No Angels

.chapter seven.

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration.

"See? You don't believe me," Ravi scoffed, rolling his eyes.

I laughed, a little hysterical. "Oh, yes, 'cause when someone sneaks into your room at 3 a.m in the morning, stalks you on a date and claims they're you, you're supposed to believe them. Sure. That's totally normal. It's the daily life of any typical loser, isn't it?"

Ravi scratched his head, looking genuinely puzzled. "Are you honestly still mad? I told you the truth - it's you that's handling it badly!"

I laughed again - the whole situation was alarmingly amusing, even though I knew that it shouldn't be.

"Ravi, that doesn't make any sense. How can you be me, when I'm me?" I paused, shaking my head a little. "Hell, we don't even have the same name!"

Ravi shrugged. He bent down, picked up a smooth pebble, and balanced it on his palm.

"I'm the other part of you - the darker part, if you may. I'm the side of you no one knows about. The one you try your hardest to keep locked up."

I had no idea if it was just my imagination, but it seemed that I'd somehow managed to upset him.

"You know that voice in your head that tells you to do the craziest things when you're bored? Or tells you to beat the crap out of someone when you're angry? The voice you ignore, that you don't listen to? I'm that voice, Leo. I'm you. The part of you you're ashamed to admit exists."

Ravi threw the pebble in the air, caught it in a swift move, and then repeated the motion.

"You freed me - the night you had the nightmare about murdering Kaitlyn. Some part of you just had enough of all the pent-up frustration, and it was like you opened a door for me. You split in - half, I guess you could say. Normal people are made up of yin and yang, but now you're all yin. I'm your yang."

Ravi smiled, a little sadly.

I was at a loss for words. How were you supposed to react to that?

"I'm a part of you, Leo. You can't get rid of me. It's impossible. I'm here to stay, whether you like it or not."

I stared at him for a moment before turning around and heading towards the bridge.

My mind was buzzing - I felt a migraine beginning to thump steadily in my temple.

I was convinced I was going crazy - that maybe Kaitlyn had finally succeeded in pushing me over the edge - but the rational part of my mind agreed that there was some logic in what Ravi was saying.

I ran a hand over my face, sighing as I did so. What I really wanted right then was to turn around and head on home and sleep, for as long as I could.

We reached the bridge, and I stood by the side, staring out over at the horizon. Overhead, two falcons screeched at each other, flying in a circular motion that reminded me of an arcane sort of dance.

Ravi stood beside me, staring down at the dark blue water below us.

"Why do people hurt others?"

His question took me off guard. I looked at him uncertainly, wondering if it warranted an answer.

Ravi looked up then, meeting my gaze. His silver eyes flashed.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully.

Ravi nodded, then cocked his head slightly.

"But then again...why can't people hurt others?"