ii. When She Falls
"I have to pee," I blurt, pushing through the crowd to et away from him. As I make it to the bathroom, I make sure no one is occupying the stalls and lock the door behind me.
"What the hell," I ask myself, staring into my reflection, except I'm not the only one.
"Hi..."
"Who are you, and why are you in the girls bathroom?"
It might just be my imagination, but the guy looks exactly like Julian.
The black hair, ice blue eyes, and the whole dangerous aura. Plus, he wears the trench coat I drew him in just earlier today!
"I'm Julian, and that's what I'd like I ask you... I just suddenly appeared here," he says. "Against my will..."
"What's that supposed to mean? You can randomly teleport anywhere?" He smiles, covering his mouth as he chuckles lightly.
"Yes. I can. Who are you?"
I open and close my mouth, nothing coming out.
"I'm sorry, that was a rude way to ask. I meant, what's your name?"
"M-Mari," I stutter, locking eyes with he boy in front of me. "By any chance, is the black hair fake... and you actually have almost white hair?"
His eyes widen and harden before in a swift motion, I'm against the bathroom sink with his hand around my neck.
"Who are you? Really?"
I gasp for air, clawing at his hand. I need air. I need it...
"Mari! Marigold! Are you in there?! Why's the door locked?!" The boy glares at me, and suddenly, it's only thin air in front of me. I cough for a second before making my way to the door.
"I'm okay, I was just having a problem... I'm on my monthly," I lie.
"Oh..." Aiden looks at me suspiciously before leading me through the crowd. I look at the ceiling and see that there's something like a metal walkway above with stairs leading down. You could hear the soft patter of footsteps above, but only if it was quiet.
"Let's dance--"
I tune him our as I lock gazes with Julian... He smirks at me dangerously... But he's not the only one. Three other familiar faces stand next to him, flanking him as they silently declare war on me.
❖❖❖
"Let's go home now," I plead to Aiden. It's almost midnight.
"Yeah, yeah, okay," he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I try and move away from him, but he doesn't let me. He's being too forceful. It's scary.
When Aiden finally stops in front of my house to drop me off, he shuts off the car and follows me to my porch. He leans against the wall, stopping me from ringing the bell, but he forgets I have a key. I start fishing around in my pocket, but find nothing, not even my phone.
Aiden smirks and pulls out my iPhone and my key, chuckling. He hands them to me and stands straight, waiting for something. I scoff and open up the door, and his arms immediately wrap around me.
"What are you doing? Get off me," I hiss.
"Come on, babe... Your mom isn't here, it's just us..."
"How do you know she's not here," I ask, trying to rip myself away from him.
"She texted you," he says, pushing me against a wall.
"I'm gonna scream rape, I'll call the cops," I threaten weakly, but he slips my phone out of my back pocket and smirks.
"Scream all you want, it'll just encourage me," he says, drawing nearer.
"Get. Off!" He stops suddenly, and backs off. As if in a trance, he walks away in a daze, and drives off. I sigh, and pick up my things before heading into the kitchen. I notice the plate of food on the counter and the note that says Enjoy.
I stuff the food in the fridge and head up to my room, noticing Ash is still asleep.
I pull out my sketchbooks and notice that there's something different... All my character are drawn with mischief now. And they look like they have bloodlust; they want to hurt me...
❖❖❖
"When she falls, she falls, and she dies. She may not be dead, but she can still fly. The riddle is, why did she fall dead but how can she fly?" I hear upon walking into the kitchen. My mother sits at the island with a cup of coffee in hand. Her pale blue eyes stare at nothing in particular as she repeats it over and over again.
"When she falls, she falls, and she dies. She may not be dead, but she can still fly. The riddle is, why did she fall dead but how can she still fly?"
"Mom..."
"When she falls..."
"Mom!"
"When..." I grip her shoulder and shake her violently. "...How can she still fly?"
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out, seeing a message from the Devil.
A: Send me some pics
Me: of?
A: nudes
Me: let me ask my mom
A: nvm
I smirk to myself before turning back to the matter at hand. My worried expression drifts back and I pick up my moms cup of water and pour it over her head. She jumps and looks at me with a glare. "Marigold Rosalynn Kane, I did--"
"Mom, what happened to you?"
"What do you mean?" She's confused.
"You said 'When she falls, she falls, and she dies. She may not be dead, but she can still fly. The riddle is, why did she fall dead but how can she still fly?' Over and over." I take a breath, "What does that mean?"
"I don't know... I don't remember anything about that. Anyway, I wanted to tell you I'd be here all day today, since my boss is at a thing for his daughter."
I give her an apologetic smile, "I actually had plans to get some supplies, Mom, I'm sorry."
"I could come--"
"No, thank you," I interrupt before heading back into my room to shower and get dressed. Once I have my jacket on, I wave goodbye to my mother and walk out the door with my hands stuffed in my pockets before making my way to the nearest bus stop.
❖❖❖
"I'm hungry," I mumble to myself upon leaving the first arts and crafts shop.
"Well, then, maybe you should end the hunger," a familiar voice says, and I turn to see Aiden, his eyes a pitch black.
