Jake

19. Broken Promise

Sophia walked into the store with her hood over her head, staring at the floor as she walked. She walked through the aisles, knowing exactly where to find them. They were always in the same aisle in every store. The one that had the shampoo and deodorant. She stared at all the different packs. They all looked different, but they all worked the same, so it didn't really matter to her. She grabbed the pack closest to her and headed to the front. As she got in line to pay, she grabbed some random chocolate bars from the racks next to her. She finally got up to the cashier and put her things on the conveyer belt.

The girl at the register said, "Is this all?"

She kept her head down as she nodded. The girl rang everything up and put it in a bag, then told her the price. It came out at around 7 dollars and some change.

She gave her a ten dollar bill and said, "Keep the rest. I don't need it." She grabbed the bag and walked out.

She walked back home and went inside. Her mother was still asleep. She grabbed the note that she had written her and ripped it up.  She pulled the candy she had bought out of her bag and put it on the counter before going into the bathroom. She shut the door and sat down on top of toilet seat. She sat for a few minutes, thinking about what she was going to do. Silently. Waiting. Getting up the courage.

She grabbed her bag from the floor and put it on her lap. She carefully took the box out of the bag, dropping the bag on the floor by her feet afterwards. She stared at it, studying each corner, each color, each font.

She read the words on the front out loud in a soft whisper. "Razor Refills. 10 Blades." They would be the last words she would ever speak. She kept staring at it, until she finally ripped it open. One was placed between her fingers as nine fell to the floor in the box. She stared at it, seeing light reflect off of it, showing off it's silver color. With her free hand, she plugged up the sink and filled it with cold water. She looked at her arm as the sink filled up. Completely bare. No sleeve, no cloth. Just scars. She lifted her arm and slowly made one deep cut from her wrist to halfway up her forearm. She watched blood come up from the cut, until a drop trailed down her arm and onto the floor. She closed her eyes as she felt pain going through it. She put the blade down on the sink and pulled out her phone. She quickly texted someone. The only one that really cared. Jake.

She typed, I broke my promise. I'm sorry.

She dropped her phone on the floor and traced her other arm with the blade, her first one still dripping. She dunked her arms in the water, some of it now pink and splashing onto the floor. She watched as the water turned from clear to light pink to deep red. She kept staring into the water for a long time. She felt herself getting lightheaded. She thought she heard her phone chime, but she wasn't sure. It was working. She rested her head on the edge of the sink. She felt herself breathing slower and her eyes started closing. She felt herself drifting. The last thing she heard was a muffled voice yelling her name. Then everything went black.

Sophia's mother, Jake, and his mother all sat together in the too-bright and blue tinted hospital waiting area in the emergency room. Jake was silently weeping, brushing away tears every second, hoping no one would notice. Sophia's mother sobbed loudly, wiping away her tears with her wet sleeve. Jake's mother was praying. She was almost whispering. Hearing her made more tears come from both Jake's and Sophia's mother's eyes. But they didn't stop her.