Their Last Choice.

Their Last Choice [Prologue]

Prologue ~ Scarlett.

I stood in the shower until the water turned cold. Clear drops of liquid sprayed heavily on the white tiles below my feet, and it was then that I noticed that my skin was a shade almost as pale as the shower floor. I need to paint my nails. That would add some much-needed colour to my life. I attempted to chuckle but all that left my lips was a muffled sob. I surmised that my roommate was home and cooking dinner by now, but I couldn't bring myself to leave my bathroom. Hell, if I walked out now, he'd know I'd been crying. I stood longer, letting the icy droplets cut paths across my skin where my scars sat, just to feel something other than my guilt. I stumbled out of the shower, and reached for my towel, shivering, and almost fell to my knees when my feet made contact with an equally slippery bathroom floor. Shit! Where is the bathmat? I swear, if Sebastian put it in the wash with my clothes– all thoughts left my mind as I crashed brutally into the sink. With hands splayed on the marble benchtop, my fingers clenched tightly as if I was clinging to a rugged, cliff edge, and it felt as if all of my bones were being crushed under the pressure.

I stood there, facing the steamed-up mirror, pondering the location of my towel once more. Distraction, I just need a distraction. I looked down, and let my eyes wonder over the rounded corner of the bench, across my curled-over thumb. The veins that travelled their way down my hands bulged. Knowing this was a sign of a significant lack of circulation, I lifted my fingers and allowed the pink returned to my limbs. Maybe I need to paint my fingernails too. Purple isn't really my colour. I watched as blood began to fill and push away the blue shade at the base of my nails. It was as mesmerising as that time in middle school science class when we were allowed to watch pen ink splatter into, and mix with, water. Round and round, the colours mixed. Blue to purple to red. Scarlett red. I sucked in a breath, and was once more reminded of the site in front of me only a mere number of hours earlier. James. My cracked, dry lip rolled in between my teeth, as I sucked to the point of drawing blood. More blood, there was always more blood. Well, pain is my punishment.

As I closed my eyes, which was, if anything, a response to block out the memories. Nothing will wipe this off your slate, Scarlett. Don't kid yourself! I slipped down the wall behind me. I hadn't even realised that I had moved from the sink. The wall was harsh against my back, rough like splinters. I knew that my skin would hurt tomorrow. If that's all the price I have to pay, then so be it, I mused to myself. I remembered forgetting my night clothes, momentarily leaving them in the kitchen as I ran for the burning pot and pan. Sebastian would have discovered the mess and, as he hasn't knocked on the bathroom door, I imagined that he wouldn't have cared about the state I left the kitchen in. Although, that was an abnormal response from him. Normally he would be threatening to set my clothes on fire in the stove I never cleaned. I was pulled away from my deductions from a feeling of immense shock. The hard, titled floor smacked my bare skin. You are nude, you dope. Of course the sudden contact surprised you. James tells you all the time that you're off with the fairies... I am off with the fairies. I sighed and, with my feet tucked under me and my legs bent, I cradled my head against my knees. I felt withered, drained, and all of a sudden I could feel my chest strain tightly, my heart pushing its way out of my already thin skin. I could barely breathe. I can't see. My mind clouded over: black fog swept across the plain at which my thoughts were located. I was numb, and afraid. You're always afraid, Scarlett. None of this would have happened if it weren't for me! I heaved; the attempt to push away the cloudiness only made me feel faint. So I sat there, naked as the day I was born, and waited for the tiredness to consume me. Maybe then my fears would be kept at bay.