𝔼𝕂𝕀𝕃𝔸

1

The plummet in the temperature of the cold room fell in sync with that of the body that felt like heavy weights against her arms: all indications that she had run out of time.

She shivered as she stared at the body, her vocals seemingly on a leash as her brain processed what had happened at the last minute.

Although she was aware of how and why she ended up in the situation she found herself in, it still felt like a mystery that was unraveling before her.

It would have never gotten this bad if she hadn't decided to fix things.

Vague recollections of her resolve to fix things flashed through her mind taunting her more than the almost lifeless body in her grip.

Fix things!

She shook her head in disbelief, laughing at the thought.

How she could ever think that her 'fixing things' would be a good idea was something she still couldn't understand till that point.

She couldn't fix things; she was only good at wrecking them. Destruction accompanied her everywhere like a shadow, and her Sidam touch was just like the scars on her arm: a part of her.

In the same way, she had ruined everything from the start. The only mistake she made was thinking she could fix it.

A light chuckle snapped her out of her thoughts as she became aware of her environment.

The chuckle was from the one reason she had a paling body in her hands on a chilly Friday night.

She stayed still, not taking her eyes off the body as she heard footsteps approaching her. She remained crouched on the floor, counting the seconds that went by.

Realization hit her at that moment as she glanced up to meet the crystal blue eyes staring back at her. If the blue-eyed girl had it her way, she'd be lying next to the body—and that too—in a matter of seconds . . .

3 months earlier . . .

Chidiogo examined the sheet of paper pulled between her hands. The edges had almost crumpled underneath her clamp-like grip. She paid little attention to that fact and focused on figuring out the content of the paper.

She gulped, lifting the paper to her face while hoping that she had gotten her thoughts wrong lest her dinner would make a reappearance.

The sound of her door clicking shut halted her action. She lost her ability to think for a second as she stood, rooted to a spot. Her limbs felt limp, her heart struggling to escape her rib cage.

The sound of its constant drumming against her chest filled her mind for a moment. It took a while for common sense to kick in and even longer before she felt her muscles returning to life.

Her eyes darted to the sheet of paper still stretched between her trembling hands. She attempted to steady her hands as she mashed the paper between them.

She took slow breaths, trying to focus on what she had to do next rather than her heavy breathing and the footsteps that became more audible by the second.

In a quick and clumsy move, she tossed the paper towards her bed stand. The crumpled paper fell a few feet away, making a few rolls before halting just next to her bed stand.

The urge to be swallowed by the ground was overwhelming as she glared at the paper, wondering why it didn't just land behind the bed stand like she had intended it to.

She tried to still her body in vain, sure that the rapid increase of her heartbeat would give her away even if her shaking body didn't. The approaching footsteps were painfully slow and she fought the urge to run for the door.