The Transfer

Chapter - 13

I enter and look around. The room is the same as the last time I saw it. A king size bed right in the centre with black covering sheets and pillows. A side table with a lamp a cupboard touching the ceiling (which has books, board games and soft toys) on both sides of the bed. All the walls and the ceiling are painted like a galaxy and there is a ceiling light (which makes the stars on the ceiling shine). The only light in the room is coming from it and the lamps. There is a study table with two chairs on the wall opposite the bed. The colour theme of the whole room is black and white. As my eyes run over the table I see Dani sitting on the floor with her back pressed to the table, her knees close to her chest, her hands hugging them.

She doesn't look up when I open the door. I enter and close the door behind me. I call out her name but she doesn't reply. "Dani" I say again. The room is silent except for my footsteps. I think she probably fell asleep while crying. I sit down beside her and shake her. She instantly looks up. Her eyes are bloodshot red. She takes in my image and gives me a wry smile. She opens her mouth but it takes her a moment to form a coherent sentence.

"Hi, Kelsey. How are you here? Where am I? Who are you?" she slurs. She is drunk. Oh my god. She has never consumed alcohol before. We pushed her so much to drink during the batch party. She handled all the peer pressure because she wasn't 18 and she didn't want to do something illegal. I have hurt her so much that she felt the need to drink and become inebriated to be able to bear the pain. I can't live with myself like this. I need to help her. I need to do something.

"Hey Dan," I start. She looks up at me expectantly. "I am fine. You are at home. You don't know me?"

"Got ya! Of course I know you. You are my best friend, Kelsey, who I broke up with a few hours ago."

"I'm sorry for shouting Dani. I just got too selfish and didn't try to see things from your point of view. I'm sorry. Your mom told me you haven't eaten and I can see that you are drunk. What happened? How are you feeling?"

"Oh God, not you too." Comes her reply.

"What?"

"Since morning, everyone has been asking me and I quote 'What happened? How are you doing?'" She uses air quotes when she says that. "I am tired of listening to the same thing over and over. And how come you are asking that. You know exactly what the hell happened. Oh my god. I will go crazy. Ask me something else. Come on Kelsey. Anything, whatever comes to your mind."

"Anything?"

"Absolutely anything."

"And you will answer truthfully?"

"I swear on my life I will."

"Have you been drinking?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Scotch."

"How much."

"Just my second bottle." She looks toward a bottle beside her which is half empty. "This is just like twenty questions." She comments and I ignore it.

"Where did you get it?"

"Found my dad's stash. All the good stuff is kept in this very room in that cupboard." She points at a stool which has a built in cupboard. As she does my eyes go to her wrist and I see a bandage wrapped around it. It was stained with a little red on the inside of her wrist. I immediately catch her hand. She tries to pull it away but my grip is strong enough for a drunk Dani. "What is this?" I ask.

"Nothing."

"You said you would answer."

"It's a bandage."

"Why do you have a bandage wrapped around you wrist?"

"I cut myself by mistake."

"Show me your other hand." I demand.

"No!" I pull it anyway. Another bandage.

"You cut both your hands by mistake?"

"Yes."

"With what?"

"My first bottle of scotch." I look around and spot a half broken bottle in the corner with glass pieces laying around it among drops of blood.

"When?"

"After talking to you."

"What made you stop?"

"The thought of my parents crying." She is lying.

"What made you stop?"

"Nick."

"Did he tie the bandage?"

"Yes."

"Do your parent know?"

"No and they aren't going to."

"No, they aren't."

"Good."

"Now, what else did you want to tell me on the phone?"

"Nothing." Lying again.

"Dani, answer me."

"I said nothing."

"Oh I remember. You wanted me to shout at you so you can get it all out. Well luckily I am very angry about what you have done with your wrists so I'm gonna shout at you." I take a deep breath and muster the courage to shout in my angriest voice. "Dani, what the fuck were you going to tell me over the phone if I would have shouted. Tell me now. How did I hurt you? I need to know cause I want to make it up to you." She stays quiet and I let out a sigh. "For fuck's sake, Dani, just say whatever you had to tell me."

As soon as I stop yelling, she starts.