Monochromatic

Chapter 11

Azoria

I stood over my forever dripping bathroom faucet. My eyes turned pink as another wave of reality hit me.

'Stop thinking about it.'

'You did this'

'Don't think about it.'

'Accept it'

'You can't think about it.'

'This is who you are'

'Stop it.'

'Unfortunate'

'Please...'

'Lies'

'STOP!!!!'

My mind ate at me and my eyes burned. Nonetheless, I didn't cry. Freedom was sleeping soundly in his room, ignorant to what exactly happened, and I planned for it to remain that way.

It was more than just a hit to the head. I knew he was violent, but he went too far. I can remember it vividly. I still can feel the vibration Rave made when Andrew threw him against the wall. I still can see the blood Rave spit out after getting hit so hard in the stomach. I tried to stop him! I tried so hard to stop Andrew from almost killing Rave, I only ended up leaving a dent on my living room wall. Rave got up like he didn't have enough already, his long hair in his face, and his eyes craving blood. Andrew clawed his long nails into my shoulders and pushed my head even further into my damaged wall. Rave picked up a nearby lamp, his breaths heavy, and threw it at Andrew's head violently. Andrew didn't even wince, it didn't faze him, it was almost inhuman. The rest was a blur, all I knew was that with a single kick, Rave was out cold. Glass shards from the lamp were stuck in his head and blood rushed out.

Something broke inside me that night, I felt more than fear. I couldn't explain it, but it didn't feel right. Rave was only trying to protect me, almost dying in the process. It didn't sit right with me, why would he do that for someone he didn't know that well? I always thought of him to be a sensible person, so was what he did a sensible reaction? Either way, his life was fleeting quickly. I brought the children back up from the hole they've waiting in, then tried my best to tend to Rave's wounds. It turned out that Andrew dropped his phone while running away, and Libia called an ambulance to take Rave to the hospital. She went home alone that night, and Freedom and I were left alone to clean up the mess that was made.

I kneeled into the pool of water this week's water, splashing and rubbing my face once. I coughed up leftover blood stuck in my throat, my arms now drenched in it. Once I looked back up at the mirror, Freedom appeared.

"Go back to bed, Freedom..." I whispered

Freedom left the doorway, receding into a black void, disappearing slowly and silently. I looked back at the cracked bathroom mirror feeling a red substance drip from my nostril.

'Fuck'

Blood rushed non-stop from my nose. I pinched it quickly, then struggled to find something to stop the blood. We only had reusable washcloths in the house, rags I couldn't find. I became so lightheaded, so tired. My nose burned, worsening the longer I held it. It became too much to bear. Letting go of my nose, blood poured from my face down into my shirt. I collapsed, hitting my head and knocking myself unconscious.

I woke up the next morning in the bathtub. I couldn't find the strength to open my eyes for at least five minutes, and every breath I took felt like knives. My clothes were soaked in water, most of the blood rinsed out at the very least. I struggled to stand as a massive headache hit me. I took off my drenched and bloody clothes, then used my only towel to cover up and went into Freedom's room. He was asleep, his hands covering his face. The essence of blood stained his delicate skin and the old shirt he wore, rolled up to his chest, had a few blood stains as well. Freedom never snored, he was always as silent as when he was awake. At times he didn't seem to breathe either, like he was suffocating or already dead. It scared me, but I knew I was just paranoid. He was safe, it would all be over soon, I was sure of it. My footsteps creaked on the hardwood planks as I returned to my room. I dared to change into my work clothes, knowing the high chances of Rave and I being fired from our jobs. Even so, I dragged myself out the door.