As the World Caves In [DISCONTINUED]

CHAPTER 1

Codi wasn't sure why, but she did not like Jeff.

The moment she set her eyes upon his inkblotch of hair, she knew he was dangerous. From the way he was doubled over, his blood-stained hoodie hardly hid the starch whiteness of his skin. For some reason, she wanted to touch him; run her calloused fingers over that strange skin and find out why he was like that. She was  well aware he wasn't right in the head. His greasy, messy hair hid his features, hiding whatever expression might've been on his face. The most she could make out from her spot was that he had striking eyes; the type of smudged eyeliner effect you'd find on French models in foreign magazines. She found it amusing, and an unexpected giggle bubbled up in her throat. Though it was quiet—  or so she thought it was— his eyes snapped to her face, and they scrunched up, as if he was giving her a smile, but the surgical mask that was spread across his face hid anything from the nose down.

Codi only stared, her hands tightening around her knees, long nails digging into the soft skin, the urge to flee pumping strong through her veins. Adrenaline, something she hadn't felt in a while, made itself known, causing her heart to pound wildly against her ribcage. Her body reacted negatively to his gaze,  yet for some reason, her mind (and the voices, unfortunately) urged her to get up and approach him. Questions buzzed in her mind like wasps in their nest. 

Who are you? Why are you here?

Yet no matter how badly they wanted her to, she just couldn't. Not only would she be restrained, but she'd also cause several of the other patients to get up and swarm him, which from the looks on the surrounding staff's faces, would not be a good idea. So she sat, staring, until Jeff was shoved through the double doors and disappeared from sight, most likely to be taken either to the male ward or Solitary Confinement. The rest of the day Codi spent in that tattered chair, picking at tiny threads in her cardigan, reliving fuzzy, painful memories, or thinking about who in the hell had skin like Jeff did.

Is he albino?, A thought offered, and Codi shook her head. Jeff's skin looked fake, like leather. As if he was wearing a fake skin..

Maybe he was in an accident, A second chimed in, and the redhead nodded in thought.

It wasn't like it was any of her business, though. Hopefully she'd get to talk to him the next morning; maybe during breakfast. Or maybe she could pull him aside in the common room or in the halls. That is, if he was even allowed to roam free without a straightjacket on.

It was only a matter of time before she  found out.

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The Next Morning, 10:30 a.m, Cafeteria

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Codi was set on breakfast duty.

Her job was to serve people their food, say, "Next!", and repeat. The whole time her eyes scanned the sea of faces, searching for that mop of hair. But, sadly, there was nothing. It wasn't until she herself had sat down to eat did she notice him finally, sitting all the way in the back by his lonesome, the same surgical mask still strapped to his face. His bloodied, dirty clothing having been replaced by clean, blue scrubs; typical male uniform. It likely would've been suicide to get up and sit with him, maybe even worse given the way his obsidian eyes glared around the room, flicking from a group of old women clustered together, to a frail young woman who picked at her bottom lip, to the people just starting to enter the cafeteria, and finally landing on her. 

Her blood ran cold  and her heart began it's routine of slamming against her chest until she felt as if it was going to burst from the pressure. But as usual, it never did. Jeff tilted his head at her, analyzing her scraggly hair, or the hardly noticeable freckles that sprinkled her cheeks, or maybe even her lips, which were chapped and flecked from week-old scabs from where she'd bitten down too hard on them. Codi desperately wanted to say something, maybe even make a rude remark like, "What're you looking at, dick?!", but she didn't. It was as if his menacing aura prevented her from doing so, maybe even made her a bit afraid to. Which was strange; nothing scared her anymore. 

Not until now, apparently. 

And then his eyes did the crinkly thing, his skin wrinkling around the corners as if he smiled a bit too much, and then Codi realized he was smiling at her, whether it was in a mocking or friendly way, she wasn't too keen on finding out. But then the thoughts started up again, egging her on and encouraging her to get up and move over to him. The strange thing about it, though, was that Jeff wasn't even restrained, his arms were free to move around as they pleased, though underneath the clothes he wore, he had a long sleeved undershirt, which irritated Codi to no end. What was wrong with him? In an place like BlackWood, you were never too friendly; never kind enough to let someone borrow that spare bar of soap you'd managed to steal, yet Jeff didn't seem to care, just went right on grinning  at her and then she also realized he was making a gesture motion for her to come.

Now she had  to get up, it would seem rude not to.

Curse her parents and their high demand of good manners.

With effort, Codi stood, pushing away her untouched plate of food and starting her journey towards his table, her legs being slapped with cold air,  her slippers making gentle scuffing  noises on the polished marble floor. It felt near a century until she reached the table, but she knew in her mind it had only been a minute; not even, maybe a few seconds. Jeff stared up at her, unblinking, and at this distance she realized that the black ring around his eyes wasn't eyeliner, but rather... singed skin? What in the hell? Codi opened her mouth to say something, though too many questions shot through her brain at once, all too quick for her to decide on which to choose, so she was left standing there,  her mouth gaping open stupidly.

It wasn't until he cleared his throat did she realize she was still standing there. Her face burned with embarrassment, and she scrambled to sit across from him, her arms wrapped around her body as she stared at him with wide, questioning eyes. In her time at BlackWood, there'd never been a patient as curious as he was. Glancing down, the redhead just barely caught a glance at his hand, adorned with pale, spindly fingers, each digit lined with silvery scars. Finally, her brain settled on a question, and with wavering confidence, she straightened her spine and asked,

"Why are you so...pale?"

Jeff almost looked shocked. Her voice must have surprised him; perhaps he was expecting something more girly and upbeat, not the dead, monotone and scratchy sound that came instead. It took him a moment to recover, but when he did, he merely made the increasingly familiar expression, and shrugged. "Are you not going to talk?" Again, a shrug, yet this time he seemed a bit more interested, leaning towards her as he blinked. " Why are you here?" At this, he paused, his piercing gaze shooting a beam of ice from her head to her toe. "Because I made them go to sleep," He muttered, and Codi blinked in surprise. Jeff's voice was low and gravely; it was deep, rough, unusually smooth. Under normal circumstances, Codi might have been smitten. Yet that deep, threatening voice of his made him all the more scarier. Intrigued, she leaned forward, curls brushing the tabletop. Her  eyes surveyed Jeff, watching his every move; which ranged from wringing his hands or twisting locks of oily hair between his fingers.

"What did you do to get in a place like this?"

He  turned to face her directly, black eyes meeting green, and without a word, he lunged across the table, hands around her throat within seconds. 

And then it all went black. 

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YEEEEAAH!! CHAPTER 1. WHOOT. PRAISE.

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Love,

Lexi

(edited 3.15.22)