Two-Faced

Chapter 7

         A dull pain spread lazily through her lower half as her body began ascending out of the sleepy numbness. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, Asriel looked around in confusion. How did I get to the couch? And where'd this blanket come from? The blood was all cleaned up, no trace of the glass shards anywhere, and the clock on the wall read 2:33. Pushing the grey-checkered fleece blanket aside, she made her way carefully to the fridge. Glancing at the cabinet of glasses, she grabbed a water bottle and sat at the counter, letting the condensation drip down her hands. She took a careful sip, keeping an eye out for her torturer, before beginning her slow journey back to the couch.

         As she turned the corner, the bright white glow of the TV caught her eye. What the...? Coming closer, she refused to let her eyes stray from the television screen. Static. That's all it showed. But there seemed to be something hiding among the white noise. A light patch shifted back and forth, swaying hypnotically. Her eyes mindlessly followed the dots around the screen, watching as the shape inched closer. Whatever it was, she couldn't look away from it. The thing behind the screen reached out, placing its hand on the glass. Its handprint remained fixed on the screen, a pointillism project laid out in front of Asriel's eyes. Without thinking, she reached out, but stopped when the TV flickered. The thing called out to her, over and over, it's voice piercing the silence like daggers through flesh.

         "Asriel... Asriel? Asriel!"

         Her eyes shot open, and sharp gasps escaped her. Looking around, she noticed her mom was standing next to the couch, leaning over her with a look of concern. The clock read 12:00.

         "W-what? What happened?" Asriel mumbled, confused and in pain.

         "Oh, Azzy, you scared me! Thank goodness you're alright! You... you started jerking around in your sleep... You almost fell off the couch! And you kept muttering, but I couldn't make out what you were saying... What happened?"

         "Oh, bad dream, I guess..." she trailed off, the memory of what her mind had created fading slowly as she woke up.

         "Asriel, I haven't seen anything like this from you, even when you had nightmares when you were little! Please, honey, tell me what's wrong," she pleaded, clutching her daughter's hands between her own. "I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

         "I... I honestly don't know what's going on either," she shrugged, looking her mother in the eyes as she said it. "I wish I knew, but I just don't. I'm sorry."

         "What's there to be sorry for? This isn't your fault," she assured her, placing her hand gently on her shoulder. "We'll figure it out together. But right now, you need to relax. Alright?"

         "Alright, I'll try," she smiled, easing her mom's worries, at least a little bit.

         "Thank you, Azzy," she smiled, turning towards the kitchen. "So, now that you're up, so you want breakfast foods, or should we just skip to lunch?"

         Laughing, Asriel stood to follow her mom. "Lunch is fine, if that's what you want."

         "It doesn't matter what I want. What do you want to have? And you go sit back down. You need to stay off of your feet, remember? At least until tomorrow."

         Returning to the couch, she sighed. "I know, I know. I just wanted to help. And I'll take whatever's easiest for you."

         "You're so stubborn, you know that?" Asriel heard from the other room, followed by a quiet laugh. "You're sandwich will be done in a few minutes then."

         "Thanks, Mom!"

         "You're welcome, Azzy."

         Hesitantly, she turned on the TV. To her relief, the bright, colorful scenes from her favorite cartoons flashed across the screen. She settled into the soft cushions and dragged the blanket across her lap. Relieved to have a distraction, she didn't think about anything else. She didn't want to. Not now. All she wanted was a little break from everything that had been building up. Is that too much to ask?

         A few minutes later, her mom came over and joined her in front of the TV. Handing Asriel her sandwich, she settled next to her still-tired daughter.

         "So, this is the plan for today?" she asked jokingly.

         "Well, I can't do much else, now can I?" Asriel replied, leaning into her mother's shoulder.

         "I'm sorry, honey. I know this is boring," she agreed, pulling Asriel into a hug. "How about this; I can go buy a few movies and some popcorn, and we can watch them together. That is, if you're okay with being here by yourself for a little while. Is that okay with you?"

         Asriel hesitated; the thought of being in the house alone with her tormentor was terrifying to her, but she didn't give that away. With a genuine-looking smile, she nodded. "That sounds great! Thanks."

         "You're welcome. Any specific movies you want me to get?"

         "Anything's fine, except horror," Asriel requested, wishing she'd be able to help. "I have money, I can pay. It's in my room, in the nightstand drawer-"

         "Asriel, what did I say about your money? This is my treat. You save your money for something you want."

         "Alright, alright. Fine. I'll stop. Old habits die hard, I guess."

         "I know I used to need some help from you, but it's not necessary anymore, okay?" she advised. "I'll be back in a little bit. If you want to get up, make sure you're careful. If you need it, use the umbrella behind the couch to prop yourself up. Sound good?"

         "Sounds good. Bye Mom!"

         "Bye Azzy!"

         As soon as the door clicked shut, she was on edge again. She wrapped the blanket around her tightly, as if it would act as a shield. She knew it was a stupid plan, but it was all she could think of. She sat nearly perfectly still, eyes darting back and forth across the room. There was something about having someone else there, be it her mom or Iris, or anyone really, that made her feel safer. At the very least, they could help if something went horribly wrong. But alone... that was a different story. She just prayed that her mom would get back before the ghost decided to try to finish the job. However, after about twenty minutes of nothing, she started to relax again.

         As the credits rolled on the screen, a knock rang through the room. Turning towards the door, she waited for it to come again. Nothing. Well, not from the door. The knock came again, but from behind her this time. Turning around, her eyes settled back on the TV screen. A blurred, poorly-animated white figure was positioned in the bottom left corner of the screen, banging on it for attention. It made faces, and popped up randomly all over the place, but nothing more. As the credits faded out, the figure disappeared, much to Asriel's confusion. That's it? She knew it wasn't part of the show; she'd seen it too many times to not have noticed. But really? What was the point of that?

         A little while later, the door's lock clicked open, and her mom came in with a shopping bag full of movies and a big bag of popcorn.

         "You ready for our movie marathon?"

         "Yeah, I'm ready!" Asriel smiled, reaching for the bag. "What'd you get?"

         Rummaging through the bag, they settled on a few to start off with and popped one in. As the movie started, Asriel caught a glimpse of a transparent girl sitting on the arm of the couch, watching the film with them.