Love Disorder (Lesbian, Girlxgirl)

Chapter 10. Seeing Double

Chapter 10. Seeing Double

Uno was eerily silent on our way home. With pursed lips and a faraway gaze, I had to leave her alone. When I pressed her parents for more information about her "sickness," all they said was something was different with Uno. Maybe they feared that it was caused by being on the spotlight all the time.

For anyone who has been exposed long enough to the strangeness that was Uno, hearing this wasn't surprising. Though I agreed with her parents that she was different, I doubted that her hot and cold behavior was fame related. She didn't strike me as someone who craved attention. Mom wouldn't have tolerated that behavior when she was alive.

So what gives? Why was she peculiar? What made her act the way she did? The answer to those questions were presented to me two days after the masquerade ball. It was in the middle of the night, and I have only begun to doze off. A loud thud woke me from my restless sleep.

My eyes were blurry as I got out of bed and wore my sneakers. The continuous lack of proper sleep made my head woozy. God, what was Uno doing? Was she the one who made that sound? The chandelier incident popped in my head. I stood to attention. She might have hurt herself again. I ran to the door and dashed to the hallway.

Another thud sounded. It was coming from the direction of her room. I went there and pounded on her door. "You alright?" I asked, out of breath from running. "You need my help?" Why was I in such a panic? It could be nothing. She could be dancing for all I know, or dribbling a ball. But then again. . .

The sound of glass breaking resounded inside her room. Something bad was happening, I thought with a sinking feeling. If she wasn't going to open the door, I would have to do something about it. Bracing myself, I slammed on the wood. Pain vibrated on my upper arm. I groaned as I leaned away. That was so wrong. Why did I do that? For someone who was on the skinny side, I had the guts to think that I could open the door like the movies. Stupid.

I moved several steps back. Maybe I could kick it hard enough so it would give. Okay, here goes. I was about to perform a kick when the door opened a fraction. Was my arm responsible for this access, or did Uno open it from the other side? Whatever the answer was, I barged in without asking for permission. Ask questions later.

I could barely see the furniture's inside. The only source of light was from the hallway behind me and the peep of light coming from the partially opened bathroom door. I hurried to that direction. My hand was shaking. Do I want to know what she was doing there? I paused. Yes. The answer was yes. I swallowed my fear and pushed the door. It swung open with a creak.

"U-Uno?" I whispered. "What's going on?" An indistinguishable sound came from the bathtub area, occluded by a foggy glass divider. My sneakers crunched on something as I walked. I glanced down. There were shattered glass everywhere. The sound grew louder. Only then did I recognize the sobbing.

I continued carefully to the bathtub. "I'm here," I said with a tremble in my voice. "You can talk to me." My throat was dry. "Uno?"

"I told you not to call me that," she said faintly. "My name is Blaze." I slid the glass divider open and peeked in. She was curled like a ball in the corner, her ash colored hair stuck to her tear streaked face. She glanced up when she saw me standing there. "I'm going to die. My heart hurts, and I'm having trouble breathing." She said this in a strained voice, as if air was leaving her body fast. She was white as a ghost. Too pale for my liking.

My eyes widened. Always stay calm Riri, mom would say. Past events rewound in my head like a broken tape. The memory that came was about our neighbor who suffered from bipolar disorder. On a night similar to this, I woke to find mom going straight next door. I followed. The neighbor was bleeding on the floor when I came in. Mom told me to call 911. She was calm as she put pressure on the slashed wrist.