Inside Evil

Chapter 10 - Part 1

*Inside Evil and its sequels are available on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords and iBooks* 

The dull headache from where she'd cracked her head on the floor was nothing as compared to the ongoing pounding that had been filling her head in recent weeks. Roberta lay on her bed, consumed with guilt. Who had she become? In the space of mere minutes she'd attacked both Sam and Susan, the latter of which was particularly scary as she still felt the remnants of the overpowering thrill that she'd enjoyed. The all encompassing excitement of inflicting pain upon others that had sparked through her cells like turning electricity on. For those brief moments, she'd felt alive like never before, and as if all her senses had been heightened. Yet now, as she lay wrapped in her duvet, she felt entirely the opposite, as if every ounce of strength and sense was slipping away.

She didn't care that upon returning home, she'd discovered a letter from Malcolm Swithburn officially firing her. That he'd had to pass matters to police because she'd assaulted a minor and that she would no doubt soon be hauled off to a police station to explain herself.

Roberta put a finger to her painful face and felt the welt coming up on the opposite cheek to that of her bloody gash. She looked a mess, not that she cared about that either.

From behind her there was a tap on the door and Sam poked his head around quietly.

"Roberta," he whispered, "You awake?"

Roberta didn't respond and simply laid still, hoping that her housemate would leave her alone. She heard Sam creep across the floor and make a move to lean over the bed to check upon her. He changed his mind and she felt his presence withdraw, before he moved around the bed, to where she stared at the window. It was obvious that she'd scared him, for he'd normally have leant right across her with a careful embrace.

"Hey," he said quietly as his eyes met hers. "How are you feeling?"

Roberta didn't respond. Sam hesitated before he learnt over and pushed a strand of fallen hair carefully off her face.

"You can't let this thing win Roo, you've gotta snap out of this."

Roberta continued to stare blankly towards the window, not wanting to engage in any conversation. Sam took a few moments to look into her brown eyes before getting up and moving towards the door.

"I'm sorry," Roberta whispered almost so quietly that Sam couldn't hear. She could feel her eyes welling up.

"Don't be silly Roo," Sam exclaimed as he turned and saw a tear roll from her eye. He jumped onto the bed and pulled her close, causing a torrent of tears to flood her face.

"I don't know what I'm doing Sam, I can't help it."

"I know you can't, but this is some scary shit."

"How is it?" Roberta said, looking towards Sam's chest without catching his eye. Sam pulled the V-neck of his tee shirt down and revealed a small, raised and red mark where she'd stabbed the candle into him.

"It's OK," Sam reassured her, nodding his head to indicate that he understood, before grinning. "It's my first war wound."

"And Susan? How is she?"

"I think it's safe to say that I won't be going back to Best Books anytime soon. She was more furious with me about sneaking into the shop than your attack. I have a feeling that she knows it was my idea, and that you couldn't stop yourself from attacking."

"I should have listened to what the woman in the mirror said, she warned me against going near Susan. I already knew it. After lashing out at the school, I knew there was something wrong."