Depressing Short Stories/Poems

I Promise

WARNING: This Story contains mentions of abuse, and cutting. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Chris POV

I was sitting at my desk marking assignments after school when I heard a soft knock at the door. "Come in" I called. I looked up at the door as Crysta walked in. "Oh hey Crys. I noticed you weren't in class today. Is everything alright?" She slowly stepped towards me. "y- yeah, I'm fine. I just came to pi pick up the w- w- work I'm missing" She seemed like she was stuttering more normal. I gathered up the work and handed it to her. She took it, thanked me, and quickly walked away. As she was walking away, I noticed some pretty dark bruises on the back of her upper arm. "Hey Crys, hold on a second" She stopped dead in her tracks. "W- what is it?" She asked without turning around. "Just out of curiosity, how'd you get thos bruises?" She just shrugged and mumbled something incoherent. "What? I didn't quite catch that" I said as I slowly stood up from my desk. She shook her head. "I have to go" She started walking again, only to trip and fall. As she fell, her shirt rose up a little and I saw some Very dark bruises on her back. "Crysta..." I took a slow step towards her as she pushed herself up onto her knees. "If it's about the bruises..." She trailed off. I helped her to her feet and looked deep into her dark chocolate brown eyes. "Crysta, who did this to you?" She shook her head and looked away, her long blonde hair falling into her face. I sighed. "You know, If I see this many unexplained bruises on a student I'm obligated to call the police and report it." Her eyes widened and she snapped her head back to look at me. "No!! If he finds out I told, He'll kill me" She whispered the last part as she lowered her head again. My eyes widened and a wave of panic swept through me. "Crysta, Look at me." Crysta lifted her head to look at me, blinking away tears. "Who'll kill you?" I half whispered to her. She just shook her head again. "I really h- have to go" She picked up her bag and turned to go. I sighed. "Crysta, wait." Crysta paused, this time without a word. She slowly turned her head to look at me, her eyes shining with a dark look of fear. "You could come and stay with me for a while if you want..." All at once the look of fear was gone, replaced by a look of absolute relief. "Really?" I nodded. She dropped her bag and hugged me tightly with tears in her eyes. "Th- thank you" She whispered before letting me go. I smiled at her. "Just let me pack up my things and then we'll go." Crysta picked up her backpack and leaned back against the doorframe. I quickly walked over to my desk and gathered my stuff. When I turned back around, Crysta had her eyes closed and was seemingly asleep. I started to gingerly walk towards her when she snapped her eyes open and looked at me. For the first time I noticed the dark circles of sleep deprivation under her eyes. I picked up my pace a little and reached the door. "Ready to go?" she nodded and followed me out of the classroom. I locked the door behind us and we started heading down the hall towards the parking lot.

*20 minutes later*

I unlocked my front door and stepped aside to let Crysta in. She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she stepped through the door. Her eyes widened as she looked around her. "Nice house" She stated, turning a full circle before resting her eyes on me. I smiled and nodded. "It's your house too. At least for a while." Crysta nodded and set down her bag as she started to take her shoes off. "Crysta, can I ask you a question?" She sighed as she finished getting her shoes off and picked up her bag. "My parents are dead. My older brother is my legal guardian and the one who did this to me." I nodded. "Alright, thank you" She nodded back. "Would it be alright if I had a shower, Sir?" I smiled at her. "Of course! You don't have a change of clothes though do you?" She shook her head. "Alright. The bathroom is just up the stairs. I'll grab you a towel and a change of clothes, ok?" Crysta nodded. "Thank you" She said as she started to head upstairs. I followed her and noticed that she still had her backpack. I slowly reached out for it. "You know you can leave your bag down here right?" She spun around and clutched it tight to her chest. "I- I'd prefer to keep it w- with me" As she turned back around I noticed some small cut marks on her wrist but she bolted up the stairs before I could say anything.

Crysta POV

I bolted up the stairs, clutching my bag, and shut the bathroom door behind me. "That was close" I said as I turned on the shower. I set my bag on the counter and pulled out a small box that once contained my necklace. I set that on the counter beside my bag and took off my shirt, studying my scars in the mirror. I shook my head and opened the box, pulling out a small (but very sharp) razor blade. I felt the tears fill my eyes as I brought the blade to the edge of my wrist.

Chris POV

I heard the water turn on as I stepped out of the closet with a towel and some of my daughters old clothes. Assuming she was already in the shower, I gently pushed open the door. "Hey Crysta, I'm just gonna leave this stuff..." I trailed off as the door opened fully and I saw Crysta standing over the bathroom sink, blade pressed to her wrist, tears streaming down her face, Blood dripping down her fingertips, staining the white porcelain a dark scarlet red. I dropped everything I was holding and snatched the blade out of her hand. She jumped and stepped away from me. "I- I- I-" She stuttered, her hands shaking wildly. I took a careful step towards her and she raised her hands protectively to her throat. "Crysta, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you" She lowered her hands slightly and I saw the faint purple marks on her neck. "Why?" She asked. "Why would anyone want to help me? I'm just a waste of space..." I clasped her hands in mine and looked deep into her eyes. "I want to help you because you are a sweet, caring young girl and you ARE NOT a waste of space." I reached over and turned the water off. "Crysta, I'm going to help you because I know what you're going through. I don't want to see another person die because they couldn't stop themselves." I took a deep breath to keep from tearing up. A look of realization dawned on her face and she hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea" I smiled and hugged her back. "No one does. It's not something I like to talk about." She nodded in understanding as she pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Ok so, Here's the plan. You're gonna get in the shower and I'm gonna take this" I held up the blade I was holding "and any other sharp objects out of your bag, Ok?" Crysta nodded and picked up the towel and the clothes off of the floor. I grabbed her backpack and the necklace box off the counter and left the room. I heard the water turn on as I shut the door behind me. I sighed and walked into my daughters old room, dumping the backpack out onto the bed. Out of it fell all of her school books, another small razor blade, and a small pocket knife. I grabbed the blade and put it into the box with the rest. I put the knife into my pocket and took the box downstairs, throwing it into the fire. As I watched the box burn I whispered; "I'm going to help you... I Promise."