Anna stomped out of her office and groaned. "It has to be ninety degrees in here!" The air conditioning at the station had broken in the middle of the night. The morning had been warm, and now that it was afternoon, it was unbearable.
"Almost Chief," an officer piped up. "Eighty-eight degrees and counting!"
"I don't doubt it. You've done nothing but watch that thermometer on your desk since ten o' clock, thought I can't say I blame you. This heat seems to have roasted our brains."
"That's the truth. Why don't you take off your jacket?" the officer suggested.
"Well, I could," Anna stammered. She knew the sleeveless blouse beneath her jacket would be far more comfortable in the heat-- but bare arms could also provoke uncomfortable questions. She tugged at her sleeves, making sure the four slashes on her wrist were well hidden. "But I'd just be putting it right back on. I think I'm going to take a long lunch break."
"Really?" the officer said, a little too hopefully.
"Really," Anna replied, somewhat puzzled by the officer's sudden perkiness. She took her purse, and looked over her shoulder at the pleased looking officer. "What's gotten into him?" she asked one of the desk clerks before heading out the door.
"Well," the woman explained with a knowing grin, "I think when the Chief takes a break, everyone takes a break."
"Aha, they fancy me the slave-driver, do they?" Anna joked, putting on her sunglasses. The woman behind the desk laughed with Anna. "I guess someone has to be here to keep things under control all the time."
"Have a nice lunch, Chief. And take your time," the woman winked.
Anna strode out onto the sunny sidewalk, and began making her way to the Valley Inn, lost numbly in thought until she reached her room.
"David?" she called as she stepped inside. Peeking into the room, she saw it was empty. Confident that she was alone, she took off her jacket and began to rummage through her purse. It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for.
The package was thin, a clear pocked displayed its contents. Anna tore open the cardboard, white with lime-green pinstripes, and the words "Exacto Knife Refill Blades" printed at the top in bold black letters. The freed blades jingled onto the beadspread, their silvery angles twinkling like a forced smile. Anna reached out slowly, fingering each one absently before finally choosing one.
She took a deep breath. Eight days had passed. Eight days, four cuts--and now here she was with new, more potent blades, ready to make the fifth incision. With one quick movement, it was done.
Blood trickled down her arm; she admonished and admired it. This isn't right, she cursed herself. There is no good reason for doing this... And yet everything seemed so clear. She felt safe again, in some complicated way. The invisible chains in her mind that she'd so carefully hidden, even from herself, were truly gone. Bled away, out of her body. Free.
She went to the bathroom and rinsed the beautiful blood from her arm. This cut was much deeper than the others, but she felt no pain--physically or otherwise. She rebandaged her wrist, then hid the blades in a book, which she put discreetly into a drawer of her wardrobe. Gathering her purse and jacket, she turned out the lights and marched from the room, shutting the door behind her. Everything is fine, she lied to herself. The words rung through her ears all the way back to the station.