I finally reached Destri's house. The pain was still as fresh as before, searing through my chest and down my back. The sounds of the people in his room and the extra loud music couldn't be contained, and I heard it faintly even in the basement. Throwing down my backpack on the cement floor, I texted him that I was back before heading to the small bathroom in the corner. There should be bandages here somewhere. I rummaged through the cabinet and found a roll of gauze, some medical tape, and neosporin. I guess it has to be enough...
I slipped gingerly out of my clothes and into the mini shower, turning the water on cold. At first I almost couldn't bring myself to walk into the spray that erupted onto the purple and white tile lining the walls, fearing the pain that would come from it. I have to do it, think of it getting infected or something... So bracing myself, I stepped into the cold stream of water that fled down my ripped back. It hurt so much, but definitely not as bad as actually receiving the cuts. So I stifled my gasps and just let the water run over them, ignoring the cold and the pain and the headache and all that blood flowing down the drain...
As soon as the blood thinned slightly I stepped out, shivering and dripping red all over the place. Immediately I apologized for making the mess that would probably never come out. I tried to move as little as possible and turned to the mirror, attempting to see what Jeff had put on my back if it wasn't just a bunch of scratches-
It was his name. Deeply engraved in my skin, craggy and disordered, still oozing blood. "Jeff". His words came back to me, along with that horrid face. You're mine now...
I decided that I don't really like Jeff all that much.
Putting my jeans back on, I removed the cap from the neosporin and traced the knife marks slowly, wincing in pain. Some of it I couldn't even reach, and remained bloody. The gauze was a lot easier, but it hurt so much more. By the time I was done tears were leaking out of my eyes and I had to bite my knuckles every once in a while. Soon it was finished though, and I put the medical supplies back in the cabinet. Just in time I slipped my shirt over my head because Destri came into the bathroom. Silently, like a cat. The only reason I knew he was there is because of his reflection in the mirror. I looked down to prevent from seeing his eyes, pretending I was busy with my pants.
"Where were you?" I heard him say. The belt buckle suddenly had become so interesting in the past five seconds.
"I was at home," I said, undoing the buckle to take it out and redo it again. I wonder why this belt is giving me so much trouble-
"The picture you sent me is old. And you're not wearing the clothes you were wearing in the picture. Even if it were real, why would you change back into the clothes you had on before the picture? And to go home you would have had to pass me."
Dammit. He takes notes. I closed the buckle and then undid it once again, still staring intently at it. What should I do... Stick with this story or make up a new one? "...I did pass you and you didn't notice, but I did send an old photo because my phone memory was full and I... didn't want to delete any old ones." There. That sounds believable.
He was silent for a moment. Thinking that maybe he believed me now, I turned around and faced him finally. He was staring at me from behind his pan-black bangs with his grey eyes searching my face. "Why did you come back then?" he asked, suspicion filling every word.
Um... ahm... "Because you sounded worried in your texts I guess," I mumbled, looking back down at that friggin' belt buckle. Stop asking questions! "Shouldn't you be upstairs?" I asked, fiddling with my shirt sleeves. Go away so I don't have to keep lying. The bathroom seemed so much smaller now, like I was being judged for my sentence for committing a crime. The light even looked like it dulled a moment.
"...I left an old t-shirt and pants for you to sleep in," he said after a minute. Whew. Finally. I nodded and shuffled past him to the large, spacious basement. "There are plenty of movies in the drawers there, and here's the TV remote." He threw it on the bed and I nodded some more, picking up the clothes folded there. "Eat whenever you want, there's a lot of popcorn for now and cereal for the morning. They'll be gone around ten and down for breakfast at about eight, so I suggest you get what you can before then." He stalked up the stairs, turning to look at me again on his way up. I just stared at the clothes in my hands and heading for the bathroom. Don't look at him. He'll see you're lying.
"I don't have time for this now, but don't think it's over."
"You're not my mom," I mumbled to myself as I closed the door. Geez, he can be so overpowering sometimes.
As I changed into the clothes, my mind played back the whole scene. Jeff, the darkness, the knife, the pain... and then his disappearance.
But he would be back. To "play" some more...