Drowning

Pointless.

Go away. I want to sleep.

Why should we let you sleep? 

You don't deserve sleep. Sleep is for the weak. Get up.

Get up.

Get up. 

Get up.

She obeyed. She dragged her eyelids open. Creak. Creak.  

I'm awake.

Good. How are you feeling? 

Fine.

She lied. 

But you’re fat.

But you’re ugly. 

But no one loves you.

Why are you even alive?

Just go away! Get out of my head. 

We're only telling you what you're thinking.

They were wrong. She wasn't fat, ugly or unloved. But she believed it. 

Go and bother somebody else.

But you're fun to bother. 

I thought you didn't like me? Why are you anywhere near me?

We don't like you and we don't like to be near you. But we like to bother you.

That's not fair. 

The fact you were born isn't fair.

We don't like you. We hate you. We want you dead. Go and kill yourself. You are unloved and nobody wants you.

They chorused. 

Please no. Get off me. You're hurting me. Stop hitting me.

We aren't hitting you. 

We're not even touching you.

You're hitting yourself. Moron.

Moron. 

Moron.

Moron. Why would you hit yourself?

Try hitting yourself harder. Hopefully you'll make yourself bleed inside. 

Hit your nose.

Her nose gushed with blood. 

Bite your lips. Tongue. Cheeks.

Her mouth filled with blood. She spat it out into her bin. 

Leave me alone. Please. Go and pick on someone else. Pick on my sister. She’s stronger than I am.

They already do. She's worthless just like you. 

Who are they?

The other voices. 

She has her own.

They control her mind. 

Just like we control yours.

Blood trickled down my chin. 

This was the conversation that went on inside her head that morning. It was not like the other mornings. This one was unbearable. She left her blonde hair down, put her usual heaps of eyeliner on then looked hard in the mirror.

Brat. 

The word formed before her eyes. She blinked. It was gone.