Part Two: His Secret

Chapter Sixteen: The final cut

The apartment door clicked shut and Tai let out a ragged breath. Robotically he raised a hand to his cheek and rubbed the spot where his sister's supple black lips had kissed him moments prior. Had she not seemed so caught up in the thrill of going out for the evening, he suspected she would have cancelled her plans and stayed with him. And that almost certainly would have been game over; Kari knew him too well. In his current state, half-truths about his schoolwork getting the better of him would not have flown had she decided to give him her full attention. Sooner or later, she would have got it out of him… all of it. He did not want to imagine how horrified she would be if she saw his right arm.

Exhausted, Tai staggered towards his room as though his body were on autopilot. The brightness of the apartment living space had been hurting his tired eyes, so when he entered his dark room he did not turn on the light; the blinds were already shut. Without really thinking about what he was doing, he discarded his bag onto the floor. His blazer, shirt and tie soon followed. Going to his desk, he opened the top drawer and withdrew the shard of blood-stained glass. A macabre sense of calm washed over him when he felt its smooth surface between his thumb and forefinger. The edge glinted menacingly in a stray beam of light that found its way between a gap in the blinds.

"Soon," he whispered to it in a placating manner.

Walking to the top of the room, Tai sat down on the floor and leaned his naked back against the wall. He felt a shiver run down his spine as his warm skin made contact with the cooler surface. Pulling the black sweatband from his right wrist he discarded it before starting to unwrap the latest bandage. On Monday, after the pain from the previous days cut had ebbed enough to let Kari back into his mind, he had stopped at a pharmacy on his way home from school and bought his own set of first aid supplies. Already aware of what he intended to do once safe in his bedroom and pre-empting the problem where the family box ran out and someone noticed before he had a chance to replenish it. It had also served to eliminate the danger that someone would catch him on his way to the bathroom. That night, after dinner, he had made his third cut.

Eyes vacant, Tai stared at the collection of scabs, which were at various points of healing. They numbered six in total. Every day this week, at some point during school, the pain had lessened just enough to allow his sister to slip back into his thoughts. And each time she did, he saw her in some form of provocative attire, enticing him towards her with the promise of giving him everything if only he would tell her his secret. The longer it took him to get home, the more he fell under her enchantment. Like a succubus, Kari had taken hold inside his mind. With only the sweet pain that came when he felt the glass shard cut into his flesh able to drive her out. He'd told himself that he needed to stay strong, needed to keep going, needed to protect his sister from himself and his dark secret. However, he knew that only the promise of the shard had kept him going through each day and prevented him from succumbing. Once safe in his room, he had added a new cut to his collection.

It had not been easy. Every time, the weak part of him had tried to protest, tried to tell him it was wrong. Found new arguments and excuse to try and dissuade him from doing what needed to be done. Last night it had even invoked his sister's name. Yes, his own weak, pathetic self, had tried to use Kari against him. Argued that it would break her heart to know that he was hurting himself like this. It had been a low blow, a cowards move to make. And he was no coward. For he bore the crest of courage. A representation of his strongest trait. Something that would help him conquer this weakness inside him and endure all the pain it would take to help protect his sister.

"No… please…" the weak boy whispered as he held the glass out in front of him.

"Quiet, fool," he hissed in reply. "There is no other way."

He held out his shaking right wrist, only for a third voice to halt his progress, "Tai," the sweet, seductive voice of Kari said inside his head as an image of her dressed exactly as he had seen her tonight filled his mind. "Come to me, Tai. Come to me and tell me your secret," she snaked her body as she spoke.

"Please… listen to her," the weakling moaned. "She can help us."

"No! She does not know what she is saying. We must protect her at all costs," he argued back.

The image of his sister still danced around inside his mind, her movements accentuating her assets. "You can end it all, Tai. All the pain, the suffering… the longing. You can end it all if you just come to me."

"Shut up!" Tai yelled internally. "You do not know what pain I am saving you from… what torment."

Tears started to pour down the cheeks of his unmoving face. His expression had gone vacant and his eyes had taken on the black holes in the skies appearance as they stared through his outstretched hands. "I… c…c…can't… k…keep… going," the weak boy's frail voice said in a manner that could only be described as the echo of a ghost.

"Then come to me," Kari said softly, holding out a hand for him to take. "I can ease your pain."

"No! This is for your own good," Tai barked at the image of his sister. "If you remain ignorant, you'll remain happy. I have to do this… for you."

He could almost feel the warmth of Kari's fingertips on his shoulder as she reached out an illusionary hand to touch him. "You don't have to do this alone, Tai. Let me help you."

"No!"

"Please… you have to… I… c…c…cant…"

"Shut up!"

"Come to me, Tai…"

"No!"

"…please…"

"…Tai…"

"NO!"

In a sudden overload of emotions, Tai slashed at his wrist with the shard. The glass tore through his flesh in a small splutter of crimson. Then slipped from his hand and landed on the wooden floor. In the silence of his dark bedroom, the small clinking sound it made on impact sounded like Vulcan's hammer hitting an anvil. His now empty left hand slowly fell through the air and landed lifeless beside him. Though his eyes saw the blood begin to pool on his wrist and then start to spill over the edge, it did not register with his brain. In fact, nothing did, as his eyes simply continued to stare through the floor. He had no concept of anything around him or even himself for that matter. And he certainly did not know that this would be his final cut.

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Authors Note:

Hey, Guys. Thank you for taking the time to read part two, I hope you all enjoyed it. If so, please do add this story to your follow/favourites list and/or leave a review. I really do want to hear all your thoughts on it. And I hope to maybe see you all sometime in the future.