WnW 2.10

Huh? 

I stared at the poster that was taped to the back of the door. The woman on it had a large crown that rested over one of her eyes while she looked back at me with the remaining one. My hand still rested on the metal doorknob. I tightened my grip and opened the door again.

“Close the door,” Gail said in a sing-song voice. I complied, stepping into the hallway, then shutting the door.

“Hey!” she shouted. “Come back inside.”

This wasn’t the time to play games. I needed to find a way to escape. Maybe I could find a phone…

I had opened the door and walked back into the room without thinking.

Gail frowned, wagging her finger at me, hand on her hip. “Momma and Papa say you’re not allowed to leave or I’m gonna get in trouble.”

The disconnect between my actions and my intentions finally clicked. She’s controlling me.

I immediately felt queasy and shut my eyes. Chase’s grin seemed to dance behind my eyelids. This constant stream of events out of my control had to stop. I felt raw. Everyone was trying to make me do what they wanted. Fuck that.

I strode quickly towards the door, grabbing the handle- 

“Stop!” Abigail said. 

I froze, but I kept my eyes on the doorknob. After a moment, I regained control of my body. I swung the door open and tried to run out. 

“Stop, stop, stop,” Abigail sang. 

I fell forwards as I froze mid-stride. I tried to catch myself but I couldn’t move. My face smacked into the railing of the staircase.

“Come back inside.” 

With one last look down the stairs my body obeyed, picking itself back up and walking back into the room.

My cheek smarted. Another bruise to add to the list. My frustration was boiling up.

Gail was watching me with her pouty face all scrunched up. I took a deep breath and calmed down.  It wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t be upset at her, so I needed to be smart and figure this out.

I looked around the room as I puzzled it out. There was a dresser that blended into the walls, painted the same shade of pink. An old box television sat in the corner with a short stool beside it, I guessed so that Gail could reach the antenna on top. Various magazines and printed pages scattered around the floor showed Gail’s obsession with Jess Jance. That was her name in the show, I didn’t know the actress’ real name.

Was Gail’s gift the same as Chase’s? No. Back in the car, I’d felt nothing; no needs, no wants, no feelings. I’d done what Chase had told me to because I hadn’t cared. That wasn’t true here, I was very much aware of my clenched fists and racing thoughts. This was a different power with different rules.

I took another deep breath and crouched down next to Gail. She grinned, pleased that I had given up on leaving.

“Hey, look at this.” I raised my arm, showing her the raised circle of white bone on my forearm. “Remember when you asked me what my gift was?”

She nodded energetically.

“This is it.”

“Oh,” she said, looking confused. “What does it do?”

“I’ll show you,” I lied. “But you have to tell me about your gift.”

Gail’s face fell. “I can’t. It’s against the rules.”

I mimicked Gail’s pouting face. “But it won’t be fair if you know mine but I don’t know yours.”

“It’s against the rules!” she said firmly, crossing her arms.

I sighed. “So what are we supposed to do? Just sit here?”

Gail crossed the room and dragged a large box out from under her bed. The box was a hoard of paper and art supplies. She took out a handful of drawings and showed them to me. “I usually draw and tell stories when I’m stuck in my room. We can draw together!”

She rummaged around and found some loose crayons and coloured pencils. Looking at the shiny colours gave me an idea. “Sure, sounds fun,” I replied.

While Gail was gathering all the colours she needed, I went over to the window and placed a few of the crayons on the window sill. The surface was warm to the touch from sitting in the sun’s rays.

I joined Gail on the floor to draw. My remaining crayon was set to the task of drawing a yellow dragon. Gail immediately started chatting about High School Rule and what the characters favorite foods were. I listened for a while until there was a gap in her monologue.

“Hey Gail,” I said softly. “I noticed the bruise on your face.”

Her hand stopped halfway through adding a nose to her drawing of a cat.

“Was that because you let me go before?”

She nodded.

I felt a jolt of remorse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that would happen.”

Another consequence of my actions not being thought out ahead of time. What was the plan if I even got outside? Surely Julie was still watching me. I wouldn’t get far before Beth would be alerted. I had to wait for Jason, but what if he was caught or failed to start the fires? I wanted more assurance.

There was someone I had been choosing to ignore, a potential ally, their intentions still unclear. The person in the chapel. They were tied up in all of this, yet their connection to me specifically was undeniable. I hated the old feelings that got dredged up every time we interacted, but maybe I had no other choice. The grove of trees beyond the field was out of reach, I couldn’t risk it. I needed to contact them from near the house so I wouldn’t be found out.

That seemed impossible. Except, perhaps, there was another way.

I waited another hour before checking on the crayons at the windowsill. When I did, I found that they were soft enough that squeezing them changed their shape. I held them behind my back and turned to Gail.

“I need to use the washroom.”

Gail looked up at me, squinting suspiciously.

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to pee on your floor instead?”

“Fine,” she said, standing up. “But only for a little bit.”

She led me by the hand down the stairs and through the hallway. I rolled the crayons around in my hand, forming a ball. 

“No tricks!” she said, shutting the door behind me.

“No tricks,” I repeated as I locked the door. I tore the warm crayon wax into two small pieces and pushed them into my ears. After making sure that they had a good seal, I turned to the sink. The flower wasn’t there.

Hurriedly, I looked around before I saw a white petal peeking out from the waste bin. Thankfully it rested on top and I gently extracted it, making sure not to damage the drooping petals. 

Was it too late? None of the petals had fallen off, it still looked fairly healthy. I placed it into the sink and ran the water as I removed my shirt. My right shoulder still had a fresh scab from where I had ripped it out.

I twirled the stem between my fingers. The flower was as big as my hand, petals glistening with drops of moisture. Am I really doing this?

There was a murmur from outside the bathroom. Gail saying something.

I guess I am.

Reaching up, I held the flower over the same spot. The roots were cold and tickled my bare skin. I waited. The roots didn’t move. The sound of the sink running sounded like a distant river through the earplugs.

Drops of water ran down my arm. I started to get antsy. How was any of this real life? Stuck inside a bathroom, hiding from a girl who could force obedience with her words, trying to contact someone through a flower. I’m fucked. I’m going to die. No one will ever reach me. No one will ever know.

The anxiety poured down on me, locking up my muscles like ice. I needed someone to reach out. I felt so alone. I felt…

The emotions were so powerful that my legs shook. My head swam with negative thoughts. I was fine a moment ago. Well, not fine, but I was managing to stay sane. Why now? It was almost like I wasn’t just bearing my own emotion but instead the fears of two.

I stared at my reflection, eyes blurring with frustrated tears. For a moment, the outline in the mirror wasn’t my own. Oh. My realization smashed up against the realization of another, a person in a different place.

My reflection grew clearer. The flower had taken root. I was no longer alone.

Emotions hung in the air, some of them were mine, but they mingled with others that were not. Hesitation, trepidation, hope. They were waiting for me to speak.

“Let’s try this again,” I said to the empty room. “Hi stranger, my name is Nick.”