Demons Control Us All

The Beginning of the End

He opened the door to the roof of his apartment block. It was his favourite place to be; it was isolated and the highest point in the small town of Agloe, New York. They thought Agloe was made up. Its not. Population 384- not many, but still a town. Johnnie sat on the edge of the roof, his legs hanging off the edge, facing the drop to the floor. He would often come to sit in this place, when he needed to be alone or he wanted to think. And truth be told, Johnnie would be found on the roof whenever he wasn't locked in his small bedroom.

Johnnie wasn't like normal people. He had dyslexia, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and he was suicidal. He had been in three mental institutions by the time he was 18. And now, his 19th birthday was surfacing on the horizon of his near future. But Johnnie didn't think he could survive the next five months, and every time he said that to his mother, she called the mental hospital. Again. He couldn't go a day without grabbing his knife and carving patterns into his arms, or punching a wall until his knuckles bled. He had been like this for four years; ever since his parents divorced and his mother became an alcoholic. Johnnies siblings went with his father, but he hadn't heard from them in over two years. Johnnie was giving up hope.

Every morning he looked in the mirror, and the same thing looked back at him; in Johnnies eyes, a monster. His hair was long and covered most of his face. He wore eyeliner and had lip piercings. He wore black everything, and long sleeved tops and almost always a hoodie, no matter the temperature. Every morning, Johnnie would remind himself "If you are going through hell, keep going" and it got him through a fraction of the day- he hid his emotions well at school, but he was taking a gap year that year, meaning he had to constantly remind himself that he was okay.

Johnnie sat on the edge of the roof and he looked down. Thoughts raced through his head. He could do it. No hassle, nobody to change his mind. He could jump. People could say he fell. It was the perfect plan. Slowly, Johnnie rose, and was now standing on the edge, the tops of his feet hanging over. He closed his eyes and breathed in. A moment later, he breathed out and as he was about to step off of the roof, he heard "No! Please don't!" As Johnnie spun around, his foot slipped and he fell. Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him up, back to the roof. He hadn't heard that voice before, but it sounded like a girl, about his age. Once he was back on his feet, Johnnie was greeted with a giant grin and a hand held out to shake. "Hi, I'm Amelia."