Short Scary Stories

Pill Bottles

Pill Bottles

She wasn't crazy. No, no, she didn't want to believe it. It hurt to think about it. The way that psychiatrist looked at her, scribbling notes on her pad of paper was infuriating her. She wanted to stab her with that pen. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. So maybe she was crazy.

A little.

Her mother made her step foot in this office. Her mother made her sit in this chair. Her mother made her speak words that she didn't want to. Her mother made her spill her secrets to a stranger. It was her mother's fault.

So she sat, wanting to kill, but that's what Anna was for. Nobody else could see Anna, only her. She wasn't an imaginary friend. She was someone who just popped up in her brain a few months ago, and she never left. Anna was her friend, her best friend, and a best friend would do anything for the other. Even kill.

"I'll start you off with a small dose of 20 milligrams, if that doesn't work, we will go up to forty, okay, Mandy?" The woman asked her, like she had a choice. She just nodded.

~

Mandy held the brand new bottle of white pills in her hand. They were small, probably small enough for her swallow without water. Anna was by her side, looking at the pills.

"Don't take them," Anna told her.

"I have to," Mandy said, setting the bottle on her dresser.

"You're better than that."

"Then I wouldn't be taking these."

~

That night, Mandy crawled into bed after taking the pill. It was bitter, even with water, so she moved the saliva in her mouth around to get rid of the taste. Anna stood in the corner, watching her.

"Can we talk tonight?" Anna asked.

"These pills are supposed to make me sleepy," Mandy told her, resting her head on her pillow.

"So? It's a small dose. How tired can it make you?" She said.

"Fine. For a little bit."

And so they talked for about ten minutes, and Mandy realized she wasn't the slightest bit sleepy. They waited for another half hour, and still, no sleep. They were bored, and this was the time that Anna would disappear for the night, but she stayed.

"What about a game?" Anna piped up, still in her corner.

"What game?" Mandy asked, sitting up.

"Pill bottles. I'll disappear, but I'll still be here in presence. Ask me a question, and I'll respond by shaking the pill bottle. Once for yes, twice for no." she suggested, fleeing from her corner and going over to the dresser.

Mandy thought it was dumb, but at this point, she'd do anything to stay awake. She watched as Anna disappeared, but she knew she was there. She sat up fully and crossed her legs.

"Do you think going to the psychiatrist was a bad idea?" She asked, and Anna shook the bottle once.

"Do you like the woman?" Twice.

"Do you love me?" Once.

"Will you always be my best friend?" Once.

"Do you think I should kill my mother for sending me there?" Once.

~

The next morning, all was quiet in the house. Mandy slowly came out of her mother's room, a bloody knife in her hand. He clothes were stained with the crimson red liquid. She went back to her room and slid the knife under the mattress of her bed. She sat cross-legged on her bed and faced the dresser.

"Are you proud of me?" Anna shook it once.

~

Author's Note: I just threw this together when I saw an empty pill bottle that used to have my antibiotics when I had a cold. I'm working on Halloween stories, so look out for that.