Scars

Dream

Dipper's P.O.V.

   I sat in the bathtub, razor blade in hand, watching the blood drip from my arm. I contemplated cutting some more. In the end, I decided just to bandage my arms, before I bled out.

   "Wouldn't that be fun..." I muttered to myself. Just as I stood up, everything got blurry, and I collapsed back into the tub. I closed my eyes, my breathing slow, but heart rate high. This was it. I was finally going to die...

   "...per..."

   "...ipper..."

   "Dipper!"

   I awoke, shooting up in bed, glancing down at my arms, that were covered with my hoodie sleeves. I was about to pull them up, when I noticed Wendy standing over me.

   "You okay kid?" She asked, seeming worried. I looked around, and realized that I was outside.

   "What happened?" I asked.

   "You tell me, you just passed out." She said, offering me a hand. I took it, standing up.

   "Sorry... I'm okay now, really." I said.

   "Are-... Are you bleeding?" She asked, and I glanced down, my hoodie sleeves was stained red with blood.

   "I have to go." I say, running past her and to the Mystery Shack. I went to the bathroom and took my hoodie off, examining my arm. I had about twenty new cuts on my arm, bleeding badly, just like in the dream. I screamed in surprise and fear, how was this possible? I hadn't cut in over a week, even if my old cuts opened, they wouldn't be this bad. I slid down the wall, tears running down my face.  This isn't real, This isn't real...

   "Dipper- Oh my God-" Ford rushed to my side.  "What happened?!" He asked.

   "This isn't real, This isn't real..." I kept repeating to myself. He looked around, and grabbed the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet.

   "Let me see your arm." He said. I shook my head. "Please, you're going to bleed out." He said. I hesitantly have him my arm, and he cleaned the cuts, putting a bandage over them to stop the bleeding.

   "What happened?" He asked.

   "I... I'm suicidal. Most of these scars are from self harm. But... I passed out, I-I had a dream- More of a memory- where I cut myself so badly that I almost died- A-And when I woke up I had new cuts all over my arm- I swear I didn't do it myself..." I said.

   "You mean you awoke from a nightmare with physical damage done to your body?" He asked. I nodded.

   "This can't be good... I need you to try not to sleep at all until I have this figured out." He said.

   "No no no, I-I can't- H-He's not real-" I stuttered, more tears spilling over.

   "Dipper, he is real. And he might be the cause of this." He told me.

   "N-no..."

   He sighed. "Just... Don't sleep. Okay?"

   I just nodded. "O-okay..."

   "It's not too late to go back to your parents. If you're in danger, then-" He began, but I interrupted him.

   "I would rather have my teeth be ripped out, then my nails, then be force fed my own fucking guts, than to back to my parents." I said.

   "Why do you not wish to return to them?" He asked.

   "They abuse me, okay?" I said, letting out a shaky sigh. "Thankfully, it's not physical that often. But they yell, treat me like shit, they almost let me die multiple times when I attempted suicide..." I curled up into a ball. "I don't want to be treated like that again. I would rather die." I said quietly.

   "Have you told anyone about the abuse?" He asked me, and I only shook my head.

   "No. I haven't. Mabel is the only one that knows." I told him.

   "That's not good, Dipper. Do you want me to report them to the police?" He asked.

   "No... Three years until I can get my own car. Get emancipated. If I can avoid them until then, I'll be fine." I said.

   "Okay..." He looked around, probably to make sure that no one was watching.

   "A different form, a different time..." I muttered.

   "What?" He asked, looking back to me.

   "Er... It's nothing. I just-.. Me and Mabel went on this adventure a while back, and found this Axolotl guy. We asked him about Bill, and he just gave us this strange poem. I think he meant... That if he died he could come back to life, just in a different body, and in a different time." I said.

   "Let's hope not. But with our luck, I wouldn't doubt it." He sighed.

   "You said not to sleep. But what if I can see him in my dreams- if this is because of him."

   "It's not worth the risk. You could die in your sleep, or be hurt badly, like we witnessed today."

   "Can you monitor my dreams?" I asked. "See if you see anything unusual, and wake me up if my physical body begins to take damage?"

   He paused for a moment.

   "I suppose it's worth a try..."

   "Okay. I should get back to Wendy and let her know I'm okay. I'll talk to you later, probably when we plan to examine my dreams better." I said, and picked up my hoodie, walking out of the room. I cleaned the blood from my hoodie, and went back outside, only after slipping a knife into my boot.