The Garden of Eden || Canis Canem Edit / Bully [ #WATTYS2018 ]

Chapter Twenty-One: Bloody Tiles

"Stupid rich kids. They'll get there's." The scruffy janitor murmured manically under his breath, his muscles silently screaming in pain as his hunched form straightened up.

The built-up fatigue that was slowly draining away at the janitor's life was ever evident in his haggard appearance, stormy bags under his bloodshot eyes decorated his droopy face. Every step Mr Luntz took in his dragged pace, was yet another step closer to promptly dropping to the ground and snoring the evening away.

Behind him in the background was Jimmy and a group of preppies, awarding the rebellious teenager his prize after winning the tournament. The janitor groaned at the ruckus they were causing as he hauled his feet over to finish the job. It wasn't easy to live in Bullworth. Everything in this wretched town cost an arm and leg, therefore the janitor had to get another job.

The rustic door to the women's bathroom creaked open, the sound piercing the janitor's sore eardrums, a sound that certainly made him cringe at the sheer volume of it. The bathroom to the gym was surprisingly incredibly small and unkept, the preppies' rich parents that owned the building not caring much for it. Off-white walls with paint chipping, tarnished and cracked mirror, Formica peeled from the vanities, it was an unsettling sight. Water dripped from the faucet down to the basin, every small sound confined within this small balcony, echoing endlessly in a continuous loop.

His gaze slowly fell to the stained tiles beneath him. Crimson flooded his vision. Blood. A fallen girl lay there, completely motionless in a puddle of her own blood. If it weren't for the heavy heaving of her chest rising and falling, Mr Luntz would have thought the girl was dead. A strangled gasp escaped his cracked lips, dropping to his knees beside the girl.

He recognised the girl. He didn't know her name, he didn't care much for any of the students at Bullworth. This girl always smiled at him whenever they crossed paths, but never said much to him.

"Good lord..." Mr Luntz muttered.

His fingers instantly became soaked in merlot blood, as he cautiously held the girl. His body trembled violently. Sure, he worked as a member of the school faculty, but this was never in the employee handbook! He didn't even know how to perform CPR! Wide-eyed, he watched as the teenager's eyes fluttered open. They were glassy with unshed tears. She was in a daze, probably dancing around in a far-away land, a land where such pain doesn't exist.

"Don't worry girl, I'll call for help!" Mr Luntz explained, jumping to his feet.

She let out a choked whimper, unable to form a single coherent thought. Adrenaline coursed through the janitor's veins, a feeling like never before. He burst open the bathroom door, the loud bang echoing throughout the gym as the doorknob drilled a nice hole into the wall.

"Derby, Derby!" He hollered out, stumbling and staggering over to where the Preppies and Jimmy stood.

"What is it, you imbecile?" Derby Harrington growled back at him, clearly in no mood to speak to 'the help'.

"There's a girl in the bathroom, she's been hurt bad, there's blood everywhere!"

"Blood?" Jimmy's ears perked up, scratching his neck in confusion.

"You gotta call an ambulance, I think she's struggling to breathe!"

"Imma check it out!" The stocky teen stated, already sprinting over to the bathroom.

His feet kissed the floor in a furious sprint as he made his way to the women's bathroom, the faint chatter of Parker on the phone to the ambulance, only fuelling him to run faster. Eden had been missing ever since the tournament started. Jimmy had assumed she left, finding the sight sickening. 'Please please please, let it not be her!' 

Jimmy was never one to beg. He liked making others submit to him or face the consequences. But right now, he was begging and praying that the girl in the bathroom wasn't the girl he had come to love like family.

He slammed the door open, almost flinging it off its hinges. His lungs struggled to take in any more air. Eyes fastened to the sight before him, his breath hitched, fear and anger welling up deep within his core.

"Eden..." The murmur left his throat. "No, no, no. No, this can't be happening."

Jimmy dropped to kneel beside her, the cold blood that pooled around her now soaking his boxing shorts. Shaky arms reeled her in close to him, holding her bitterly cold body. A trembling hand grasped his singlet, fisting the material in her hand.

"Jim... w-why?" She croaked out.

Eden was wrestling with her eyelids to keep them open and focused on him. Sleep was the only thought lingering on her mind. Pain pulsated a blinding white surge across her body. She needed to escape.

"Hey Eden, I'm here, I'm right here." He whispered soothingly, patting her blood-clumped hair comfortingly.

Trembles of fear erupted over her body. Her emerald eyes were a dark diminished shade of juniper green, vacant eyes heavy with unshed tears. Then suddenly, white sclera was all Jimmy could see, her eyes rolling to the back of her head before closing.

He swore violently under his breath. Pure terror pulled up within him. What was in his arms, was not Eden. It was a shell. A sad, broken shell.