WITCH - ARA

Twenty eight

I don’t know how long it’s been. Days, maybe weeks. I can’t keep track of time here. The walls close in on me, and it feels like I’m suffocating, like I’m trapped in my own skin. It’s so itchy down there, and the pain—it’s unbearable. I’ve scratched myself raw, and the redness won’t go away. There are lesions too, small and painful, like something is eating away at me from the inside. I tried everything. I even tried to choke myself, just to make it stop, but nothing works. Nothing ever works.

Harrison took the dead body away. I couldn't stand the smell anymore, and neither could he. He said it was for the best, but I know he just couldn’t bear it either. Now, I’m in the basement. It’s smaller here, a tiny box where everything feels cold and wrong. The walls smell of mildew, and the darkness presses on my skin like a second layer. I miss the old room, even if it was filled with my puke.

I press my back against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut. Maybe if I don’t look, the shadows will go away. But they don’t. They never do. They move in the corners of my vision, tall and twisting like they have a life of their own. One of them is dragging a dead body across the floor, its mouth open in a silent scream. I know it’s not real. It can’t be real. But it feels so real.

"Go away!" I scream, my voice cracking. "Get out! Get out of my head!" I claw at my arms, pulling my own hair as I scream louder. It feels like they’re crawling under my skin, and no matter how hard I pull, I can’t get them out.

My body shakes, and the tears burn down my face. The darkness is alive; it has eyes. I see them watching, and I can’t escape. I can’t breathe. I curl up against the wall, hugging my knees, and rock back and forth, crying. “Please… please make it stop. Someone, help me.”

But no one’s coming. No one ever comes. And the walls are getting smaller.

My breath comes in shallow gasps, my whole body trembling. The pain is unbearable, but the fear—it's worse. Every muscle in my body tenses when Harrison bursts in, his laughter echoing off the cold walls. I look up through the curtain of my blonde hair, my eyes wide, and I push the strands aside to face him.

"Blaze will come and save me from you! You're a monster!" I yell, my voice hoarse, desperation dripping from every word. But he just smirks, tilting his head like he finds me amusing.

"Blaze? Oh please," he says, voice dripping with mockery. "You don’t know, do you?"

My heart pounds in my chest. "What do you mean?"

He grins, a wicked, twisted grin. "Let me break it down for you, even if it’s painful. I could care less. Really."

My breath hitches, but I stay silent.

"Blaze is a witch."

I scoff, but there’s a tremor in my voice. "And I’m the idiot?"

He shrugs. "Listen. The reason for Silas’s death is Blaze. She summoned some so-called spirit that killed her in the woods. She never thought of telling you the truth, did she? She’s selfish, has always been one. And now, you’re stuck with me instead of her. Oh wow, everything's because of her, isn’t it? And you’re still believing her like a naive little girl..."

He grabs a glass bottle and smashes it against the wall, the shattering sound making me flinch. The shards scatter across the floor, some skidding dangerously close to me. I jump, my body curling into itself as I try to protect myself from the flying glass.

"I fucking want Blaze!" he yells, his voice a violent roar. I flinch again, my body pressing against the cold wall, and I almost believe his words.

Almost. But there’s a tiny spark of doubt, something deep in my heart that refuses to fully accept it. Blaze wouldn’t do that… would she?

But as I watch the rage flicker in Harrison’s eyes, I feel my resolve start to crumble.