This is Where my Demons Lie

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The saddest people smile the brightest
Nathan Brady
She stalked away, frustration and pain on her face. I watched her, frozen in place by the cuts on her arm. Reverie flipped me off when she saw me looking and wrapped her arms around herself.
"I'm sorry," I said, grabbing her hand. Her ice blue eyes seemed to see through my soul.
"I don't like liars," Reverie mumbled, moving away from me. "I don't like fakers too."
"Why would I fake being your friend? Why would I lie to you? Give me one good reason why I would do these things to you," I threw my hands up in the air, frustrated. Reverie backed away.
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone? Nobody wants to be friends with a freak, so who bribed you into playing with my emotions, huh? Was it Marie? Or Leslie? Maybe even Diego, though he's an idiot. Well, I hope you're happy. I want to let you in, I want to know what it's like to be loved, but that is a naive and stupid wish that will never be granted. I'm going home. Maybe for a walk, dunno if this will be the last time I'll see the sun anyway," Reverie said, walking away. I let her walk away.
  And who knows what she'll do to herself.
  In a panic, I chewed my fingernails. They were already worn to the beds. I remembered noticing her black and purple nails when I took her hand. Reverie's hand was warm and soft, fun to hold.
"Reverie," I said quietly. She stopped, seemingly frozen in place. She didn't turn to acknowledge me, just stayed there with her feet glued to the ground. "Nobody bribed me. I'm not trying, and I never would, play with somebody's emotions. And of course I'm not happy, you're pushing me away. I just want to help."
"Go to school, Nathan."
"But-"
"Go to school, maybe I'll see you there."
  And, like the idiot that I am, I walked away. I left her there, standing alone and rather suicidal. What type of 'friend' was I?
  It was seventh period. I hadn't seen Reverie since our talk. Worry and guilt was eating away at me. What if I had pushed her to suicide? What if I killed her? I didn't try hard enough, I didn't-
"Is there an explanation to why you are so late, Miss Lark," the teacher glared at Reverie as she sat at her desk.
"Some dumbass told me, and I quote, 'go to hell' so I've spent the past fifteen minutes looking for it," she snapped, crossing her legs and folding her arms. The teacher frowned and continued with the lesson.
  I stole glances at her every now and then. She had her hoodie on again and the hurt from earlier had been replaced by an emotionless, dead expression. Even those ice blue eyes displayed a dying, maybe already dead, soul inside.
"Hey, Nathan, do you want to come to my house? You can have dinner with us too," Marie invited me in front of Reverie. A hint of pain flashed across her face but it was gone so fast I wasn't sure it was there.
"Sure," I shrugged, smiling at the younger Lark.
  Marie and Reverie were practically polar opposites. Marie had a light, happy, care free, and innocent aura about her. Reverie was shrouded in a shadowy color. Depressed, frustrated, pained, and tired. Marie loved to laugh and smile. I had never seen Reverie smile or laugh. Reverie despised having people around her while Marie was all about people. They were universes apart.
  The Lark house came into view. It was large with two stories and a lot of windows. Marie bounced into the house, Reverie lagging behind.
  I had been sucked into a conversation with Marie and Mr. and Mrs. Lark. To excuse myself, I asked them were the bathroom was. Their directions weren't very clear nd I found myself upstairs. Quiet music led me to Reverie's room. There she was, sitting on her bed, looking at something on her phone and smiling. Gosh, her smile could light up a world. A soft breathy laugh escaped her lips and I thought I would melt. The saddest people smile the brightest.
"Hi, Nathan," and she was back to her colder nature. "Did you need something?"
"Uh, um, I... did you know bath bombs taste good," I mentally slapped myself as I squeaked that.
"What?" Reverie asked, confused.
"Er, where's the bathroom," I said, nervously fidgeting.
"Down the hall on your right."
"Thanks."
  I sighed as I returned to the conversation downstairs. Eventually, Marie brought me to her room.
"What's she smiling about," I asked, pointing at the crack I could see Reverie through. Marie rolled her eyes and snorted in disgust.
"There are some old pictures on her phone from when we were little," she explained.
  I spent around an hour with Marie, chatting and geeking out over things together. We liked a lot of the same things. Then, Mrs. Lark called us to dinner.
"I'll get Reverie," I volunteered quickly. Marie looked at me like I had grown a third head but shrugged.
"If you wanna die, okay then. Bye, Nat, nice knowing you," she trotted down the stairs as I knocked on the door.
"Piss off, Marie!"
"Not Marie."
"Then Tammie!"
"Still wrong."
"Go away whoever the hell you are," Reverie commanded. Instead of leaving, I pushed open the door.
"What are you smiling at," I sat beside her on the comfortable bed.
"Still nosy as always," she sighed. "Just some pictures of when Marie and I were younger. You can look if you want."
  We sat there, scrolling through pictures. There was a video too.
"She licked me," Reverie gasped. "We have to keep her!"
I smiled and noticed she was too. Another one was of Rev giving Marie a piggyback ride. The most recent one was a picture of Reverie staring at her sister sadly. As if she missed her.
"We were so close," her voice broke as she whispered. "And then we realized just how different we are and we pulled away. Y'know, we used to play Mario kart together. At the age of twelve, she refused to play with me. She hasn't touched a remote since."
"I miss her, Nathan."
"I know," I hugged her. Reverie tensed up before cautiously hugging back. "Lets go to dinner."
  Dinner was filled with tense conversing. Reverie glared at anyone when they talked to her and especially when they talked about her.
"Will you all just shut up?! I already know I'm a waste of space, you don't need to rub it in," I jumped as Reverie's chair slid back and her hands slammed down on the table.
"Reverie, we have a guest," Mrs. Lark gasped.
"Fuck off, Tammie," she yelled, running upstairs.
"Do not call me that! I am your mother!"
"You don't fucking deserve the title, asshole!"
"Reverie, language!" she turned to me. "I am so sorry, Nathan."
"It's fine, I'll go home now, let this get sorted out," I stood and grabbed my bag.
"Yeah, Nathan, I am so sorry for living! But don't worry, Mom, Dad," she shouted, sarcastically calling them that. "You won't have to live with the fucking family disgrace anymore! I'm going to kill myself."
"Don't worry about it, dear. She's done this before, it's only for attention," Tammie smiled at me. Yet I couldn't smile back. How could she think like that? Her own daughter's skin was marred with scars.
"Bye," I left the house quickly. Guilt gnawed at me. I felt bad for leaving Reverie there, but I didn't have time to help her now. I needed to be home or Mom would be mad.
  Under my covers, my mind replayed everything from my time at the Lark house. I recalled Reverie's smile.
"The saddest people smile the brightest."