Violet

Chapter 16: Laughter and Pain

I was watching my parents dance, when all of a sudden, I felt someone's hand take mine. I turned around quickly. Smiling at me was a boy that looked a couple years older than me. The boy wore a loose black silk shirt with leather cuffs and black trousers. His brown hair was messy, like he had just woken up, his skin pale. His eyelashes were long, like a girl's. His eyes were blue and green, spotted with flecks of silver.

"Hello, I'm Ryan," he said. Because I didn't know him, I stared at him, head tilted to the side. He must've thought I was looking behind him, because he looked behind himself like he expected to see some weirdo standing there. He let my hand go and smiled. "May I have this dance?" he asked.

I didn't really know what to say. I had never danced with a boy before; I had never danced before, period. My palms started to sweat from nervousness.

"It'll be fun," he said, taking my hand once more. Could he do something like that? I wondered. Could he just take my hand without my permission and lead me away from my parents for a dance? The music seemed to get louder as he began moving along to the music with my hands in his. He swayed me to the left, then to the right and I felt as stiff as a board. I just wanted to break away from him in that moment but I couldn't. His eyes were locked on mine, and it was almost comforting. He spun me around and I laughed when he pulled me in then out. He laughed too, which made me laugh harder because his laugh did not match his looks. It was goofy, but... I actually liked it.

He let me go and did some move, then told me to mimic it. It was the move where you move your arms like a wave only he did it with his arms then his legs. It looked so cool. I tried it and when I did, he laughed even more at my lack of rhythm. His laugh was contagious and I had to laugh whenever he did. He took my hand once again and we danced together, but this time faster. At this rate, I could dance until the sweat dripped to the wood floor, until my reflection revealed my pink cheeks. I had never felt that way; it truly was an experience I'd never forget and one I hoped to have again.

***

After that, sleep came easy and the dreams were of more twirls and leaps to the music that was part of my blood. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep with a smile on my face until a noise woke me up. When I woke up, I saw the sky and felt the cold air against my body. I realized that I was outside.

I sat up so quickly I thought I would pass out. The mansion was in front of me and I quickly ran back inside. I locked the door, then ran upstairs into my bathroom. When I turned on the light and looked in the mirror I saw something horrifying. My reflection wasn't in the mirror. Something else stood there and looked at me. I think it was looking at me. It had no eyes, just a round distorted face. Its abdomen, bent all the way over to the right, twisting and moving. The head of this creature had long white hair and brown rough shedding skin. Before I could figure out what I was looking at the creature, it reached a hand through the mirror and pulled me inside with her.

I woke up again around 7 AM to the sound of someone outside mowing the grass. I looked out the window and saw that it was my mother. I quickly laid back down and massaged my temples. I hated night terrors and I had so many of them these days. I was about to get up when I felt my stomach bulge. The pain throbbed in my guts, deep and warm, but not in a nice way. It felt like someone had their hand in there and was squeezing my organs, first gently and then as hard as they could. When it stopped, I could move again, but when it returned, I could only hold still and breathe, breathe slow and deep until it passed. I hadn't had the strength to even call my mother. I tried to lift my shirt but had to pause so many times in the process.

When I finally lifted my shirt, I found long stitches that lined from my belly button half way up my stomach. I couldn't scream, I couldn't move, I couldn't call my mother. I laid there and waited until someone came and for many hours to pass, no one came... I just laid down and cried.