All Your Fractures

Six.

I promise to protect you from anything and everything. No one  can hurt you when I'm with you. No one but me.

1:27 AM

Somebody was above me, eyes blazing a familiar crimson and a fork in hand. They dug it into my abdomen and I screamed, trying to push them off to no avail. My hands just passed through the person's body, shocking me.

They pushed the fork in, then roughly tore a hole in my tummy. Blood spurted unto their face, it soaked my pajamas and the bed covers. It was agonising, the pain reverberated through my body, my headache from yesterday became a riotous migraine. So many voices passed through my head.

I watched in horror as the fork, wound with freshly blood-red innards, my innards, moved up towards their mouth.

"No! Stop! Get off! Ack—"

Just a dream, it's just a dream, you can get out of this. Come on, deep breaths, don't panic. She can't kill you in a dream. It's your dream, she doesn't have any power. Jesse thought he started to feel the pain fading, but either it was his imagination or he was closer to death than he'd thought. It didn't go away.

"Aw dearest little brother," She giggled, passing the fork over her tongue, and then stabbing it in my chest. So many times, he tried to imagine the squelches as water under my feet as he traipsed in the rain, Israel beside him.

"You really thought it would be that easy?"

Around his head, the sheets were wet with tears he hadn't even known he was shedding.

I will protect you from anything and everything.
Everything, except me.
Because you deserve this, you deserve everything that's ever come to you. Now, you promise me. . .

10:48 AM

"Jesse!"

He jerked awake, quickly checking his torso for any wounds. Nothing, just the burning ulcer, weirdly a relief. Probably, it would be counted a bad day for anyone else if they woke up on the floor with ulcer pains, stiff joints and— a drop of red splatted on his thigh. He raised his hand and touched that side of his head only to realize where the migraine came from. His hand was stained red when he retracted it. He sighed, then looked around.

He was on his sleeping mat in Jessika's room, his had probably been locked up again. He got up and didn't see Jessica on her bed so went into the bathroom to clean himself up.

He froze when he entered, realising she was actually in there, humming the tune of Go Crazy while she brushed her teeth in front of the sink. She saw Jesse in the mirror and smiled, "Morning, dearest."

He nodded, passing his fingers over his bandaged forearm. "Good morning. Uhm, Jessica may I—"

"Yes?"

"C-can I have back the keys to my room, please?"

She pondered it for a long minute. "Well, it is Saturday. I guess so, and here." She handed him a pack of Tylenol.

"Thank you,"

"You're showering over here though, clothes off."

Their mother suddenly ran in, a ragged mess of tears, screaming. She collapsed unto the floor, coiling up and rolling around. "They're at the door! Jessika they're here, they're coming to get me!"

Jessika sighed, "Go take your shower, little brother. Your keys are on the vanity. And you," She reached down and grabbed the woman by her hair, pulling her up. "If you don't shut the fuck up, I swear to God. . ." she dragged her along to see who was at the door. The woman screamed in agony as her her was yanked, trying to get up to her feet.

For a while Jesse just stood in the shower. Not thinking about anything in particular. He was just a bit tired.

A bang came from the outside. "Jesse, you have a visitor!"