Room On Fire

Room On Fire Chapter 5

Eden

   I went into my dreamlike state as he began his disgusting activity on me. I left my eyes closed and tried to ignore the burning sensation in the deepest part of my stomach and the rough pounding in my ears. I also pushed the memory of his sick fetish to the back of my mind until I heard the click of the plastic case opening.

   My breath caught in my throat and I squeezed every muscle in my body, bracing myself for the pain. To my surprise it never came.

   I felt the sharp blade glide gently across the damaged skin of my hip; each individual scar acting as a speed bump in the process. I could feel the blood trailing from my wounds down my bare legs and it pooled at my feet. I still felt no pain.

   I stared down at the crimson puddle beneath my toes. I felt Christofer moving faster and faster, the blood matching his pace, pulsing faster and faster from the wounds he left. Before I knew it, he was finished.

   He soft hands were aggressive as he shoved me down to my knees. I pressed my cheek in the pool of my own blood, tears refused to fall.

   “Best time yet, beautiful.” He murmured, getting down placing a soft kiss on the back of my neck. I cringed, curling my arms underneath me, trying to cover my exposed skin from him. Christofer laughed and I heard his footsteps retreat into the hall.

   As soon as I knew he was far enough away, I raced to the bathroom and locked myself in. The walls were a pale shade of blue and the porcelain sink gleamed in the bright overhead lights. I smeared the small trail of red drops across the white tile, leaving a horrifying stain in the grout. The grabbed the nearest towel, also white, and drenched it under the running faucet.

   Once it was fully soaked through with ice cold water, I wiped the blood from my face and dabbed at my hips. Red spots swelled in the cotton. The sight of blood usually made me woozy, but not this time. I smiled to myself.

I hope he has plenty of bleach.

   Once I finished cleaning myself up, I hurried to pull on my clothes and grab my bag. Once I was safely in the bathroom behind the locked door, I called Abigail.

   “Abby?” I whispered. “Abby, you need to come get me…” Then I quickly gave her the address. Once I hung up to the sound of our front door slamming on the other end, I went to the window and unlatched the bolts.

   The drop wasn’t far and I made it down safely without injuring myself. My hip throbbed as I ran down the street towards home, towards Abby, towards freedom.

   “Never again” I said to myself, as I jumped the curb, Christofer’s house looming out of sight. This would be the last time I would ever have to see it again.

Duncan

   As I drove aimlessly throughout the town, I thought about Abigail. How her lips felt pressed against mine, or how her body felt beneath mine; ever feature, every aspect, rushed through my jumbled brain. I knew I couldn’t go home, because the second I laid eyes on Vanessa I would break.

   It was past time to send her packing, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. She had nowhere to go, no decent friends she could stay with, nothing. I took her from her family in Minnesota and brought her here with me years and years ago.

   Abby was pushed to the back of my thoughts now, and I became overpowered by the sudden guilt of taking Vanessa. I recalled the exact day, April twenty fifth, two and a half years ago. I was on the road with my father as he followed one of his favourite bands around the country. My mother had passed the previous year due to heart failure; so it was just me and dad. We got on fine, compared to most fathers and sons.

   The band was one I had never heard of, and I can’t recall the name even now; but he loved them. Some venues we ended up at were twenty one and older, but some were all ages so of course I went to those. The crowd was rowdy and the music was loud, but I enjoyed myself every show.

   My dad would leave me at a seat in the back and tell me not to move a muscle, and then he would disappear into the mass of people. I did as he instructed every time, because I knew what would happen if I didn’t.

   One night my dad came to retrieve me after the show; he had a woman in tow.

   Hello there young man.

Her voice was raspy and hoarse; I assumed it was form screaming. Turns out it was from smoking too much. I found this out after she took us home to meet her daughter.

   The house was small and cramped, which I didn’t like very much. I preferred vast rooms with long hallways leading to new places. As soon as we stepped past the threshold, a younger girl about my age met me.

   Mom, who is this?

She sounded nothing like her mother. This girl’s voice was high and sweet like the melody from a music box.

   Vanessa, this is Mr. Oliver and his son Duncan. They will be staying here for awhile.

   I was fifteen.

Abigail

   Once I reached a second street I saw Eden hurrying towards me. I caught her in my arms, and the impact sent me tumbling backwards. I held her tightly as I regained my balance, running my fingers through her choppy ash-white hair.

   “Abby, we need to leave now!” She whispered in my ear. I set her on her feet and turned to make our way home, reaching for her hand in the process.

   “We will leave tomorrow as planned, Eden. What the fuck just happened?” My tone was a little too cruel so I took a deep breath to regain my composure. “Tell me”

   Eden matched my strides with her much shorter ones. She looked out of breath and tired, but also aggravated and upset. I couldn’t help but notice small specks of red on her hands, but I tried not to jump to conclusions and ignore them.

   “Nothing” she finally mumbled, “Just hard to say goodbye and I just want to leave”

   I didn’t feel like arguing with her at that moment, so we walked home in silence.