Hey."

"Hey." She replied, her eyes already beginning to well up. There was a very long silence before she spoke again. "I'm sorry...." She whispered almost inaudibly. "I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad."

Now it was my turn for tears, "It's okay. I'm not mad. I was just so scared."

"I know. I'm so sorry, Joel."

I pulled her hand up to my mouth and kissed it, "You can't keep doing this, Rose. You're going to tear yourself apart. It kills me to see you do that."

"I know, I'm so stupid. It's just... It's so hard, Joel."

"I know. I know it is. But please, I can't lose you, Rose. Even if it doesn't kill you, I don't want to see this kind of life for you."

"You won't. This was the last straw. No more, I promise."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"One more time."

"I promise, Joel."

I stared into her piercing blue eyes. They were full of fear and tears. I had been through this conversation so many times before and heard the words as if there were a song on repeat. The term 'promise' meant nothing at this point, yet I had convinced myself that if I could just get her to say it enough times, it might regain its importance.

"Okay," I told her. "Okay."

I crawled onto the edge of the bed and wrapped my arms around her as she nestled in close and held on tight. Her embrace was honest and full of love, and her skin was warm and reassuring. The world was wrong. So so wrong. But holding Rose, that was the one thing I knew was right.

Holding Bea, that was the one thing I knew was right.

Holding Andi, that was the one thing I knew was right.

Holding Sarah, that was the one thing-

Her razor-sharp nails were wormed under my skin, dripping endless blood from where they burrowed. I thought surely I'd bleed out after a few days, but I didn't. Blood kept flowing and time kept winding, but I stopped counting. All the while, she whispered chills into my ears with her fridged breath.

"I'm so happy we're finally together, baby. I've waited soooo long." She cooed.

With the free hand that wasn't skin deep in mine, she stroked my hair and caressed my cheeks. Occasionally she would kiss me repeatedly with her dry, cracked lips or pull me into a hug that would last for hours, but I never fought it. There was no point. I had nowhere to run. I had no strength to fight. Everything was a haze that blurred together, with only small thoughts drifting through my head from time to time.

Ethan was dead.

Daniel and Bea might be dead.

Andi was dead. She was killed by lacerations. Cuts that were fine and effortless. Just like the ones that the nails were nested in. I stared at the bloodstains on the fake grass that led into darkness as She whispered in my ear.