I enjoyed writing the previous chapter so much I just had to write another one right away . Even if it meant putting off the massive amount of homework I have to do T_T
Also, what I was trying to say last time is that I have basically two writing classes, with 5+ hours of homework each!
But it's so nice to write my kind of stories again ^-^ I've really missed it.
Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter!
A stream of light lay on the pillow next to Oskar. He'd been staring at it ever since he had awoken. Watched it shimmer and creep across the white fabric as time swept by. He reached out, touched the light, and imagined it was Eli's cheek.
He wished Eli was really beside him now. But knew it could not be so. If Eli was here, he'd be burning to death. And also…Oskar was seventeen. Eighteen in only a few weeks. And he knew he could no longer have Eli sleep beside him. He was about to become an adult. And Eli…Eli was still a child.
He jerked his hand away.
He had to stop loving Eli the way he did. Start thinking of him as a brother. Maybe a cousin. Perhaps just a best friend. But not a boyfriend. Oskar clawed at the pillow beneath him. He had too. He refused to become a paedophile as well as a murderer.
He made his way to the kitchen, and ate his breakfast with his head bent low over the bowl, watching milk splash from his spoon back into the bowl. He never had much of an appetite these days. He had to force himself to eat most meals. Not even after a full night of hunting was he hungry. But he always made a fuss to Eli about how his dinner should be ready; he fed Eli, so Eli should feed him.
But he knew Eli would often forget to make it; too distracted by his precious puzzles. Which would allow Oskar to get angry, give him a reason to hate Eli, and for Eli to hate him. But so far it hadn't worked. He still loved Eli. And he could see it in Eli's eyes too; that he still loved Oskar.
He trudged to bathroom, and avoided his reflection until he was forced to look into the mirror. He winced when he saw himself. His heart felt suddenly heavy. He looked so old. Older than seventeen. What could he do to make himself look younger? He already shaved daily, made sure his hair remained long and curly at the end. He never even wore black because he thought the colour made him look older. No, he thought. I've tried everything, there's nothing else I can do.
Oskar passed the door to Eli's room. Glanced at it briefly, and made his way to the front door. But turned, and walked back.
He pressed a finger against the curly paint and tapped; "I L-O-V-E Y-O-U".
It was a warm day. A sign that summer was on its way. But unlike the people around him, it did not bring him happiness to Oskar, because it meant that soon, Eli would spend most of his days asleep. And by the end of June, Eli would always be asleep until September.
Oskar heard giggling, snapping him out of his thoughts. He whirled, and saw the source of the noise; a group of girls, who blushed and hid their faces from his gaze.
Anger rushed through him, and he half-ran away from the group.
It was a few years ago now that girls had stared really noticing him; giggling, twirling their hair between their fingers, tempting him with their faces painted with foundation and lipstick. Never again would he let another girl make him be unfaithful to Eli. Like last summer…
Eli had been in one his long sleeps back then. They'd travelled to a small town where Oskar had gotten a job in a café. His co-worker had been the owner's daughter; slim, bright green eyes, silky brown hair. She'd been the first real girl that Oskar had gotten on well with. And the first real girl that he had ever kissed.
They'd spent all summer together, working in the café, spending their free afternoons walking hand in hand along the beach. And at night, for once, he felt warmth radiated off the body he slept beside.
With Eli, he knew his sadness would only worsen with age. He had no future with Eli. They couldn't have children, they couldn't grow old together. But now, he had a chance of an ordinary life. He had a future. But his dreams had been shattered.
He was in the café, serving tea to the regular customer, the T.V grumbling in the background. Oskar took no notice of it until he heard the word "murderer". His body went ridged, but his head moved, slowly to look at the screen. It showed photos of the victims he'd killed over the past years. They flashed on screen for just a second each. But one face, the face that haunted Oskar's dreams, seemed to linger on the screen more than a second. It was the tiny, smiling face of a young girl. A girl who had only been three years old when he'd killed her.
That was when it dawned on him. He could not have an ordinary life. He was a murderer. And would always be one.
Even now he saw her little face burn inside his mind, and wiped a tear from his eye, taking a deep breath to stop more from falling. Oskar could clearly remember the day he'd killed her. She'd been crying for her mummy, lost in the woods. He'd taken her hand, told her he'd help her find her mum. But that had been a lied. He'd taken her deep into the trees, let go of her hand, and taken out his knife. He shuddered as he remembered the excitement he'd felt back then, the adrenaline that had filled him when he slit her throat.
It was only when he'd been watching the news the next day that he realized what he had done, as he watched the girl's mother scream and cry with so much pain, that Oskar had immediately thrown up the food he'd just eaten.
He'd not only killed the girl, but he'd killed her mother. Killed her happiness. Her soul. He'd taken her child away from her.
He realized then that he'd lost count of how many people he'd murdered. The people's lives he'd ruined must have be in their thousands. How many people lay awake at night because of him? Filled with so much despair.
He'd vowed that day to only kill people who were alone. People who would not be missed. He would search for the right person, even if it took all his free time. All his free time that he normally spent with Eli.