His bloody valentine

Short story!

I awoke with a bloodied rose still clenched in my aching fists, thorns embedded deeply into the palms of my hands.The lights, bright and unfamiliar, burned my sensitive eyes. I was coming back to myself, yet everything still seemed so far away. All I could feel was uncomfortable warmth combined with searing pain, , seemingly coming from my lower abdomen.Where was I? I tried to reach for this answer but only came up with empty space where my memories should reside. Questions were now flooding my mind like a tsunami, engulfing my head with it's overwhelming presence. Who was I?As these questions swirled around my empty mind, I began to realize the bed I was lying on had started to shake, almost as if someone had began rocking it. As I peered over the edge of the bunk bed I was in, I realized for the first time I was not in fact alone in this room, someone had joined me, his looming presence so abrupt, yet it seemed like he was there the entire time..Watching me. He seemed tormented, like his body had just been dragged over yards of broken glass, piercing his skin, emptying him of anything he had left. Broken and alone, just like I was. I instantly felt a connection between us, a sense of déjà vu, almost like we had met before...
All of a sudden everything shifted, he turned to face me but he did not seem familiar any longer, his face had morphed into that of a predator in the midst of a hunt.. And I seemed to be his pray. I was not afraid, I did not quiver, nor flinch , I simply stared into his dark pools, filled with hidden horrors that he, himself, could not explain. But also something more..
Before I had time to wrap my mind around his demented soul, he quickly turned on his heels, and bend down so he was no longer in my line of sight.I am not afraid, simply wary, neither frightened nor had the energy left to be any more interested. The door was suddenly thrown open as he stalked out. A feeling of dread suddenly washed over me as I realized, if I let him go, I may never see this strange creature again. That thought alone had the butterflies clawing at my heart. He was simply intoxicating, his eyes like open flames, reeling me into his shattered web, I had to have him.
I began to stretch, preparing my aching body for these sudden movements, seeing as it felt as if I had been laying in that bed for centuries. I dragged myself off the bed, crawling painfully down the ladder, placed exactly where my toes had been merely seconds before. As my feet touched the ground, I spread my fingers and toes, took a deep breath, and began to run. It was unimaginable , after breaking the barrier of the threshold, I found myself in a world that just seemed to fit me, cold, open and empty. "There they are" I though, his footprints were clear as day, and the tugging had already begun, demanding his presence as soon as he left my side. It was obsessive, it was irrational and I had never felt more alive. I quickly retraced his steps, hopping in and out of the holes his shoes had created in the snow, he had broken the serenity, but I could care less. When I got to the end of my treacherous path , at the top of a steep hill in the glistening snow, the cold had become sharp as blades, had ripped open my chest and began wrapping it's constricting arms around my body, I continued on until It was over, and I had won. The foot steps stopped right in front of a old Wooden cottage. The door swung open with a light touch, "fingers,like feathers are sometimes able to move mountains" I mumbled quietly.The stench of rust and iron comes permeating down the large stairwell, targeting me. The smell of torment, of a rotting spirit, the smell of fear. I followed the smell up the winding stairs, down the hall way,so dark and eerily quiet everything was, coming to a stop in front of a dark brown door.. Covered in nail marks , slashes embedded into the aged wood. It was like the person who did this was trying to be remembered. I could hear soft singing coming from behind the door, The gentle hum of lyrics that had learned to dance upon my tongue, long before I learned what sugar was , but had been lost along the way. "What am I doing" I thought to myself "I followed a strange person who I know absolutely nothing about into their house just because he intrigues me." Just as I was turning around to go I heard something that made my blood run cold " Anita, my sweet princess" he cooed softly " we will be together forever my love, just a little bit of preparation left",Anita.. Thats my name isn't it, yes Anita brown. It's me, he knows I'm here. My heart began racing, beating hard like pounding fists, violent and unjustified, yet I still could not force myself to go, so instead I decided to find out what he wanted from me. Slowly I inched myself forward,back towards the room, sliding my feet silently across the wooden floorboard until my back was fully pressed against the door.Turning the aged brass knob slowly, it was quiet, then door was open, and he was standing there. The song grew louder, tone more aggressive, like a lullaby turned battle cry. I walked slowly toward the bath tub, trying to get a better look at who or what he was singing to but stopped short. There was a girl,face down, in this strange mans bathtub, with a comb running through her soapy hair." She isn't breathing, why isn't she breathing" I panicked " Stop, please stop hurting her " I screamed, empty letters falling from my mouth in a silent cry. " oh my sweet girl" he drawled "Anita, your hair is beautiful, it's colour could be compared to the teardrops of the sun, It will look stunning next to the roses." Anita, why does he keep repeating my name, why does the girl in the bath have hair just like mine, why can't I find an answer. I began to see spots as finally he turned her over and all I saw, was me. There I was, lying in that bathtub, body empty and lips blue. My world had abruptly stopped yet he continued to move, rinsing the soap out of my hair and emptying the blood tainted water down the drain. "If that was me, then who was I" I wondered. My body had stopped shaking, and my heart had stopped racing but I didn't know how to feel. I was not angry, and I felt like I should be, the only thing left was isolation. " Is this me" I asked him softly, he gave me no reply " Did you hurt me" I asked more forcefully, still just heavy silence. "He can't hear me, can he?" I questioned aloud, he doesn't acknowledge my existence and can't hear anything I say, so I must not really be here, but how.. "I'm Dead" I whispered. His sudden movement caused my silent heart to flutter, he leaned in close to my body and placed a lingering kiss upon my collarbone, swiping his tongue along a single drop of blood. I watched, mesmerized " it's time" he whispered. He pulled my lifeless body gently from the empty bathtub, wrapping a towel around its shoulders and carrying it out of the room, I followed him without a second thought, although,I exactly understand why. I retraced his echoing footsteps down the dark hall, his steps become synced to my own, as he walked on. He soon stopped in front of another door, setting my body down to fish a key from his pocket, unlocking the door and then gently cradling me back into his arms. The door was pushed open with ease and he entered, and I soon followed, it was a women's room. Large vanity mirror with Broadway lights, a chest and a large bed where all that inhabited this room, yet I still felt claustrophobic. He sat the body down on the bed and turned on a soft lullaby, one that I recognized "Fooled around and and fell in love" by Elvin Bishop was playing sweetly from an old radio. Then he got to work, he did my makeup, bright red lips and soft eyes , he made me beautiful. Hot curlers where placed into my hair as he spun around the room dedicating this song to anyone who would take the time to listen, he was magnificent. He began rifling through a dusty armoire, pulling out a black satin dress " although you outshine anything you could ever put on, I thought this might suit you" he whispered. I had to turn around because I knew what was coming next and I was much to embarrassed " why am I letting him do this to me " I asked myself suddenly, the answer was as clear as lyrics pouring through the room " I love him." He whisked my body up all of a sudden, spinning me in his arms " oh Anita,you are almost ready my darling, I cannot wait for us to finally be together, the way it should be." I turned around to see myself fully, soft curls spiralling down my
chest, black satin framing my figure . He walked over and grabbed a video camera from inside the chest, that sparked my curiosity, what was he planning. He stood in the middle of the room for a few seconds longer, shaking his head, almost in disagreement, and then turned on his heels and glided out. I had to know what he was planing.I followed him through the house, walking closely behind like a lost puppy, outside the door and into the cold. We didn't make it far until I understood what he meant about the roses, hundreds were scattered along the ground, tainting the white wonderland with it's abundance. He gently placed my body down onto the blanket of flowers, engulfing my body with its beauty. He slowly got on his knees, brushing the wetness from his cheeks before whispering " goodnight my beauty, for you have fallen for the wrong beast" I was still not afraid. Emotions, I've realized, are like fractured tidal waves ,never fully meeting the shore to accompany the sand in their violent dance ,before it slips away once more. No these waves swallow the beach whole, ripping the land out to sea and watching as it drowns in it's own Terror. I myself ,seem to be like a wilted flower, picked from my place among open landscapes and emotionless sunrises that fill the empty space. I have become everything because I was no one. My last glimpse of anything but darkness was my beautiful creature bending down to kiss my cheek,softly, his lips setting my body aflame as he closed my cold, empty eyes. He trails something soft up my right arm, then a single lingering touch upon my silenced wrists. " My princess" he whispers breathlessly. Gently placing my hand into his, one last gift he has to offer me. A single rose was now gripped in my cold fists , thorns became imbedded into the palm of my hands, but no blood, for he had taken everything that I was, and I had nothing left to give.