"Katie!" I wince slightly at the shrill voice of my very pregnant sister. She was never really pleasant her other nineteen years of living, but she's been especially evil lately. I would blame the baby, but I have I feeling I'll like it much more than my sister. "Katie!" She shrieks again. I groan, pausing my music and angrily storming out of my room to glare at the bloated mess recumbent on my couch. I don't know why it irritates me so much that Carter crashes here even though she has a home of her own. With her husband. It just bugs me.
"What?" I snap. I'm right in the middle of finishing my art project finally, after months of procrastination. And she is making it extremely hard to even focus on finishing the damn thing! She returns my glare from her reclined position.
"You were supposed to do the dishes before five." She snaps, sending a sharp gaze at the clock hanging on the wall. I peek at it. It indeed boasts that it's now 5:04. But that's not the real time.
"And I still could. Or did you forget that clock is ten minutes fast." I say snarkily. I'm in no mood to hear one of Carter's classic Bitch-fits. She doesn't appreciate my sarcasm though and takes out her phone to call our parents. I roll my eyes, returning to my room to finish the art project. Let her call mom and dad. Let her tell them all about how I'm not obeying her every command. They'll probably take her side and ground me, but I don't really have any friends or events to look forward to in the near future. I'm what they call a loser/loner at my school.
I try to not focus on Carter and her monstrous hormones as I shade in the patters on my paper. But my mind is so full that I can hardly even draw a straight line. So I sit up, searching the bottom drawer of my dresser for my secret little tool.
As far as my parents know, I stopped cutting almost a year ago. But my parents don't need to know that I never stopped. And I hide it well enough that I doubt they'll ever find out. I get up to lock my bedroom door then sit back down, pulling up my pajama pant leg to my knee. Above my knee is really savaged from a fight I had with mom and dad a few nights ago. But the scars on the lower half of my leg are pretty healed. I hold the knife in my hand firmly, dragging the ultra sharp edge over my skin, feeling bliss as I stop thinking about Carter and only think about this.
All to soon though, I've calmed down enough to take a deep breath and put down the knife. I retrieve the tissue box, also in my bottom drawer, and wipe the trails of blood from my leg. The box of band aids is the next thing I take out, peeling off the wrapper and smoothing the sticky bandage over the relatively deep cut. After a quick scrub with a baby wipe, it looks like I merely fell and have a simple band aid on a scratch. At least that's what I'll tell anyone who asks. If they see anyways. I haven't worn shorts since eighth grade, so no one sees anything.
After putting away everything and rolling my pant leg back down, I unlock my door and settle down to work more on my art project. It's strange but I feel much better now.
"Mmm...so do I." My head whips up at the slithery seductive voice that echos in my head. But...it's not like usual, where I know he's in my head. This sounds closer. Realer. I jump up from the ground and spin around, coming face to face with a man dressed all in black with gray skin, golden eyes, and black slicked back hair. This is impossible! I mean this guy has been haunting my dreams for a good year now, and now he's literally standing in my room! I shy away from him and he only smirks.
"Am I hallucinating?" I ask him quietly. He chuckles, it's a dark creepy sound.
"I'm afraid not. Don't worry, I'm just here for a quick visit. I couldn't help but overhear your little argument with Carter. Hardly seems like the kind of thing to hurt yourself over." He purrs, but his eyes hold not of the concern he voices.
"I...it's not...it's not just the dishes thing. It's just...Carter." I have no idea why I'm talking to this guy. I mean he's been giving me grief while I sleep for a long time. But for some reason here I am engaging in conversation with the Boogeyman.
"I see. Your emotions run deep don't they Katie." A shiver goes up my spine when he says my name. I didn't even know he knew my name. And it's just weird to hear him say it. Not very pleasant at all.
"Yes."
"Someone can offend you very easily, but they can also find a friend in you easily." He goes on. I don't answer this time. He doesn't seem to mind. "More than that you don't seem to be able to let go of things very easily. Once something hurts you, you refuse to let yourself heal and move on. You still hurt from your parents forgetting your fall concert last year." I feel really uncomfortable with the fact that he knows me so well.
"Look I don't mean to interrupt, but is there something you were looking for, or are you just here to analyze my character?" I snap. He chuckles again, and once again I find myself really uncomfortable.
"Carter doesn't seem to understand just how fragile those emotions are. She mistreats them and you." He hisses, his voice sinking into my head.
"Yeah, nothing I don't know." I try to sound strong but my voice is failing me. I've always known Carter is more rough around the edges than she means to be, but just hearing this guy say that is painful.
"A shame. But...you could change that Katie." He whispers the last sentence with a deadly smile. I wince at the line of sharp teeth he shows me. Still, my interest is piqued.
"W-what do you mean?" I ask barely above a whisper. He walks towards me, and amazingly I let him. I'm really wanting to know just what he's talking about. He's painfully close when he leans down to whisper in my ear.
"I think you'll find if you don't forgive her, she'll appreciate you more." He says hauntingly. I break out in goosebumps and try to slip away from him. Something rough wraps around my leg right where my new cut is. It squeezes harshly making me have to bite my lip to avoid screaming out. The man wanders back to stand before me, putting his hand around my chin and making me look up at him. "You could so easily take control Katie. And not the way your cutting lets you. You've always forgiven Carter, no matter how badly she treats you. But, if you for a moment think of yourself as more than what Carter says you are, you may find peace. If you're strong enough to hurt yourself in order to have some grasp of control over your life...you're strong enough to stand up to her."
"No, I can't stand up to her!" I murmur, tears prickling my eyes.
"You can. And you will. Because I can see in those beautiful eyes that you're tired of this. If you want it to stop, you need to stop it." He kisses my cheek, his lips searing my skin almost painfully. Then he steps back into the shadows, taking the snake-like thing that had a grip on my leg with him. But his golden eyes stick in my head. I stand still for what seems like forever. My door opens making me jump and yelp a little. My dad looks at me curiously before resuming his no-nonsense dad look.
"Do the dishes or you're grounded." He orders, disappearing. No doubt he's just gotten home and immediately was greeted by an annoying and complaining 8 month pregnant girl. I growl low in my throat, reaching for my iPod and headphones. Might as well get them done. Maybe then Carter will finally leave me alone long enough to finish my stupid project.
As I go to leave my room a haunting laugh echoes in my head, reminding me of the conversation, whether I want to acknowledge it's reality or not.
OOOOO
Hundreds of miles away North looked carefully at the globe, not quite understanding what the black dot was. He rubbed his beard thoughtfully, trying unsuccessfully to come up with solutions in his head. Jack Frost slid into the room on a trail of ice, laughing as elves tried to do the same, only to trip over their feet and fall flat on their faces.
"North you gotta watch this!" He laughed.
"Not now Jack." North said dismissively, making a note in his schedule to investigate the black dot later. He also made a note of where the dot was located then closed his book to go back to work. He was getting a lot of good ideas for toys lately, and the black dot had put a bit of a damper on his day. But he was not going to be deterred. He would come back later.
Jack watched North make the note and leave humming, then once the jolly man was out of sight, the mischievous spirit walked up to the schedule book. He glances at the location written under the word INVESTIGATE and then up at the globe. Mesa, Arizona...there! Huh. A black dot. That was...really very weird. Jack considered it a moment. Arizona was in the middle of winter right now. And while it would still be warm for Jack, he could probably bear it long enough to help North with his little investigation.
Twirling his staff once, he took off through the open skylight, heading to his least favorite state to see what the fuss was.
