Malediction

41 - His Bedroom

Silence quickly filled the house. Andy had thrown himself down on the couch, flicking the television on so casually that it made my head spin. He was slumped, calm, as though the meeting we had just had hadn't affected him in any way imaginable.

I remained against the kitchen wall, my face in my hands, the lights from the living room penetrating through my eyes and stinging every nerve in my brain. I needed sleep, I needed painkillers.

"Emilia? Emilia?" My name was called, but it echoed through my ears, dull and low, unfocused. I lifted my head when it became closer. Danny stood in front of me, his eyes on mine entirely, a gesture I had missed over the last few days.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned as Blake had earlier been

This time, I shook my head "No, not really, my head, it's killing me"

"It's been a long afternoon" He sighed, moving into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge followed by a cupboard before returning in front of me "Here" He handed me a bottle of water and some painkillers

I thanked him and downed the tablets without a second thought. I just wanted my head to stop, the pain, the thoughts, the noise, it was pounding against my bones, rattling me from the inside out.

"You have a migraine, sensitivity to light, noise, aching behind the eyes and temples" Danny informed me. Like it mattered any, all I knew was it felt as though my head had been placed inside a vice, squeezing tighter and tighter

"Come with me" He voice suddenly changed, low, daring, his body stiffening slightly as he unfolded his arms, turning toward the darkened hallway

I lifted my gaze despite the pain, watching him cautiously without moving. When he noticed, he turned back to face me "Emilia" He spoke my name like I hadn't ever heard it before, soft, tempting, alluring me with the pull of his eyes and gentle tone

Slowly, I did as he had said, following his body down the hallway until it registered just where he was leading me. At the end of the narrow hall was his bedroom door. It was shut, but he slowly pushed it open before entering, expecting me to enter along behind him.

Hours ago, he hadn't wanted to look at me, speak to me, have anything to do with me, and now, here I was entering his most intimate space, his bedroom, with him and only him. It made my head throb even more, a variety of bugs beginning to crawl hastily around my stomach, tickling my insides.

The bedroom was dark, the navy blue curtains drawn together to prevent light from entering. As I stepped inside, absorbing the space, he stood in the doorway, pushing his door until only a small hint of light entered from the hallway. Instantly my eyes felt better adjusted, not needing as much shelter from hands.

The walls were painted an off white, the dark carpet surprisingly clean from an array of clothing and rubbish like my own had been.
He was somewhat neat and tidy, more so than any another teenager our age would have been.
A few steps ahead of me was a desk, scattered with books and papers, schoolwork and a half opened laptop. Above it were posters, bands that had locally played in our towns pubs and clubs for recognition before hitting it big time. To my left was a dark wood television unit, DVD's sitting upright in place along the bottom shelving. A television was mounted on the wall just above the unit, the top of the wooden furniture two frames.
Instinctively I began forward, stopping in front of them. Gently I picked the first up. It was a photo of Danny, younger, standing with his brother, mother, and uncle, they were smiling, the photo taken at a lake of some sort. They appeared happy, but behind their smiles I could see a darkness. The curse.

I moved on to the second, this was of Danny as a child, I could recognise his eyes, the side of his jawline as he was held in the arms of a man, a man who appeared to mirror his profile with similarities.