FALLEN
Hello
*Playground school bell rings*
His feet fell lightly on the stairs, a disguised bounce in his step as he climbed the steps. The house was so quiet and still he could hear the thick carpet beneath him sink and quiver every time his weight shifted. He moved slower, careful not to breathe, afraid of waking her.
*Again*
She'd told him never to come back. With his eyes closed her words were brutal, tethering his heart in a knot. With his eyes open they could gaze into her soul and see the meaning behind her assertion.
She was afraid.
*Rain clouds come to play*
Thin, smooth sheets of rain spieled against the window like a blind man on a broken piano; so much feeling yet so little of it actually being played.
He'd left her in peace; both understanding and accepting his silent vow that he would be back with an extra coat of armor so nothing she could say would daunt him.
*Again*
He knocked gently and pushed the door a further distance from the wall, stepping inside. The only light filtered through the open blinds, throwing a grayish light around the room.
He smiled at the tangled mass of brown hair on the pillow. Mere minutes in her presence and his weary mind had settled, his jumping nerves calmed as his raspy breaths evened out.
*Has no one told you she's not breathing?*
He moved closer, standing at a safe distance and studied her. Despite the gray flush of the room, her skin still looked vibrant and moon-colored. Her lashes stood out stark against the pale of her face and had her hair not cast shadows, the light pink tint of her lips would have been lost against her pallor.
*Hello*
If his mind hadn't been so distracted by the warmth that flooded his heart, he may have noticed that what he saw was a lie. Her skin wasn't moon- colored and vibrant. It was blue with cold and grey with listlessness. The covers didn't rise and fall with every steady breath; they didn't rise at all. The soft whispers he heard in his mind was actually the rainwater spilling from the gutter she'd never gotten fixed.
*I am your mind giving you someone to talk to*
He heard her say his name and moved to the edge of the bed, lying on top of the covers next to her. He cradled her in his arms, and thought the lull and drop of her head against his chest was from sleepiness.
*Hello*
His hand found hers and he linked their fingers. The chill from her hand spread through him like tickles over his whole body.
"Parker," he whispered. He shifted and she shifted with him, making no moves of her own accord.
*If I smile and don't*
"Parker," he repeated, slightly louder. He nudged her gently. "Parker, wake up."
*Believe*
He pushed her harder this time, untangling their hands and patting her cheek. "Come on, Parker, wake-"
*Soon I know I'll wake*
Blood. Dried and flaky on his fingers. He pulled his hand away from her face, and tilted her head to the side. The crusty stain was drained from a gash from her eye to the curve of her neck. His eyes moved in a straight line from her face to her hand, the one he'd been holding, which was also stained in blood.
*From this dream*
The quick breath he sucked in cracked his ribs as he lifted her hand into his, cradling it.
*Don't try to fix me I'm not broken*
"Parker." His eyes flashed back to her face, and in black and white he saw what his eyes had lied about before. All around him, the blankets he sat on were covered in blood, still wet in places, the thickest closest to her heart.
*Hello*
He hacked suddenly, a splitting combination of a mechanical laugh and coarse cough.
"It's not funny, Parker," he said darkly, then: "It's not funny! Wake up! Wake up!" His voice cracked loudly and tremors shook his body, so violent they knocked him from the bed.
*I am the lie living for you so you can hide*
Backwards on his hands he hurriedly put as much distance between himself and the bed as he could. His back slammed into the wall.
*Don't cry*
His hands were dyed in blood and his face discolored with tears. "Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up..."
*Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping*
He curled himself into a ball, arms around his knees pulled up to his chest, eyes straight ahead, unblinking. His mantra, unceasing.
*Hello I'm still here*
"Wake up wake up wake up wake up..."
*All that's left of yesterday*
**
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