She answered the phone, "You have ten seconds," she growled, there was a moment of quiet, "Speak!"
"Tora, you should let us talk with you." Percy sighed.
"What I do is my own problem. Don't try to fix me, because I'm not broken." She said, her voice low and stern, it was angry too, furious. She saw the song line fitting as well, "Hello" was the song's name. She loved it.
"We're your friends." Orion protested.
"Yes, but I don't trust you with this. I refuse." She paused, but only for a second, "Everything has a limit. Nobody was there for me when I went over mine, yet you suddenly care."
"We didn't know. We had no idea." Magnus stated calmly.
"The signs were there. Tell me, how long has it been since I've worn a short sleeve shirt? Or gone swimming? Not worn gloves?" She was met with silence, "No? Nothing? Let's try a more recent change. How about sweaters or a coat? How long ago did I start wearing them every day?"
Quiet again. Tora checked her phone, the call was still going. "How about scarves, when was the last time any one of you saw me without a scarf on? Its mid-Autumn for Gods sake. It wasn't even a little suspicious? Nobody was curious, nobody had a second thought? Nobody saw me when I zoned out every five minutes huh?"
There was silence again.
"It's okay though, I understand that you didn't pay me much attention. I'm not very much worth it, am I?" she sighed.
Blake started to protest, but she cut him off, "I'm not much needed either, looking back on things… Goodbye."
Tora clicked off the phone, and looked up at the white ceiling of her closet, "And shake my ash to the wind, lord forget all of my sins. And let me die where I lie." She sang softly, a hollow feeling in her chest.
Tora crawled back under the blankets, staring at the screen of her phone for no reason. The screen was black, a mini mirror. She examined herself, scars and cuts on her arms, her legs, scratch marks on her neck, and she smiled a little, this was her, just who she was.
Why couldn't everyone just accept it? She was always alone, nobody to talk to, always feeling blank, just emptiness. A vast expanse of nothing. This gave her something to feel, to remind her that she was still alive.
She was surprised to receive a text message. From Blake. She thought blankly that she must've slept long enough for him to run and get his phone, he was one of the few people with her number.
It read, "My words just don't come out right… But I'll try to say I'm happy for you."
"Blue October, "Congratulations." She mused, naming the song. Blue October was one of the bands they both liked.
She tried to reply, staring at the on-screen keyboard, her eyes blank. She didn't know what to say to him. Not now.
She finally sighed, writing "You should just send whoever is out there home, everybody's time is being wasted. I'm giving maybe one or two minutes per call, and only one every ten minutes. Anything else, I won't pick up. That's it, I'm sorry." Tora pushed send before she had time to feel bad about being cold.
She switched CDs. She picked out Blue October, Foiled for the Last Time.
She played a song that she liked, "18th Floor Balcony" Once the song started, she realized, Blake liked this one too.
She restarted the song, and paused it right away. She called him.
He picked up right away, and she put the phone a little bit away from the speakers, then turned down the volume.
She took a deep, quiet breath before pushing play.
And after the song ended, she hung up, and slept, with "18th Floor Balcony" on repeat.
"Congratulations"
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"18th Floor Balcony"
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