𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐝, 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞... | 𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚡𝚡

|☽☀︎ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 8☀︎ ☽|

!TW!: Mentions of blood, gore, murder, knives, and hallucinations

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{Friday Morning}

I watched as the cold water from the faucet dripped into my hands. I splashed the water onto my face and repeated it over and over. I wiped my face with my hands and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Panicked light blue eyes stared back at me. Nothing fits me. I looked at my cyan-blue hair, my clothes, my facial features, and my scarf. None of it fit me. It didn't fit how I felt. It was like a mask. I looked completely "fine", according to society's standards.

The stupid voice in my head wouldn't shut up. I could hear it whispering as I stared at myself. I thought about what happened earlier. Jaxx's eyes. What if they were mine? What if I just took a spoon and just-... I need help. I know it's only been a few days, but I need help. I want to get rid of it. I don't want to think about things like that! That's just weird. Like, c'mon now. Ew.

I rubbed my eyes and looked back into the mirror. It wasn't the same thing I looked away from. The room was dimly lit, the lights were flickering in the background and there was blood all over the walls, stall doors, and floors. There was a body positioned to be sitting on the toilet. His neck was slit and there was blood pouring out of it. Then there was me.

There I was, standing in the same place, at the marble sink. My hands were drenched in blood, holding a knife that was dripping with blood. Blood stained everything that was I wearing, mixing in the original color with the dark shades of red. My hair was an absolute mess and my eyes were filled with nothing but fear, insanity, and... Love? There was love all over my face. In the blush and in my eyes. 

I looked behind me and at the stall door where the boy was on the toilet. There was writing on the door. 

"Jaxx Belongs To Me" slowly dripped down the door.

I quickly rubbed my eyes really hard. When I looked back up, there were small black dots in my vision from how hard I was rubbing my eyes. I looked away from the mirror and behind me at the bathroom. It looked the same as when I came in. There was no blood and nobody in the stall. 

Where did it all go? How did I even imagine that? Am I really going crazy? Is there something wrong with me?! I didn't even notice how quickly I was breathing. I felt dizzy and I was losing the strength in my legs. I don't want to be in here anymore. I thought it was going to be an escape here, but it wasn't. It made things worse! 

I quickly rushed over to the door and pulled it open. I walked out and turned to my left, but almost bumped into someone, making me jump hard. I looked up at who it was and it was him... Jaxx.

He looked at my face, "Hey, Sora! Are you alright?"

"Yeah! Why?" I asked, trying my best to keep my act up.

"Well, you rushed off pretty quickly and you now seem a bit... I guess nervous?"

I said, "Well, I'm fine! I just had to deal with something, that's all."

Jaxx nodded. "Alrighty! I also wanted to ask you something."

I looked into Jaxx's eyes. I felt uncomfortable doing so, but I wanted him to know that I wanted to talk to him. I just couldn't see his eyes the same way ever again.

"I wanted to ask if you'd like to come to the park later, after school."

I asked, "Just us or more people?"

"More people!" Jaxx replied, smiling.

I was happy that there were going to be more people so it wasn't awkward, but then I felt some type of disappointment deep down. I thanked Jaxx for letting me know and told him that I was going to try and be there. 

When he walked away, I felt some guilt begin to rise up in me. I wasn't feeling the best after that whole bathroom and mirror situation. I headed to a nearby classroom and hoped no one was in it.

Luckily, as I wished, no one was in the classroom. I walked over to a desk and rested my head on my arms. I closed my eyes and listened as all of the students pass in the hallways.

{Timeskip to After School: At Sora's House}

I was lying down in my bed. The lights were off and the curtains were closed, making my room extra dark. Occasionally, my parents would come into the room and check up on me since I'd been "acting weird" ever since I'd gotten home.

To be honest, I felt horrible. I was scared, nauseous, and confused. I was still dizzy and I was still feeling weak. I didn't want to go to the park anymore, I just wanted to be left alone. I couldn't even tell him that I wasn't feeling the best. It's pathetic. Maybe I could've gotten an excuse not to show up if I had just said that.

I sat up and sat on the edge of my bed. I stared at the ground, thinking and thinking and letting my brain run on whatever was left. Then, it happened again. In a blink of an eye, there was a bloodied knife on the ground and there were puddles of blood on the floor. I quickly looked around my room, and it was the same as earlier. But, the words were written all over my walls.

"JAXX BELONGS TO ME" in blood on the walls. There was an intense whispering that I could hear from the back of my head. I closed my eyes tightly and covered my ears as if that were going to do anything for me.

I fell to my knees and pressed the palm of my hands onto my earlobes. I closed my eyes tighter and tighter, trying to block out everything that was happening. My breathing was out of control and I couldn't seem to get my breath back to how it was before.

Then, I heard my door swing open. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and I heard my name being called. It was muffled and far, but then it slowly became clearer and closer. I opened my eyes and took my hands off of my ears and looked over. I saw my mom, looking at me with a worried expression on her face.

"Is everything okay, Sora?!" She asked, panic covering her words. "What happened?!"

I looked around my room again and it was all back to normal. No blood, no writing on the walls, no whispers. I looked back at my mom. I don't know how to answer. Was everything okay? What even happened? 

Like the idiot I was, I shook my head. I told my mom that I was fine and I was just stressing over some assignments. I know she didn't believe me, but she acted like she did and left my room. I didn't bother getting up. I sat there on the dark grey carpet, staring down at it.

Then, suddenly I heard a voice from behind me. I felt there was a presence there and it didn't seem like a friendly one.

Whatever it was, it placed a hand on my shoulder. "Jaxx belongs to you. And you only..."

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Published: December 11th, 2022

Word Count: 1247