Taylor West is the epitome of self-reliance. Or she must be. Relationships are fickle. Despite finally enrolling in her dream studies and thriving in them, her social life is only skin-deep. When she finds out that her so-called boyfriend is a selfi...
After Chris left, I grabbed my phone and sagged into the kitchen chair. The display showed a message from Suzy, which she had sent just before leaving.
Don't let that asshole drag you down. You're way too awesome for that. Text me when you want to continue watching. DON'T YOU DARE WATCH WITHOUT ME! Just saying, I will kill you. Cheers. <3
My mouth twitched as I typed out a reply.
Dw, I'm fine. I might have a falling out with Jess and the others soon. Just to give you a fair warning who you're trying to hang out with.
Her response came without delay.
Fuck Jessica. I tried watching Kdrama with her once and she said it was weird. The nerve. It's been going downhill since then.
I chuckled to myself, and some of the weight lifted from my shoulders.
I went through the motions of brushing my teeth and washing up before falling into bed, my body drained of energy. My eyes shut on their own. Some decent sleep might be all I needed and then I could figure out how to deal with everything else.
Five minutes later I jerked upright. My body writhed as if somebody had thrown itching powder down the sleeves of my pajamas.
I jumped to my feet and rushed to the bathroom to let cold water run over my arm. With shaking hands, I carefully dabbed the skin dry and went back to bed. Hopefully, that would be it.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I woke with a start. My skin crawled as if thousands of little ants were walking all over it, their tiny legs tickling, biting in my flesh, creating an irresistible itch.
My head buried in my pillow. No. Don't think about it.
Every muscle tensed. Don't do it.
My mind zeroed onto my arm. There was nothing else.
Fight it. Don't give in.
My finger's hovered over the fabric. I had to scratch it. Just a little...
No.
My hands flexed. It didn't stop. Instead, it started throbbing...
It was impossible not to scratch.
As if possessed, my fingernails sunk into my arm, sliding up and down, over and over, in rapid movements. I had just cut my nails as short as they could possibly be, but it was not enough. I changed my grip, pressing down harder until I found that sweet spot you could never quite eliminate. A twisted sense of satisfaction coursed through me, driving me to dig even deeper, until a searing pain drowned out everything else.
My hand lost its strength and fell to the side. I slouched forward, my breathing ragged.
