Her eyes were frozen over, like frost that quickly spread over a crystal windshield. The night had grown cold and ashen, Chloe's breath rapid as she blinked away from the darkness that spread like wildfire. The only warm thing about this night.
Chloe's hand rested lazily on her stomach, moving up and down with every movement she dared to take. The pain that moved past her body was unimaginable. Excruciating to the point of no return. Pins and needles danced across joints as she clenched her eyes shut.
"Fuck," The red-head struggled to grasp her surroundings. It was almost impossible. A stiffness was eminent in her neck- sore and undeniable. She propped herself up on her elbow, glancing around as the sun started to rise in a milky sky. The graveyard. She was still here.
Her fingers found their way to the syrupy liquid that wicked into the collar of her shirt, it was dried and scabbed over a painful mark that she couldn't quite place. Everything felt so hazy. She heard a noise, met a girl. Then nothing. There was nothing left of her memory to suggest why she would be laying in the darkest part of the graveyard after the first night on the job.
A buzz filled the air. Her phone, it was still wedged in her pocket. Why she didn't' call the police last night escaped her. She was in a haze. She was still in that haze. A low fog had rumbled from the cooling ground as the sun began to warm up the morning air. She fished in her jeans until she cringed away from the bright neon screen. Aubrey. She had called at least fifteen times.
Sixteen counting this one.
"Hello?" Chloe was shocked at the gruffness of her own voice.
"Chloe?" Aubrey spoke smoothly, worry laced within her words as the college student begrudgingly pulled herself up from the ground. She had to get to her car. Get to a shower and a nice glass of water that would quench the undeniable thirst that followed suit. She was loud. Too damn loud. "Where the hell are you? You went to that interview, and then nothing."
"Sorry," The red-head scratched the back of her neck, careful not to catch the wound that she hadn't gotten a good look at yet. "I must have fallen asleep. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Fallen asleep?" her friend scoffed. Chloe could just imagine the pensive gaze on the woman's face. She was probably up pacing the small length of their dorm room half the night. "In a cemetery?"
"The grass was comfy." She squeaked, trying to convince herself more than anything. "I'll be home soon, just don't… don't freak out okay?"
"Why would I?" Aubrey was calm. An unnerving calm. "Not like my roommate decided to vanish in the middle of the night after a meeting with the town recluse."
"Bye, Aubrey." Chloe deadpanned, shaking her head as she shut off her phone. The light was too damaging. It made her want to shield her eyes and crawl under the blankets. Her car looked like the nicest thing she had seen for a long while. The girl settling into the front seat as she turned the keys in the ignition.
Fuck. That engine was roaring.
Chloe gritted her teeth, shaking her head as she used her shaky grasp to put the vehicle in drive. Sensory overload was an understatement at this point. Her lips were chapped and mouth tasting of iron.
Her thoughts wandered as she drove down the nearly empty streets of the small college town. The bakery lights flooded the street in a golden pattern as she passed- but the rest of the area was desolate. Empty and quiet. Just like the girl she had met last night. She was odd- so odd that she was alluring. Her words were like knives, but the sharp edge had been shaved down to nothing more than a smooth surface. A kitten with bite.
She tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel, drawing in a sharp breath as she pulled into the parking space in front her dorm. The glass was tinted, a few students who were foolish enough to take early morning classes half-heartedly made their way to lecture. She locked the door behind her, pulling out her badge to flash it to the woman who always sat behind the desk.
"Whoa, Miss Beale" Stacie spoke with care as she raised herself from her chair. It was squeaky, the wheels in good need of a replacement or a can of oil. She came out from behind the desk. She looked tired herself, dark hair falling into an even darker gaze. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," She lied through her teeth, not knowing the state that she was in. "Really, it was some Halloween party. An idiot with some fake blood."
"It's November." Stacie lifted a brow, "Do you need me to call someone?"
"No," She assured her, a little hurriedly "No, it was one of those themed raves. Nothing to worry about. I promise."
The security guard wasn't too convinced. She waved the girl away, regardless. It was nearing the end of her shift and the Red-head clearly was in need of a shower and a good rest. She lowered herself back into her seat as she shook her head. Chloe made her way to the dorm room at the end of the hall. It was tiny and smelled of floral candles. This morning, it was overwhelming, though.
She didn't bother with the key on the chain, instead, she pushed her way in, knowing that Aubrey would leave in unlocked- just waiting for her to come in. The blonde was curled up on her twin bed- clearly stressed enough to not sleep a wink the night before either. She stirred at the sound of the closing door.
"Chlo?" She sniffed, rubbing her eye, "Oh my god, Chloe."
She was standing now, the red-head dropping her leather bag by the door as she let her sore shoulders slump. "That job is no joke." She defended, voice exhausted.
Aubrey lifted her chin slightly, deep grey eyes peering into crystal ones. She placed her cold grasp under her friend's chin, shifting her head to the side slightly to get a look at the bloody mess that ravished her shoulder. "You're not going back there."
Chloe let out a small noise that was a mix between a groan and a growl. She started to busy herself with finding a pair of clean sweatpants and a t-shirt. Everything had the scent of gain attached to it. It was almost sickening. She needed a shower, and fast. Her Russian Lit class wouldn't wait for her to get presentable.
"I have to Bree," She finally spoke as she held the cold fabric between her fingertips. "There's no way I can afford another year at Barden on just a scholarship."
Her blonde friend was silent. She was lucky enough to have a trust fund saved up. She was slowly working off that- not worrying herself with how to pay for another semester at a private boarding school. Her father was a meticulous man who cared about planning. Unlike Chloe's mother who barely scraped by when she was growing up. Money was few and far between in the Beale house.
She dropped it, shaking her head as she flopped back down onto her mattress. Her eyes were dark and sunken in. In an odd way, Chloe knew that her friend worried more about her safety than she did. Everything was still so mixed up in her memory. The Twenty-year-old stared for a few seconds before reaching for the handle of the door.
Chloe was quiet as she padded down the hallway towards the shared showers. At first, they made her uncomfortable. The thought of flashing an unsuspecting girl was enough to make heat rise to her cheeks and burn brightly. Now it was almost normal to see a towel slip or a woman who just didn't' give a damn about who was watching.
Part of her didn't' want to look in the mirror. Her appearance was jarring, not only to her overprotective roommate but to a security guard that would never bat an eye towards intoxicated students stumbling back to their rooms. It made her nerves taught. They bubbled up against her stomach as she settled into a small stall that the bathroom had to offer.
She closed the small shower curtain, it's plastic rings scraping against the metal bar. She gritted her teeth, cringing away from the rough sound. There was a small mirror tacked to the small area that she set her towel and clothes. It was chipped at the edge, bleeding into a sickly green.
Chloe took a steadying breath as she finally caught a glimpse of her reflecting in the thin glass. She stared directly into her eyes. The once blue was dull and pained. She was nervous. She shouldn't be, though, right? It was her, just a different version of her. She had spent a night in a graveyard, that was enough to alter anyone's perception.
Her skin was pale, ashen, just like the fog that rolled through the protruding headstones. Chloe let out a slight gasp as she turned her head painfully to the side- her messy ginger hair falling from a hair-tie that was barely holding itself together.
The blood that so contrasted against her skin was strong and slowly drying to a copper brown. This was one of her favorite shirts- she regretted wearing it to the interview. Wearing it to dig a giant hole in the ground.
The one thing Chloe couldn't' tell was how bad the wound was. She was so muddy- so sore, that nothing really seemed to matter. She didn't want to go to the emergency room. Refused. There was no way she could afford to miss another round of classes just for a small cut.
Instead, she let out a small sigh as the flicked on the water, waiting patiently as a thick steam filled the small room. She would be okay. It would all be okay. It had to be.
