Masked Roses

Chapter Nineteen

We sat in Sally's room, coloring supplies and papers scattered everywhere. I tapped the paper in front of me repeatedly with a black crayon while BP and Sally giggled happily and made multiple drawings, filling up the table and surely the room in no time. I smiled softly to myself as I suddenly watched my hand glide across the paper, slowly sketching out a figure, hair, and clothes. I didn't have much control over my thoughts and my smile faded slowly, my hand soon making a faceless man with curly locks dressed in a puffy coat and jeans. I paused as I suddenly crumpled the paper, one face coming to mind as tears welled up in my one eye.

The sound of the paper being crumpled made BP and Sally look up in confusion, the little girl's gaze on the paper that was scrunched up in my hand. I trembled as I set the crayon down and tossed the paper ball down by my side, laying my head down with a sigh as felt blood dripping down my face from the rose. Sally looked at me quietly and gently poked my cheek with one of her fingers. "Scarlet? Are you okay?" She asked hesitantly.

I let out a quiet laugh. "Y-Yeah. Just...disturbed, I guess..." I sat up and rubbed my face gently, pulling my hands away to find them smeared with streaks of blood. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I glanced over at the male sitting next to me on the floor, his black gloves holding onto the wrinkled paper as he then looked up at him behind his mask.

"Is this someone you know? Or knew?" He pointed to the paper.

"Yes...I...had a nightmare about them. I don't want to really remember them. Or talk about it...Sorry, Painter." I said and sighed as Sally got up and walked away, returning with a box of tissues as she tried to wipe off the crimson smeared on my cheeks.

"No, no. It's fine! Don't worry too much about it. Here, I'll get another washcloth." He got up from the floor and left the room, leaving the door cracked open behind him. I glanced at his disappearing figure as I then tilted my head down at the floor, Sally still trying to rub off the crimson staining my face without proper care. I sighed as I rubbed my eye, wiping away the tears that had welled up in it.

"It'll be okay, Scarlet...Just look at the bright side of things!" She giggled and I smiled hesitantly. It wasn't long before BP returned with a damp cloth and sat to my left, wiping away the blood that seemed to still continue dripping down. He hummed quietly in thought and sighed into the soft silence.

"Has Slender told you about any more missions recently?" He asked.

"Well...He said I have some the day after tomorrow. And then some more next week to do." I tried to recall more, but it was hard to do so without having to push past the thought of him. My head was pounding, I was a teary mess, and I was being comforted by a new friend and a little girl. I found it pathetic. They found it pathetic.

"And you bet I do." Their familiar voice made me look up into the corner of the room behind Sally, their shark-like teeth permanently smiling at me as they leaned against the wall with their arms crossed. "Being comforted by a small child, much younger than you, and a guy who you only wish to use as a friend? Never thought I'd see the day where you use someone." I shivered and stared at them as tears continued to well up in my one eye, blood resuming its trek down my left cheek.

BP glanced up over Sally and into the corner, making Sally interested as she turned her body to look, an expression of puzzlement and confusion plainly written on her face. I clenched my fists on my lap as I bit my lip. I opened my mouth to speak up, but a hand placed over my eye and gently around the rose made me blink, the tears falling from the rapid opening and closing of my eye.

I was confused, but one arm wrapped around my torso gently, pulling me into a comfortable source of warmth. I didn't move, or say anything, just sitting there in silence as I heard another sigh from BP.

"I'll see if I can talk Slender out of giving you those missions for the rest of the week. You clearly need rest and to get back on your feet." He stood up slowly, pulling me up with him. "Come on, Sally. Put away your toys and let's get some lunch from the kitchen, alright?" I could hear the smile in his voice even with my one eye covered, my vision completely obscured.

With the squeeze of his arm around me, he removed his hand, but continued to hold me close to him as if he were afraid I'd break or run away if he let go now. I took in a small breath as I tilted my head down towards the floor. Why was he so caring? I had only just saved him maybe two days ago, yet he's acting like he's known me forever. Rubbing my hands together gently, I looked at my fingers quietly as Sally hummed a random tune while putting away the mess of papers, crayons, and drawings.

We had left Sally in the kitchen while we walked towards Slender's office. I assumed that he just wanted the evidence of me being in such a state of distress and if he needed more proof for people being worried about my wellbeing, he'd just call Sally in. I gingerly raised a hand to my head, my fingertips grazing my hair line as I ran them through my hair to the ends. I needed to cut my hair. It was getting longer than I liked, to the point where I could braid it if I really wanted to.

"If you want your hair trimmed, I can do that for you." I heard BP whisper close to my ear, making me jump and turn my gaze towards him immediately with my one eye wide open. Seems he had caught me staring at my hair as I then let go of the handful of long strands in my fingertips. Tapping my fingers together, I sighed and looked at the floor as we stopped walking.

Raising one hand, BP knocked gently on the door twice, pausing as he waited for a response. "Come in." The hollow and static-like voice called on the other side of the door. He nodded and grabbed the handle, opening the door and entering the office with me in tow. "Scarlet, Bloody Painter. Is there something you need?" The faceless man asked with a newspaper in his hand and one leg crossed over the other.

"Scarlet needs a break." BP said bluntly and I looked at him in shock. "She's not in a very good mental state and she's been having panic attacks. She should be getting plenty of rest and take some time off from all the missions you've currently given her. If I need to do them for her, then so be it. As long as she can rest, then I don't care." He placed a hand on my shoulder.

A hum left the faceless man as he stared. "Perhaps you're right, Painter. I have been giving plenty of missions to Scarlet, despite her being a recent recruit only a month and maybe a half ago. If you get her missions done for her, then that's fine, but don't keep doing them for her. She must return to doing them on her own at the end of this week, the start of the weekend." He straightened out the large paper in his hands before looking back at them, reading recent news articles and stories that weren't aired on TV most likely.

BP nodded. "I'll do my best, and I'll be sure to train Scarlet so she won't lose her skill over the week." He then waved and dragged me out of the office, making me glare at him as he practically pulled on my arm to signal me to leave the office.