Sacred Souls

Chapter 1

My eyes stared mystically at the drips of blood racing each other down my arm to my fingertips. The puddle in the bath turned my pale feet a crimson red. I was used to the stinging feeling by then. The relief of letting all my worries and torture sink out of my body was an addictive feeling. I placed the stained, steel blade on the edge of the sink and washed my arms before rinsing down the bath.I cleaned the blade and put it in the back of the cupboard behind my medication. My hands curled around the cuff of my jumper sleeves, pulling them down as far as they stretched then I opened the bathroom door. Colton my older brother stood outside leaning against the wall. His rusty brown hair stuck up in all directions, his chin sprouting stubble. The muddy green of his eyes had a tinge of red and had a slight puff from his sleep. Although he was only one year older than me and I was considered quit tall, he still towered over me with a slim yet muscular build. Most girls found him quiet hot. A straight nose that wasn't too long or pointy, a strong jawline, broad but not ginormous shoulders, good abs, those were his perfect features.

"Finally you're out! I've got a game today and I don't want to be late" he said with a rasp in his voice.

"All yours captain" I teased. He just rolled his eyes at me and slammed the bathroom door. Colton was the captain of the schools football team and then he was nominated co-captain for the University he was attending. Luckily, the University was very close to home so I got to see him very often.

I shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen. Mum had already left to work. She was the manager of a big company that dealt with scientific experiment stuff and worked everyday apart from Sunday from 7am to 8pm. I never really saw her much as I hardly ever woke before 7am and I usually only saw her for a maximum half an hour at night. She had the same rusty brown hair as Colton and I, but she had dark chocolate eyes, unlike our greeny-browny eyes. She was short and a bit plump, but she was ever so beautiful. Colton took after most of her features where I took most of my dads. I had a shorter button nose, slim build, high cheekbones. We were two peas in a pod. We spent so much time together and I loved every minute of it. When I was ten, he left to go on a business trip in another country. He didn't specify which one, just that it was in Europe. He was meant to only be gone for a couple of weeks but a month passed and still no dad. It was the day before my eleventh birthday when a letter arrived. Mum cried for days straight, Colton stayed strong but at night I could hear the sobs coming from his room, and I, I had lost my best friend the day before my birthday. For weeks I was so mad at him for doing that to me, leaving me. But I bottled all my emotions up, like I always do. Mum never noticed when I was in a bad mood like she used to. She was too distracted and didn't bother to pay attention to me or Colton. We were growing apart, but Colton and I were growing closer. We stuck by through thick and thin. My relationship with my mother was still detached but there wasn't that much point in trying to get close as I was leaving school the next year anyway.

I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and poured some cereal in it. Opening the fridge door to find only a few drops of milk left, I decided to just eat it dry. As I munched away Colton came bounding down the stairs in his black and white track suit. He rushed past me and shoved a couple of pieces of toast into the toaster before skidding down the hallway. I had never seen him move so fast. My spoon scraped the last of the cereal from the bowl and tipped it into my mouth. I was just about to put my dishes in the dishwasher when two large palms covered my eyes.

"Colton what are you doing?"

"Shush, and don't peek!"

I was carefully lead through the house to what felt like the living room.

"Okay Quinn, I have a surprise for you." His voice was higher and faster. A tone usually used when he got excited. "As I am leaving next week and as you are going to have a successful career in film and photography, I got you this."

He took his hands away leaving me with my jaw on the floor. In front of me was a new camera and some lights. I couldn't believe it!

"Now you can take high quality pictures and also become the next Steven Speilberg!"

"Colton.. I.. Thank you... I don't know what to say."

"This is my thanks to you. You've done so much for me over the years and you really deserve it."

I flung my arms around his shoulders and squeezed him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around in the air. A small squeal escaped my mouth and he put me down.

"Okay now I really have to go. And you do too." He grabbed his gym bag and ran out the door. Running out of a room was his usual way of exiting a situation.

Rushing like a mad woman, I brushed my teeth, tied my hair up in a messy bun and ran to the bus stop.

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As I pushed my way to a seat near the back of bus I could feel a flock of stares burn into the back of my skull, judging the fuck out of me. Although I was meant to feel all happy and emotional for my last few weeks of school, I felt nothing. I guess you could say that I was more of an outcast. The only time I was ever talked to was when someone wanted something to do with my brother or to insult me. I gazed out the dirt coated window and watched the houses fly by.

I lived in a modern-ish town, with nice houses and buildings. There was one area though that looked like an old village. There was a little cluster of old, rotting houses with a couple of smaller buildings that looked like a school house and shops. It was kind of like a historical place where people could see what our town looked like in the past. I had never gone and looked at it properly before. I decided to explore after school.