The Lovely Suicide Children

Chapter 18: Grounded

I would never have believed I'd be good at a sport. Rose took me through many steps. She taught me how to punch with my thumb over three fingers. She showed me blocks, kicks, and moves that mimicked animals and insects like the praying mantis, hawks, monkeys, and even turtles.

"You're a natural!" Rose smiled. "Before we mix our moves in with the dance, I just want to give you a feel of martial arts." 

I sat on the mat, exhausted from all the kicks, flips, and practice landings. Rose sat beside me and leaned on my shoulder. "I just love the way karate makes me feel. Not just the dance, but the way we learn to move. The way we learn to strike and block."

I know what she meant because I felt it too. Even though I was tired, I felt like getting up to do some more moves. It wasn't just fun and good for my heart, but it relaxed my mind. The whole time we had practiced, I didn't think about anything else except perfecting myself. Other sports didn't make me feel that way. They just made me feel tired.

"I should have done karate a long time ago," I stretched my arms back and leaned into my hands.

"It's helped me through a lot," she said, looking at the ceiling as if she had remembered something bad. 

"That's good," I said. 

"Are you ready to go home?"

I shrugged, unsure of the question. I wasn't ready to go home. In fact, I would rather stay here than leave. However, I didn't want to overstay my limits. Before I could get up, someone upstairs began yelling. Glass started breaking, and someone was cursing life and everything in the living room. Rose let out of a deep breath then pinched the skin between her eyebrows. Two minutes later, whoever was upstairs yelling, left the house. 

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked her. As soon as she looked at me, I realized I had made a huge mistake. That wasn't the right question to asked. "I'm sorry," I said quickly.

"It's fine," she grabbed my hand and helped me up. "Let's get you home."

I had a hard time taking off the uniform, so  Rose came over to help me. As she untied the knot in the uniform, I could see the tears floating in her eyes, ready to fall. She held them back though. Even sniffed a few times. Our eyes met for a quick second. 

"I'm sorry," she said as if she owed me an apology. "Things are a little crazy right now."

"I understand," I replied, meaning it. I did understand, and I wasn't going to ask any more questions.

On our way upstairs, I followed Rose. She wanted to give me a few shirts that were too small for her before we left. After she had given me the shirts, she went to the bathroom. I sat on the bed waiting for her, looking around at the white and blue themed room. 

So there I was, minding my own business when all of a sudden Robert Parker crawled out from underneath the bed. I was too shocked to scream and ended up covering my mouth with my hand. My heart was beating so fast it felt dangerous. I was about to ask him what he was doing here, but my eyes noticed something that I didn't catch right away. Robert had a gun in his hand, and a bullet wound to his head. His Of Mice and Men white shirt was blood stained along with his blue jeans. I froze at the sight, unable to speak. 

"August 14, 2007. I put a bullet to my head and from there left with The Lovely Suicide Children," he said in a monotone. His eyes looked into mine, bleeding onto the carpet. "Scar number one was because of Rose. Scar number two, Rose. Number three, and ten, the eleventh, number thirty, then the gun. Rose made my middle school a living hell, and she doesn't deserve you as a friend."

Before I could say anything, Robert pulled the triggered and disappeared with the blast still ringing in my ear. Rose walked out of the bathroom normally, but I sat on the bed shaking with fear. The crazy part was, Robert's shadow remained on the wall. Scratch that, there were many shadows on the wall, mimicking what Robert had done. I had seen the gun, the blast, and the blood splattered all as shadows on the walls around me. I heard the blast, over and over again. I held my ears, annoyed and irritated by the ringing in my ear that was so intense. Rose wrapped her hand around me, but I continued to sit there, frozen and tortured by what was happening and what Rose could not see.