Monster of Blue

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

     White, cold tiles stare back at me from between my feet; the chill of the tiles seeping into my stiff body.  Folding my arms around my legs, I draw the limbs closer for the warmth they provide and longingly look over at Mitchell’s comfy position on the couch. Not ten minutes ago he had put me in ‘timeout’ by placing me in front of the fridge, sternly saying, ‘Bad girls who sneak out and make others worry get put in timeout.’ Now, he just wallows in his anger. Not even sparing a glance in my direction, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he eyes the news playing on TV. Guilt settles itself in my gut like a stone, weighing me down with a feeling of dread. 

     Quietly, I mumble, “I’m sorry Mitchell.” 

     A flicker of hope ignites in my mind when I see Mitchell peek over his shoulder in my direction, but that small flicker is immediately snuffed by the look on his face. Shrinking further into myself I look down, avoiding his eyes. The squeaking of the couch reaches my ears again as Mitchell shifts his position and glancing up I see that his attention is back on the TV. 

     The knot forming in my stomach tightens and I begin to draw circles on my knee with my index finger to distract my mind. Letting out a deep sigh I lean back against the fridge, its cool surface refreshing on my skin. My eyes fall down on my wrist, the blue sleeve of my causal shirt covering it. With shaky fingers I pull back the fabric and gaze at the spot of black on my wrist. The vine has slithered further up my arm, nearly meeting my mid forearm. Without thinking I touch the inked design and an almost pleasurable tingling sensation travels up my arm, making me shiver. 

     Minnie’s earlier words cut into my mind like a whip, ‘I’ve gotten rid of his mark!’. 

     Shuddering, I drop my finger away from the seed as begin to examine it closer for anything that could cause me harm, but come up empty. Shaking my head, I recover the mark and let my arm fall back to my side. The humming of the fridge relaxes me into a numb tranquilizing state as the quiet of the night sets in; the ticking of the old analog clock the only other sound in the room to be heard. 

      ‘Tick tock, the time is set.’ Minnie’s voice slithers back into my head as I look up at the ticking device, causing my eyes to widen in fright—gaze glued to the movement of the clocks hands. 

     Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. 

     My vision begins to blur with tears as I watch the hand swing to and fro; the back of my throat closing up as weak hiccups exit my mouth. Then, two blurry objects come into view causing me to blink the moister from my eyes. Soon, the outlines of legs spread apart can be seen, and as my gaze travels up my eyes settle on the disappointed look on Mitchell’s face. 

      “You will never ever do this to me again.” I stare wordlessly at him at the statement and slowly he asks, “Right?” 

     I give a weak nod. Mitchell narrows his eyes on me, pointing his finger at me, “And if you ever and I mean ever do this again I will not go as easy on you as I have this time.” 

     His voice cracks as he speaks and as my roommate squats down face-to-face with me he speaks, “Shae, you scared me to death today. When I couldn’t find you here I was terrified that something happened to you.” 

     His sorrowful eyes make a shiver run down my back, pulling at my heartstrings and causing the tears looming on my eye rims to fall. I immediately reach out my arms and wrap them around his neck, burying my head into the crook of his neck and allowing my tears to fall. Warm arms encircle my waist, pulling me close, the hold comforting and familiar.