Enigmatic Numbness

3: Pink Water

They arrived at a large, yellow two story house with large iron gates that contained a large fountain and a curved drive way. There was a large garage to the left and there were large windows with thin white curtains inside them. The house was beautiful. She gaped at the glorious sight in front of her as the guy typed in a security number for the gates to open. He led her up to the front door and helped her inside. As they walked inside they hear a clank in the kitchen to their right.

“Kieran Josh Lawson,” A woman’s voice sang loudly, followed by stomps coming closer. Aruna hid behind Kieran and held onto his shirt. When the woman came out, she didn’t notice Aruna because she was so small and fit perfectly behind Kieran’s muscular form. “Where the hell have you been?” She asked angrily. “I am your mother and you didn’t tell me you were leaving! You just up and left the house like it was no big deal,” she lectured her son with hurt and anger in her tone.

“Mom, I just went for a walk, calm down,” Kieran argued back with his already angry mom.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re the one that stormed out!”

Aruna shoved her face into Kieran’s back and held on tighter. Her anxiety hurt her chest as her heart pounded and her breathing was painful.

“I only went on a walk! I’m sorry I didn’t let you know. I’m nineteen, I didn’t know you still watched me like I’m fifteen,” He said bitterly and reached back to touch Aruna’s leg for comfort. She jumped to the side in fear. She’s like an abandon, abused cat. Kieran thought to himself. “Let’s argue later, we have a guest,” Kieran said quietly with a sad voice. His mom’s eyes widened.

“Where?” She asked confused. Aruna tried to shrink more to hide from everyone and shut her eyes tightly.

“Hey, it’s okay. Sorry for yelling. Come out and say hi?” Kieran asked sweetly, in a voice that made her want to hear it more and made her relax. She slowly peaked out to see a beautiful woman with long brown hair and light brown, almost auburn, eyes. She stood tall with her hand on her hips. She wore a black pencil skirt and dress shirt,

“Oh my, I’m sorry sweetie,” Her face lit up in guilt and wide eyes. “What is your name sweetheart and why are you two so dirty?” She asked her.

“Aruna,” She responded quietly as Kieran gently pulled her away from hiding.

“Julia,” Julia pushed her hand toward Aruna and she flinched toward Kieran. “Oh my,” Julia pulled back her hand and looked at Kieran. “Well, let’s get you cleaned up. Kieran, show her the guest bedroom and let her borrow some of Trish’s clothes. Then meet me in my office,” Julia said and gave Aruna an apologetic smile and walked away to nearby door.

“Sorry we argued,” Kieran said to Aruna. She nodded and looked at the floor. She was still weak and getting tired by the second. “Anyway,” He said as they walked to the stairs, “Trish is my older sister but she moved out a year ago. She left a lot of her things behind because she had a lot of contacts for things she needed, being a fashion designer and all. You can use her clothes as long as you stay here. I’m sure they will fit.”

When he stared to walk up the stairs, Aruna stopped and held onto the end of the banister. He watched as she tried to pull herself up the first few steps.

“Wait,” He said and wrapped an arm around her back and legs to lift her up. She was too weak to fight it. “Next time, just ask for help.” No. She thought. She had never asked or told someone she needed help. She never wanted help.

He carried her to the guest bedroom that had lavender walls and a white and lavender colored bed. There was a TV and DVD player in front of the bed and a balcony on the far wall and a door to the bathroom on the left wall.

“You like it?” Kieran asked her as he set her down on her feet.

“It’s beautiful,” She simply stated.

“Good. There is soap and shampoo in the shower and a new toothbrush under the sink,” He informed her as she walked toward the bathroom. The bathroom was beautiful with white walls and orange towels. She turned and nodded at Kieran. “I will bring you pajamas from Trish’s room and then wait in here.”

After he left, she searched the bathroom for a razor. Not a razor to shave, she had more brutal plans in mind. In that back of an empty drawer, she found a small, double-edged box cutter. Jackpot! She sung in her head and checked the sharpness of it. Perfect.

“Back with clothes,” Kieran’s voice was close and terrifying. She quickly threw the blade in the drawer and shut it just as he came in the bathroom. “I brought you undergarments, sweatpants, and a long sleeve,” he stated as he set them on the counter.

“Thank you,” Aruna said. He just smiled at her sadly.

“Even though I don’t know you and you probably hate me, I’m glad you were saved,” he stated in a solemn tone. Aruna suddenly frowned and her lips trembled. She felt sadness. She was so confused. She hadn’t felt anything in so long except fear. A tear streamed down her face and she hugged her self. She hated crying. She vowed to never cry again and it’s been so many years.

            Kieran walked up to her slowly, “Can I hug you?” He asked. She looked at him, confused. She knew what that meant but she had never experienced it before. “You’ve never been hugged?” He let out a humorless laughed and pulled her close to him. She kept her arms against her chest, not knowing what to do. She stood still and straight as his arms wrapped around her waist. “Come on, hug me back. Cry on my shoulder, I don’t mind,” he said quietly. When she didn’t move, he gently took her arms and wrapped them around his neck and pushed her head to rest on his shoulder. Then he wrapped his arms back around her. “It’s okay to cry, you know,” he said in a whisper. Then, she began to cry more and hugged him closer, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “Shhh, it’s okay now,” He cooed to her. She was so thin; his hands could cross and touch her stomach, so he did. It took a while for her to calm down but she didn’t let him go. “Come on, wash up and we can talk after your shower, okay?” He asked and slipped out of her arms. She sniffled and nodded, backing up.

            Kieran left and shut and locked the door behind him. Aruna turned on the sower to warm and stripped herself. She walked into the shower, blade in hand. After she washed up her dirty skin and hair, she sat on the bathroom floor and slid open the blade. Placing it on the already scared up left forearm, she dragged the blade deep across her skin as relaxation filled her muscles and anger dissolved. She repeated the motion countless times on each arm as water washed blood sunk down the drain. She felt no pain. She felt nothing. When she was done, she sat, leaned against the wall, letting herself bleed out. She felt…better.

Suddenly, a knock on the door, “Aruna, are you okay in there?” Kieran’s voice rang through the door. Her eyes snapped open and she got up quickly, making her dizzy.

“I’m okay,” She stated after turning off the shower. She looked at her arms and groaned. The cuts kept bleeding and wouldn’t stop. She quickly went to the cabinet under the sink and found a first aid. She grabbed the gauze and tightly wrapped it around her fore arms thickly. After using medical tape to seam the wraps, she got dressed into the gray sweat pants and fitting dark blue long sleeve. The shirt was loose on her and it covered her arms just right. After brushing out her long brown hair and her white teeth, she walked out of the bathroom.

A/N: Picture of the Keirans house to the side!!!! ;D COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT!