She walked down the dirt path, mind wandering aimlessly. Her red cape and hood hung from her shoulders comfortably. They were her protection. The only constant in her life, when everything else seemed to crash and crumble around her.

In the distance she saw the little cottage. With a skip in her step she arrived at the door. Her knocks seemed to bounce around inside the house and reverberate back to her.

"Come in," she heard her friend call from inside. The voice was muffled by the thick wood of the door.

"Lainey?" the girl in the red hood called.

Lainey did not answer at first.

"I'm in the room," she finally called.

The girl noticed the tiredness in her friends voice, and something else. Something felt off, but what it was, she couldn't tell.

"Didn't you know I was coming by? I told you at school yesterday."

She lifted the bottom of her cape so that it didn't drag as she climbed over piles of clothes and ashtrays.

"I didn't remember. I was asleep."

"Lainey, how are you?"

"Fine."

Her friend was laying in bed, her face turned to the side. As she came nearer, Lainey drew the covers over her head.

"I know you're lying. You haven't talked to me in days. You're definitely not fine. What is it?"

She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the lump beneath the covers. Looking at her friend, she reveled in memories for a few seconds. This small girl had become such a big part of her life in a short amount of time. She shook her head, clearing her mind of the past to make room for the present.

"What is it?" she repeated more firmly, but also with more compassion in her voice.

"You'd never understand."

"I'm your best friend. Tell me."

"No. You'd never forgive me."

"Delainey, I love you no matter what. You know that."

Absentmindedly, she fiddled with the edge of her cape. The bright red seemed to seep through her, calming her as she waited for a response. Finally, she heard a heavy sigh.

Lainey pulled the covers down to her nose. She twisted so that the girl in the red hood could see her face, and most importantly her eyes.

"Your eyes..."

The girl gasped at the sight of her friends eyes. There was no warmth, none of the emotion that usually filled them. Instead, the eyes were bloodshot and red, with dilated pupils. Of course, she could have guessed what her friend had done, but when the eyes darted to a stash in the corner, she was sure.

"I couldn't help it," she whispered to the girl in the hood. "The stress was getting to me and I needed a release."

The girl just looked back at her friend with defeat in her eyes.

"And that's not all," Lainey continued.

"What?" the girl pleaded. "What else? Tell me."

Instead of answering with words, Lainey just pulled the covers below her chin.

"Your lips..."

She lost all ability to speak as she stared at her friends mouth. There was a cut, smiliar to a bite mark on her lips and lipstick smeared all over them. More lipstick kisses trailed from the side of her face to her neck.

"I know what you're going to say. That's why I wasn't going to tell you."

Lainey's voice actually quivered when she spoke, but the girl in the hood couldn't forgive her this time. She just stared at her friend, letting the pain she felt sink in. Both of them breathed as quietly as possible, neither wanting to break the silence.

"You have no idea what I was going to say," the girl whispered, turning to face the wall. "I love you, is all. I hate to see you get hurt."

"Well it's too late for that," she heard her friend say.

When the girl looked back, Lainey was sitting up in bed, holding her arms out and her palms up.

"Your wrists..." she breathed silently, staring down at her friend's blood and scar covered arms.

The girl felt a tear bead on her cheek. She could barely manage to control her thoughts, let alone her emotions.

"Don't look at me like that," Lainey told the girl.

The girl just stood and walked over to her friend, folding her in her arms.

The last words she said were, "Oh, Delainey, not again."

Then, she pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes. She flipped her hood over her head and left silently the way she had come.

Impressum

Texte: Juniper Lee
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 04.08.2012

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Widmung:
To my best friend, My little girl, And the person who will always be in my heart. One and the same. Delainey