Okay, we're just gonna keep writing while waiting for some responses :)
Warning: Blood, knives, and needles, involved. Skip some parts if you don't want to read it.
Clarissa lay asleep on her hospital bed, wrapped up like a mummy with wet clothes to keep her skin hydrated overnight; from the tips of her toes to the nape of her neck.
"Sophie, are you sure you'll be all right?" the puffy eyed maid nodded and wished the mother and son goodnight as they left the emergency ward.
Clarissa had passed out after having 3 different needles poked in each hand. The doctors and nurses attempted to find a vein within her red and swollen hand, but they couldn't do so without pressing the needle into the flesh. The poor girl sat on her mothers' lap, but even she couldn't take the sight of the process when the 2nd needle came to view. Clarissa sat on Sophie's lap for the rest. That's my girl, thought Sophie. As strong as steel.
For the next few days, Clarissa was finally beginning to heal. She didn't have to move around from a wheelchair with a remote control stick. She could walk freely, but couldn't exit the ward. All through this, she hadn't mentioned what Professor Starkweather had suggested. He had come to check up on her the most. He even brought in a gift for her; Red Studio Beats by Dr. Dre.
"Just in case you can't sleep at night," he had said. The look in his eyes said it all. He wanted her to heal. He felt proud of the 12 year old girl as he supervised the blood testing and daily routines. He wasn't allowed to interfere, but he could award the girl with a much deserved gift.
Soon, Clarissa could jump, dance, and focus on her education. She thanked the professor as she was dismissed from the hospital and was sent home. She felt confident to wear t-shirts and shorts; but, it wasn't long before those happy next few days turned into aching pain and crying to sleep at night.
"He said what?" Jonathan exclaimed at the dinner table. "I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad!"
"Jonathan, please, keep your voice down," said their mother, Jocelyn.
"I… don't want to leave, but I've had enough time to think about it," Clarissa started. Her small voice echoed through the apartment. "I think… I think it would be best if we… if we moved."
"Are you serious?" Jonathan's eyes went wide.
"Well… I've been going through this for years and I… I just can't take it anymore. I barely go to school, I don't have good friends, and all I can do is sit at home and gauge my eyes out with tears. What do you expect me to do? I can't live like this for the rest of my life!" Clarissa's voice gradually rose to an extent of standing up and slamming her utensils down on the table. Glad she finished dinner before raging, she limped to her bedroom from her inability to bend her knees and locked the bedroom door before breaking down in private.
Slowly, she took the knife hidden in her underwear drawer and slit her wrists deeply. There were multiple scars there. Ones she could easily cover up with bracelets. But this scar. This one would be different. It would cut so deep it'd be thicker and more evident.
"Give her some space now, Jonathan," said Jocelyn in a monotone voice. Clarissa heard the sound of a grunt and a chair sliding across the tile floor. She sighed. The dipped the knife against her skin then quickly slashed it once. She was prepared for this. She ripped some gauge hidden beneath her undergarments and addressed the wound. No one knew of this but Sophie. Sophie had tried to stop her, then realized there wasn't another way to let her release her anger, but on herself. She still tried and forced her to promise that she wouldn't do it just from the littlest of things. Clarissa promised. What just happened out there wasn't a little thing. It was huge.
Her body fell underneath the comfort of her blankets. She didn't even both switching off the lights. With her eyes closed, it reminded her of watching a sunset. Something no one could see through the buildings of Hong Kong. It was a wish that she hoped to fulfill one day.
One month later…
"You're moving?" asked one of Clarissa's friends. She could see that they were trying to fight a smile. She ignored it.
"Yeah. To Canada."
"Oh, that's too bad," said one of them. "Well, I'm gonna to my locker. See you next period!" The rest of the gang followed that one friend to her locker, leaving Clary sitting alone in the cafeteria, eating nothing, but drinking water.
June 15th, 2012.
"I… I'm going to miss you so much." Clarissa began to stain tears on Sophie's old t-shirt.
"I'll see you soon. One day."
"I love you," said Clarissa, standing outside the lift.
"Always." Just then, the elevator doors opened.
Jonathan was going to stay behind with Sophie to pack last minute items. He was going to have to man up and sign forms, box everything, and continue going to school until summer vacation. He had friends here, in fact, he was quite popular. He saw the his little sister struggled to realize that eczema didn't take away any abilities. It was just… her. She refused to believe that her life could get better because of the state she was already in. He could only hope that moving to a whole entirely different continent was going to heal her completely.
Dear Diary,
I'm starting my first entry today. It's a whole new start for me. We're on the plane and it's going to be around 15-18 hours flight. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for such a long time, but I'll figure it out. Sophie isn't coming to Canada with us because of some immigration agency thing. Apparently, I'm too young to understand. She'll be working for my grandmother, Adele Nightshade-Fairchild. Mum is still a Fairchild, I just took after Daddy's last name. I don't know what happened to him, but I dare not to ask. I'm not going to miss all the snobby British sounding people I knew back in Hong Kong. I'll miss some, but not all. They aren't worth it, but they taught me something. There are good and bad people in this world; I just want to figure out which side I'm on.
Wow, that's deep.
Jonathan doesn't look happy that we're moving. He's pretty popular in Hong Kong. He actually is very attractive despite his mild eczema. Mine is too severe that it doesn't compare to his in any way.
I hope moving to Canada is the right choice. I've heard it's actually got clear blue skies and no tall buildings. Well, there's some, but that'd be downtown. Where Mum is taking me is uptown, Richmond Hill, ON. I've seen pictures and it seems like a nice place. I hope Mum has everything planned out. I know she has. She wouldn't set me up on a plane and go to a place foreign to both her and I. She's given up her job for me. We're moving to a different continent because of me. I feel like I'm ruining everyone's lives. I can only hope that we're moving to change things for the better, not for words.
~Clarissa Adele-Fairchild Morgenstern
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How's that? Short, we know, but the action is going to happen in no time soon. This is just the build-up on character and stuff, ya know? Tell us if we should make this less… formal sounding. It can bore readers out. Tell us about the Shadowhunter thing though. We might edit the chapters a little if we were to add them in :)
