Insanity Bites |z.m| |h.s|

Chapter 5: Vulnerability

"You're not real," I said more to myself than to him. I was acutely aware of how vulnerable I felt in his presence. The fact that my room was temporarily windowless didn't help my prospects either. The only thing keeping my nerves in check was the odd fact that he needed my permission to come inside.

"If I'm not real then you shouldn't be afraid to let me in Rosalie."

That did make sense but then again however unreal he was, he still managed to break my room window with just a simple touch. So no I wasn't going to take that chance. 

"Go away. Even if you do exist I'll never let you in." I buried my face in my pillow and pulled my blanket over my head hoping he would disappear if I stopped giving him attention. 

"Well it's really unfortunate that you feel that way." I could feel the spite in his voice. "I guess I'll have to find someone else more accommodating. Hmmm let me see..."

I imagined him stroking his chin with his index finger and thumb but my eyes never left the confinements of my flowery comforter. Taking a deep breath I mentally told myself that he was gone. That he was never really there to begin with and when silence followed my heart fluttered with hope only to be squashed a few moments later by the sound of his voice.

"What about Melanie? Or you're poor lonely mother. I can hear her sobbing her heart out at this very instant."

That sentence made me sit up. "They wouldn't."My voice wavered with uncertainty. 

"Oh I don't know Rosalie. They don't know me like you do. To Melanie I'll just be a wounded guy who needs some attending too."

"You don't look hurt to me. She's not stupid, you know," I defended. I didn't know why I was responding. Maybe if I shut up he would disappear. A distinct 'pop' sound echoed from the window and this time I sat up and looked at him. 

My jaw dropped as he pushed his shoulder out of it's socket without so much as a grimace of pain on his face. Knowing he had my full attention he then bit into his palm and I watched as dark liquid slowly prickled out. His blood looked dark, much darker than my blood had been, like it had thickened and coagulated beyond what was normal. I wondered how it could circulate in his body and then realized it probably didn't. 

"I can be very convincing when I want to be. And even if Melanie says no which I doubt she will, there's always your mother. She distraught and lonely. Probably not thinking straight. Do you honestly think she would turn away an injured boy in need of help?" He leaned against the window sill now, no glass between us only an invisible barrier.

"No, no, no," I mumbled, my resolve slowly slipping away. 

"Still don't believe me? Would you like me to bring you proof the next time I visit? What would suffice; an arm, a leg, maybe a head? The heads always the easiest to recognize you know for obvious reasons," he said seriously, no hint of playfulness in his tone anymore. 

"Please don't touch her." I begged as tears pooled at the corners of my eyes.

"It's either you or them Rosalie. You decide."

"It's not real. You can't affect me." I hugged my knees to my chest as I rocked back and forth. This cannot be happening.

I heard him chuckle to himself. "Stupid little stubborn girl. I'll be back tomorrow but don't expect to see Melanie in school. She's in for a very eventful night." He was about to climb over the banister when I cried out in a strangled voice foreign to me.

"Wait."

It was enough to make him backtrack. 

I'd never felt so utterly helpless before. My shoulders slumped in defeat, there was no winning when my loved ones were involved. He knew just the right buttons to press. I was a just a puppet and he held all the strings.