White Lines

Painkiller

Noctis looked at himself in the mirror for a second, wiping a small smear of blood off of his face. He looked down and checked his phone,

'Hey, I have a painkiller in my luggage if you need one.' The text was from Leah.

'No, I am OK.'

'Look, don't try and hide this from me, has the bleeding stopped?'

How does she know my wrists were bleeding? He thought.

'Yes.'

'Come out here. I can help.'

'I do not need help.'

'...'

'What?'

'....'

'What is the matter?'

'Why are you trying to hide this?'

'I am not. I do not need help.'

'Yes, you do. Now get your ass out here.'

He locked his phone and rolled down his sleeves. Leah was still looking down at her thumb as it moved nonstop across the screen of her iPhone. She was still texting someone,

"Who are you texting so quickly?" He asked.

"My friend Savanna."

"You wanted me out here, I am here now."

Leah unzipped the front pocket of her carry-on and pulled out a pure white bottle and shook out several pills before handing Noctis a small white one, "take this." She handed him a plastic bottle of water.

He reluctantly took the pill and sat down, still not looking at her, but he could feel her eyes on him, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked.

"Sorry." Was all she said.

Her words were flat and cold. They sent a sharp pain through the back of his head.

"I told you, Leah, when in Germany, I am not the nicest person. I am sorry. "

Leah didn't say anything to him, she simply kept moving her thumb across the keyboard of her phone, every once in a while pausing to read a text.

Noctis looked over at her phone out of pure curiosity,

'Don't worry Leah. You are both stressed he'll get better with sleep.'

'Guys are like puppies. They always need sleep or food.' Leah replied.

'Just lay off of him. Give him time to adjust before you take over.'

'Yeah, hey my flights boarding gtg. :)'

'K ^-^ see you tomorrow.'

Leah let a hint of a smile cross her face.

Yeah, she thought, see you tomorrow Vanna.