Masquerade

Part Thirteen

„Hello my dear friends , well, here I am on record at last"

Pitch-black darkness, but I can feel I am upside down

„And it feels so wonderful to be here with you on my first album"

Everything except the turntable, the silver shining demon that haunts my dreams

„I'm so happy! Aha! Happy go lucky me"

A light, distant, bright, giving hope.
No.
Just the herald of repeating horrors.
"WHY ME? WHY ALWAYS ME?" I scream it into the darkness, this dead void.

A kitchen, a counter to high for me to even grab something, light falling trough the window of this suburban home.
A shadow passes quickly by the window, more greenish than a shadow should be.
But what does a child know about this shit.
No excuses, I could have know that this wasn't good, I could have prevented this, why were I so dumb? Even now I have to endure my punishment.
sitting here, in my own body to watch everything unfolding.

"LUZ!"

The whole room distorts, shakes violently, more voices. This is ... an irregularity?
And suddenly my breath stops, violently choked from air.

As I wake up it feels like breaking through to the surface after diving, my whole body feels sweaty, my lungs grasp for air, everything seems dim, unreal.
"Please, Miss Pittsburgh, calm down",
"Where am I?", it sounds like a scared kid, the insecurity rises,
"In a hospital, your wound needed to be stitched?".
A wave of memories hit me, the cafeteria, the fight ... this plastic shard.
Accompanying this thought is a sudden shock of pain, just as my leg would like to remind me that it still exists.
"Why does everything looks so fucking dim and blurred?",
"Don't worry, just a side effect, wears of in some minutes" a doctor to be sure, just the arrogance in his voice is just, enraging?
Well you cant see shit? Don't worry, just some side effects, didn't you know?
Shithead.

It seems like the personnel leaves the room, letting me behind here, lying half blind in this bed.
With the silence now swallowing the whole room I notice someone else has to be in the room,
they called me just this formal "Miss Pittsburgh".
I try to blink to finally get rid of this shit, not seeing anything is just unsettling, dangerous.
And it seems to help, my right eye slowly gets a better quality of sight.
Just the normal hospital room, some strange painting on the wall, a wardrobe and a table and chair for the visi ...
Something stops in my mind, why is she here?
Looking a bit worried, Amity Blight sits at the table and looking sometimes over to me.
Gonna be honest, seems like joining up with the Blights brings it perks, the superior even watch over you when you recover.

Bit startled for a moment to see her without her book, but even this memory rushes over me.
I hid it.
An unwell feeling now grows in my stomach.

What if she needs the book?

I quickly shake off this feeling, fuck.
She is rich, popular, in higher ranks than I ever can reach, how should she even be slightly sad.
Money solves every problem, anyone denying that simply wont face this mad reality.

"Why are you here?" I try to move myself to face her, she is startled for a minute but react instantly, restoring her normal, colder, more formal appearance.
"I see you are awake", the tone as expected flat, emotionless,
"Yeah", keeping it short seems the best,
"You look a bit ... in unrest, is anything else in order?".
Did she notice something? Fuck.
"Why do you ask?",
"Your vitals skyrocketed, that's why they woke you up early",
"I am fine, just tired".
Quick and maybe a bit too harsh, but I cant talk in any way with her about that, my secret, my responsibility.
"Are" a short pause "Are you really sure, he isnt one of the ones who go easy on you",
does she see me as weak?
Do I look like a doll who cant take a blow?
What does she even think?
If I couldn't take some hits I wouldn't take part in this?
Anger bubbles up in me, just guide away from this.
"I am, fucking fine, thanks for the condolences, but it would be nice if you could leave now".
No reaction from her, she just stands up, takes her coat and leave the room, leaving me here.
As the door closes with a click, the silence takes over the room.
Alone, again.
Did I really wanted it to end like this?

An hour later in the room and I can leave.
Walking is a bit difficult, but with some painkiller its okay, they said the stitches wouldn't rip open, only if I would run.
Should I have called Eda?
No, she may not have a problem if I come home late, but calling her the third day and telling her to get me at the hospital, hell no.
I just don't want to risk the things I have, get yourself through that Noceda, show strength.

I arrive in the early noon, as I come close I take a quick look through the window at her shopfront.
Some costumer stand around in there, looking at the antiques and curiosities in there,
she herself seems busy at the register.
I smirk, she seems happy, a happiness hard to buy.
Maybe one day.
King lies curled up in his bed, the soft, constant breath fights the silence lightly back.
Just a shower, a hot shower after all of this.

Strip of the clothes, turn on the water, the mirror steams up in no time, as the hot waters runs over my body and I, I just stand there, not moving, a hundred yards stare.
I lashed out on Amity, didn't even want to, it just came, as it always does.
My past kills my future, ironic, a desperate laugh escaping my body.
And as tears start to join the water, I cant hold back and the hymn of my suffering starts again,
the background music of my life and I am back.
Cursed time traveling, back to the day when someone set off fireworks in the mid of the day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Hey, the author here, sorry that nothing came. Big thanks to the ones who came new to the story and the ones who read this, it honors me in a way.
So hope you had fun and have a good week everyone.