Spilled Ink and Scribbled Lines (Crimson Lines Sequel)

Chapter Three

[ J a c k ]

"'I still love you' 'I'm sorry' Really, Jack? That was the best you could come up with? You fucking idiot!" I mumble to myself, looking over at my phone on the marble countertop. Maybe I should text her? Then again she'll probably ignore it. God what should I do? It's not like I can go back in time and not fuck things up with Kat.

Anger courses through my veins and I grab a pillow, throwing it at the wall only for it to knock down a picture. Nice job, Jack. I set the painting back up on the hook and notice the girl in it has the same fiery red/orange hair that Kat has. Shaking my head I lay on the couch and stare up at the ceiling. Of all the people we could've ran into here, it had to be her.

[ A l e x ]

"Yes, Rian, I know she's pissed at him for what he did to her, she has every right to be" I follow him through the hotel room "But Jack and her have something... It's still there" He shakes his head angrily and tries to push me out of his room

"No, my sister would never go back to someone who hurt her like that" He shuts the door in my face and shouts "So don't try to convince me that she would"

"All I'm saying is that there's words left unsaid between those two," I sigh "They're not gonna let it end like this..."

After waiting a few minutes with no reply, I head back to my room, considering stopping to ask Jack how their talk went. I decide against it, figuring he would want some time to try to figure things out.

[ K a t ]

"If I'm being completely honest," I take a sip from the bottle and pass it back to Zack "Jack and I... We never stood a chance, y'know?"

He sets the bottle on the table and looks up at me "Damn, Kat, you're gonna feel so sick in the morning"

I shrug, turning down the volume on the television. Neither of us have been paying any attention to the movie playing in the background anyway.

"But I'm alright with a goodbye. If him and me never say another word to each other, I'll be perfectly fine with it"

Zack rolls his eyes "Yeah but you know its not just gonna end like that"

"You act like I haven't been trying to push people away my whole life" I smile slightly

"Kat are you okay? Because I know seeing Jack's already putting you in a bad mood"

"Im fine"

"Kat-"

"Zack I'm not gonna argue about this"

He sighs and looks me straight in the eye "All I'm saying is that if you know you wanna continue hating Jack, then you've gotta choose that and stick with it" He sighs "But if you wanna try to at least save some part of your friendship then you two are really gonna have to work on it"

"Why the hell would I wanna be friends with someone like that?"

"Because whether or not you'd like to admit it, he helped save your life"

I roll my eyes as he takes the bottle back to the kitchen "Yeah and he was also one of the reasons I tried to end it. Looking back now I probably should've tried a bit harder"

"Kat!" He returns to the room and stares down at me, crossing his arms "Don't ever say that again"

"Come on, Zack, life for you guys would've been so much better. No more worrying and no more stress! Don't act like you've never imagined what life would be like without me!" I stand up

"I don't waste my time thinking about how things would be different without my best friend here because I'm not gonna let anything happen to you" He says plainly

"Everyone says that! 'I'm gonna protect you' 'I wont let anyone hurt you' Let me tell you it's all bullshit! Nobody can save you from all the shit in your head!" I take a deep breath "Please get out"

He raises his eyebrows "You want me to leave?"

"Yes"

"Because I promised to help you"

"There is no 'helping'"

"Goddammit Katrina, can't you see that I care about you?!" He crosses his arms

"Zack, leave"

"No, not until you tell me what's going on with you"

"There's nothing going on!" I hold open the door and without warning, he grabs my arm, rolling up the sleeve.

"Fuck..." He whispers to himself, ignoring my pleas to let go "I'm calling Rian"

"No! You can't tell him! You can't tell anyone! Zack please just leave!"

"You expect me to leave when there's huge bloody gouges in your arms!"

"Shh!" I close the door, hoping none of my neighbors are in the hallway listening in. It's all a bunch of gossipy old women who thrive on things like this.

"When did you do this?"

"I don't know"

"Yes you do"

"I will call security" I try to sound intimidating but my slurred speech doesn't comply.

"And I'll tell them to call a hospital. It's not gonna do you any good so just sit down and listen to me" He takes out his phone

"What are you doing?"

"Calling Alex"

"Don't tell Alex! They think I've gotten better and I really have, please don't tell him!"

"That is not better! That is worse! Jesus Christ, Kat, stop trying to convince me that you're okay"

"I am okay!"

"Okay is not tearing your fucking arms apart! Okay is not crying and trying to convince someone that you're just fine!" He takes a deep breath and I hear Alex's voice on the other end of the phone. Zack tells him to come to my flat and gives him the address.

"Why would you do that?" I run a hand through my hair "Why the fuck would you do that?" Tears slip out of my eyes

He pulls me into a hug, whispering "Because Alex and I give a shit about you"

[ A l e x ]

"Dude what's... going on..." My voice trails off as I walk into the apartment. Zack trying to comfort Kat as she cries onto his shoulder. Shutting the door behind me I stand in front of the couch, waiting for Zack to tell me it's not what I think it is.

"Alex she's-"

"No, I'm fine. Please just go back to your hotel" Kat interrupts him

Without a word he holds out her carved up arm for me to see. "Oh my god... Kat why would you fall back into something like this?" I give the small girl a light hug "You could've called one of us, we're here for you no matter what" My voice gets quick and panicky "Why did you do this?"

"I'm sorry" The few familiar scars on her arms have been covered completely in new ones "I didn't think I'd see you guys again anyway"

"That doesn't mean you don't matter, and it definitely doesn't mean you can go and do something like this" I sigh

"I want you to stay with us while we're in London" Zack says "Gather some of your stuff, you can sleep in my room. I'm not gonna leave you here like this"