Colourblind

An overdose of pink

"IT WAS MINI. I TOLD YOU, FOR FUCKS SAKE SHE WAS SMILING AT ME FOR NO GODDAMN REASON. IT WAS HER!" Caine was pacing up and down the games room, trying to explain what had happened. Alex had gone up to find Kat and Jordan but Carlos, Adrianna and Youeun remained. They leaned against a pool table, Carlos inspecting a cue and Youeun with her arm slung over Adrianna's shoulder. A lamp was on in a corner, illuminating their faces and accentuating Caine's fury which was etched onto his face.

"And we told you Caine, that mini has been here the whole time with the other girls. A search party had been sent out to look for Jay but I can assure you that it was not any of the three girls." Veronica said, firmly.

"Then why the hell did we see her standing staring at Caine?" Carlos snarled.

"Charlene-"

"Carlos. Or are six eyewitnesses not good enough?" Carlos said, pointing the cue in Veronica's direction.

Mr Emric stood in a corner of the room, organising a search to find Jay. He smacked the cue out of the way.

"Be quiet." He hissed at Carlos. Carlos stuck his middle finger up at his back.

"Where is your proof that it was Mini? Where is it?" Veronica said. "Because we can all go and look at the CCTV footage of the courtyard, where the girls have been sitting for a good three hours."

"THEN FUCKING SHOW US THAT 'EVIDENCE'" Caine roared.

Veronica left the room with everyone following behind her, and they walked to the security office. Sure enough, the CCTV footage showed all three girls sitting in a circle, talking and laughing. Caine looked at Youeun in disbelief. Carlos just walked out again with an expression that suggested that he was utterly done. He raised his hands up and walked back to the games room.

Caine sank into the nearest chair and put his face in his hands. He had no energy left to cry but simply stayed like that, paralysed in fear and anguish. He felt a hand on his shoulder but didn't care to look up. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything or anyone. His entire family would be fucking dead. If he had paid more attention to Jay and not just left him alone, none of this would have happened. He didn't give two shits about his dad's death. His mother's suicude had bothered him, but they had never ever got on. She favoured Jay. Jay favoured Caine. And Caine favoured him.

He sleepwalked up the corridor and Jordan's hand found his. He clasped it tightly as he was guided to his green and black room. Jordan had removed his eyeliner, and looked very different without it. His eyes were still red. Clutching his hand still, he collapsed onto his bed and the familiar smell of sea salt reached his nose. Caine didn't move. He didn't move when Jordan hugged him to his chest. He didn't stir when he pulled the blankets over him. Caine didn't twitch when Jordan sat on the ground, his new septum glinting in the dying light, and laid his head next to Caine's limp hands.

Hours turned to days. Days to weeks. Jay was never found. Mini was never accused. Caine sleepwalked his way through his life, attending the funeral, answering questions about his parent's death. See, there's a big difference between living and surviving. Caine was hanging on by two threads; Jordan, and the fact that Jay could still be alive. Jordan made sure he ate, and got outside. He made Caine his priority. Caine didn't leave Jordan's room much, and never dared venture into his cold room. Jordan had retrieved the teddy bear that smelled of Jay, and Caine had actually shed tears.

His heart felt crushed, a huge weight was placed onto his chest and Caine couldn't get rid of it. He didn't want to get rid of it, feeling as though he deserved this.
Every time someone spoke to him he answered robotically. Alex visited him every few hours, and so did Kat. Eventually other people stopped coming to check on him, except for Jordan who was there wherever Caine was.