Kids in the Dark

Chapter 24

There is a trigger warning to go with this chapter, so I thought I would let you know in advance- Flo

Theo's P.O.V

Oliver's house was by no means large and grand, but in some ways that made it better, less obvious. Oliver himself stood in the door frame awaiting our arrival. I pulled the car to a stop in the drive, and slid out, making my way over to greet him.

"Thanks for this mate," I said watching as the others clambered out, Ryder clutching at Tank's collar.

"Nah, it's cool. Anything for a friend of Jace's," He smiled. "Now let me show you where you'll be staying." He turned and lead the way inside. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim light, but soon I could see. We were lead upstairs and into a decently sized room with a set of bunkbeds up against one wall, and single bed on the adjacent wall.

"Dibs on the top bunk," Marc called rushing past me and jumping up, the bed frames creaking. I laughed, turning to thank Oliver once more.

"Like I said, it's no problem, I can cook up some breakfast if you would like." He offered.

"Pancakes?" Ryder asked.

"That can be arranged." Oliver smiled, and he, along with Marc and Ryder vanished downstairs. I rolled my eyes, taking a seat on the bed, the soft mattress making a nice change to the hard leather of a car seat. The house was quiet and I felt my eyelids become heavy.

No. I will not fall asleep. I thought to myself jumping to my feet, and crossing the hall to the Bathroom. I entered, flicking the lights on, and locking the door behind me. I stepped up to the sink, placing my hands on either side of the basin. I looked up and took in my own reflection. I had dark circles under my muddy green eyes, a sign of my bad night's sleep. I let out a long sigh, thinking of the mess Ryder and I were in, and how I was to blame. I glanced down to see a razor balanced on the sinks, the sight of it triggering the voices in my head.

Do it. They hissed. Go on you know you deserve it. All of this is your fault after all.

"Shut up," I said through gritted teeth.

Do it. The voices said louder this time.

"No."

Do it. They shouted.

"Go away," I growled drawing my fist back and propelling it towards the mirror. Pain shot through my hand as the glass shattered, cracks cutting up its smooth surface.  I let out a cry, cradling my bloody hand, sinking to the floor, back against the wall. That's when the voices got to me.

That's it, good boy. They hissed at me and I felt myself reaching towards one of the glass shards on the floor beside me. I grasped the glass tightly in my hand, bringing it to my wrist. You know what to do. They jeered. I pressed the glass to my skin, reopening wounds that had long since healed. One cut after another, I sliced at the skin, until there was a flood of blood running down my arms.

I dropped the glass, my hand shaking violently, tears streaking down my cheek. I looked down my arm, feeling no guilt at my actions. The only thing I felt was shame, knowing that it would destroy Ryder if he found out. I had been clean for two years thanks to him.

Oh, but you know you deserve it. The voices said.

"Enough," I growled, moving onto my knees, and beginning to clear up. I discarded the fallen glass in the trash and pulled open the cabinet under the sink. I rummaged around until I found what I was looking for. I pulled the bandages out of their box and began to wrap them around my arm. The bleeding had since stopped, but a few flecks of blood stained the white bandages.

I got to my feet, and hurried downstairs, making it past the others and their growing stack of pancakes unseen. I ran around to the car's trunk, grabbing the handle of my bag, and pulling it out, and heading back inside. I sped up the stairs, taking my shirt off in the process. I got to the room and dropped the bag on the bed, opening it and pulled out a long sleeve shirt, the dark material of the sleeves covering up the cuts.

Letting out a long sigh I moved my bag and lay back on the bed, digging in my pocket and pulling out my phone. Uncoiling the headphone that was wrapped around it and plugged them in, the loud beat of Ribcage by Andy Biersack playing loudly as I placed the bud in my ear. I closed my eyes mouthing along listening closely to the lyrics. I lay like that for a while, making it most of the way through the album when my phone, which lay on my chest, began to vibrate.

The music shut off as I unplugged my headphones, sitting up and looking down at my phone screen. The caller was an unknown number. My finger hovered over the hang-up button, but as I let it ring I changed my mind. I pressed down on the answer button and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

So that was a heavier chapter. Who's calling Theo? Will Ryder find out about the cuts? Read on to find out. -Flo