ShoutOuts from Claire:
Hey guys, I really love you all and love writing these stories with my good buddy Madi. We got really excited when we mapped out everything for the next stories. Every time we are too busy to post chapters for a good bit, Madi says she gets a ton of messages asking where we are. Which is why I was a bit confused when we didn't get that many reviews.
Now we're not begging for reviews, or getting mad at you guys, like you seemed to think was the case. But it would be rewarding for us to know that you do really love our stories and follow them as you used to. In the first few chapters, the reviews would come like a storm, and now they are drizzle. Please come back in a hailstorm, it would be wonderful.
We all have busy lives. We get it. Madi is in college, and I'm in my most critical year of high school and trying to decide what the hell I'm going to do with my life and have as few mental breakdowns as possible. God knows what you all have to deal with. But if you could take a few moments to write a simple "Keep up the good work" or something, we'd be much obliged.
Thanks, my friends. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Though this chapter is from Claire's point of view, these songs are Madi themed. Hope you like them! There are three, because I'm good at finding angsty songs.
~ THEME SONGS ~
Sleeping Sickness ~ City and Colour
Everywhere I Go ~ Lissie
Flowers for a Ghost ~ Thriving Ivory
.C.I.W.
14. Promise
After a long day of training and a shower, I had pretty much immediately passed out on my bed in the Institute. Sleeping was a blessing, a moment of quiet.
Of course, it didn't last long.
A loud, piercing scream made me bolt upright in my bed. It was a sound I'd never heard before. Fear, pain, desperation – all wrapped up into one bloodcurdling sound that made my heart stop.
And it sounded like it was coming from the room next door.
Obviously, I was out of my bed in the next instant. I grabbed my whip that had been sitting on my nightstand, hearing it slither behind me and give a small snap as I ran to the door.
BAM!
That sounded like a door slamming.
I grappled the handle and pulled the door open, racing out into the hallway –
I was welcomed to seeing a blur roll out of Madi's room. The room where I'd heard the scream.
Madi stopped in a crouch, twin blades held in an 'x' in front of her. Her face was white as paper, looking murderous and… completely desperate.
"Madi?" I asked, my voice still sounding surprisingly sleepy. "What's happening?"
She jumped around to face me. In a second, the blades were at my throat and I was staring into Madi's eyes.
"It's me!" I yelped as one of the swords got dangerously close to my jugular. "It's Claire!"
Looking at her up close, though, I could see something else…
Terror?
No, no, that couldn't be right. Being terrified wasn't Madi's style.
With a flash of realization, the swords were gone and sent flying back into Madi's bedroom, an angry snarl of frustration following.
Madi herself had gone sliding down the wall. She slowly and rhythmically began beating her head against it, knotting her hands into her hair. I could hear her mumbling to herself, and caught the words "fucking" and some other profanity. I leaned in a bit closer to hear better.
"Why can't she just get it over with… kill me already… do it quick…"
I knelt down next to her, and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. I'm not going to lie, she was scaring me a bit.
"Madi? What happened?"
Suddenly, her eyes were fixed on me, looking suddenly crazed. "You have to tell them." She said abruptly. "You have to tell my family. They have to know if something happens."
To say in the least, I was confused. "What?"
"They can't not know. You have to find them. You have to tell them."
"I don't understa –"
"Please. You have to promise me."
"Madi, what are you talking about?"
She suddenly gripped my arm with bruising force. "Promise me!" She insisted.
"I promise!" I yelped, not knowing what else to do.
She immidiately let out a deep breath and her eyes closed, sagging back against the wall. Her hands slowly loosened on my arm, helping me regain circulation. She looked as if I had just lifted a huge weight off of her shoulders.
I stayed crouched on the floor next to her, just to make sure she was reasonably okay. After a few seconds, her eyes opened and met mine once more. Suddenly, she looked like she was back in the world of reason again, giving me a scrutinizing look, before pushing herself to her feet.
"Sorry about that." She said, sounding surprisingly casual for just having some sort of mental breakdown. "You can ignore what I just said – actually, I'd prefer it."
She dusted her hands on her pants, then combed a hand through her hair, seeming to put herself back together. For all the world she looked like the same old Madi, but there was something off. I couldn't quite place it, but there was definitely something wrong.
"Wait, what?" I demanded, jumping to my feet as well. "No, tell me what's going on."
"It was just a nightmare, that's all. I'm sorry for freaking out on you. It was nothing." She moved to go back to her room, and I went after her. I don't know what it was, but that definitely wasn't nothing. I recognized a mental breakdown when I saw one. Madi suddenly looked like she was at the end of her rope, but I didn't know why.
"That didn't look like nothing, Madi –"
"Well, it was!" She snapped. I took a slight step back, frowning, and she sighed. "Look, Claire, just ignore it. It was a bad dream. They happen. Drop it."
"If I can help, then let me!" I almost followed her into her room, but the glare she gave me stopped me in my tracks. "Why can't you let me? I deserve to know!"
"Goddammit, Claire! You don't want to!" She slammed the door in my face.
I stood there for a second, dumbfounded. Then, finally, I moved towards her door, pressing my hands against it.
In Madi's room, I could hear things being thrown around, a cry of anger, and finally a loud crunch that made her wall vibrate. I almost reached for the door handle, but when I heard quiet sobbing, I pulled back.
.C.I.W.
Okay, note from Madi.
You really need to listen to these songs. The last one, Flowers for a Ghost especially. When I heard it, I was attacked by serious Verdantian feels, wanted to curl up in a corner, and sob. Seriously, I'm the writer. I should not be getting Verdantian feels.
But, holy hell, though! Dat angst!