Drop dead

Chapter 14. Bleeding knife

Miles
I let the door to my new room slam behind me.

Leaning back against the farthest, and probably the pinkest corner of the room, I press a hand to my chest.

My heart pounds against my chest, and I slide against the far, pink, wall. My lungs feel like they've been attacked, filled with smoke. I can hear Elizabella loudly moving around downstairs. 

She doesn't come check on me, why would she? 

I don't know why I reacted like that. It was just Val, an angry val, but she's harmless. She only ever loses her temper when someone pisses her, so only two or three times a week if we're lucky. 

Why can't we just get along?    

I wipe my sweaty hands against my jeans, which haven't been washed.... since ever. I probably should that before Paige notices and wrinkles her noise and I'll be back to being a disappointment. 

My head fills full, clouded too. And I try to remember what James once told me. But it's been so long since I even thought of his name, that it just slips away. 

I cough, trying to catch my breath, and stare at the ground as I can hear my heart pound through my head. 

"Miles? Are you okay?" A concerned voice asks, it's Elizabella. I hadn't even noticed her come in. And I nod in response. I cam hear the instant eyeroll that my response receives. 

I ignore her. This is all her fault, really. Me and Val were perfectly fine by ourselves but she had to come around. Val hates her for some reason. Jealousy? I don't care but neither of them were raised right. 

Not that I was either. 

 What's more concerning is that she's actually being nice. Has she died and resurrected herself again? 

I really want to know why we came back from the dead. Maybe its some sort of conspiracy. Maybe we're not the only ones, but we dob't know that because people aren't just going to throw up their hands and announce it. That's one way to get thrown in a large test tube. 

I feel my hands shaking as I wrap them around my legs, and there are 

"Liar. What do I do?" Elizabella, asks, sounding like she's scared, panicked even. But that can't be right. Elizabella hates people. She told me that when we went to burn the house down.

"I will pour water over you" she threatens, ah that's the cold hearted bitch I know. 

I actually really like her, but Val can't find that out. She'd be absolutely heartbroken.  

"Just try to breathe normally?" She says, and I glare at her. So helpful. 

Downstairs, the door slams shut and there's rapid footsteps and another door slamming shut.

"Some people just don't have any manners"  I hear Elizabella mutter and I laugh, but it sounds weird. She seems  like she's given up on helping me though. Maybe the water would help. God, I don't know, it's been so long. 

I decide just to mimic her breathing, Mum always used to complain that the only thing I'm good at is mimicking people. 

Eventually, the pain in my chest goes away and I feel like I can breathe again

"You good?" She asks without a trace of happiness or relief. 

"Yeah, thanks" I say and she stand up and hurries out of the room. The door clicks closed behind her. I just stay where I am.  

The house is dark, cold and empty. It's what little kids have nightmares about- waking up one day and their family gone. The only family in this house is the mice, bats and possums.