Labyrinth | ✓

f i f t y - e i g h t h ♂️

A/N: This chapter contains triggering scenes. Read at your own risk.

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I found myself listening to Rena, as if something was driving me to do so.

I should have been ignoring her request and just spend the rest of the day locked inside my room. If I build enough courage, I might even try to use the scissors again... but instead, it turned out to be a complete opposite of my plans. Honestly, I didn't know the reason why... but I was too tired to care.

Let's just get over this quick...

I spend almost an hour crouching on the corner of my bathroom, soaking myself on the freezing shower. I didn't bother turning on the hot water, and simply sat there, letting it flow through my muggy skin. Not only did it make me feel a little better, but it also prevented my family from putting too much of their attention on me. Even if my eyebags and pale skin were concerning, I have to act like the events yesterday didn't happen.

Once I was done, I rapidly dried both my body and hair with my towel, before throwing on whatever clothes I could wear from the closet. Looking briefly at the mirror, it was another set of some hoodie and pants, thankfully, but I gave no shit whether they were unmatching or not. It was just a quick meet-up anyway, so there was no need to be... that tidy.

As soon as I stepped out of the room, I suddenly felt excessively heavy and stiff, as if something was weighing me down. Feeling that I had stepped out of the comfort zone, I instinctively pulled the hood over my head and hid my hands into the safety of my hoodie's pockets.

As I went down, I began to hear muffled noises, probably coming from either Mother or my sisters. I shrugged it off and kept going until I reached the bottom of the stairs. I resumed ambling to the living room, where Mother was serving something on the dining table. She had her back on me, so she had yet to notice me. It was a relief, but something was pushing me to approach her, and regrettably... I obeyed.

She glanced her head over her shoulder as I advanced closer, and almost instantly I lowered my head down to the floor, so that I didn't have to look at her face, just her feet.

"Morning, Ed." She greeted happily, but somehow, I noticed her tone being forced.

"Hi." I simply murmured, glancing at the breakfast on the table. It looked like everyone had finished theirs, since it was only my plate left on the table. It was typical: just two eggs, some slices of bacon and two small grilled bread. Even if the food seemed appealing, especially the bread, it didn't make my stomach growl at all. I was not even close to hungry, thanks to the pizza yesterday.

Nevertheless, I have to eat so that there were no more suspicions...

"How are you feeling...?" She asked as I settled down on my seat, which just sounded so... off.

"Fine, I guess." I answered shortly.

"Good to hear that, but have you washed your hands?" Before I could touch the food, Mother abruptly interrupted me.

"I did. Upstairs." I replied. Well, I did it after taking a shower, so... no lies there. That was when I was allowed to dig in.

As I chewed the food by small portions, there was nothing I could taste. The egg, the bacon and even the bread were all bland and mild. Mother usually served tasteful food, so either she was being not herself today... or my taste buds kind of dysfunctioned. It was most likely the latter because... well... I just forced myself to eat when I had no appetite at all.