Melodies
Chapter 44: Kell
I walked through my bedroom door, falling into bed and hugging my pillow tight. I was tired. I was frustrated. I was having issues with the clawing sensation in my chest and the headache that only seemed to grow as time passed.
I didn't sleep; I just rested a few minutes. I had a mountain of homework to finish, and I'd been putting off practicing for a while. If I messed up the duet, I would never forgive myself. I'd worked way too hard on it to miss a note or get the bowing backwards.
That said, if Sydney fucked it up too, I'd probably be pissed at him for the rest of my life.
Something didn't feel right when I went downstairs. Momma wasn't home, but she should have been. Her car was gone. But she shouldn't have gone out. She never went out after 8. She was always in bed, reading or finishing up some work.
"Jamie, are you home?" I called out, a little creeped out by the eerie silence that filled the house.
I heard a cough and the sound of someone knocking something over in the garage. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. I hated the garage. There were bugs and gross things in there, and the lights never worked. It was already dark outside, so chances were that I wouldn't be able to see much of anything in there.
I crossed through the kitchen and laundry room to get to the garage door. "Jamie, are you in the garage?"
"Kell, you're so fat. Look at you. You're practically obese."
I pushed the door open, shining my phone in as a light. I couldn't see anyone.
"I'm not fat."
"Yeah, you are. What do you weigh? Like, 130? You're huge. Your stomach sticks out. Your thighs are massive. Your arms don't even have a shape. And your cheeks, Kell. They're so big I'm surprised your face can support them."
"I'm not fat." I found myself poking at my skin as I tried to find him, though. I guess my stomach wasn't all that flat, and I always had kind of a baby face.
"You are fat. You're just in denial."
Everything felt wrong. It was dark and gross and I couldn't find Jamie.
"Okay, I'm fat. Where are you?"
"I'm right behind you."
I turned around, but there was no one there. Where I would have normally been pissed off, I was just scared and confused. Jamie had never spoken to me like that before. And he was so fucking impossible to find.
I turned forward again, only to see Jamie standing about a foot away from me, shirtless and exposed. He looked like a skeleton, and I was fairly sure he was sick. His hair was everywhere, and it looked dirty. His eyes were sunken in, and his skin was practically transparent. Bruises covered him, and his nails and lips were discolored. When he smiled, I saw that his teeth were pretty bad too.
"What happened to you?"
He took a few steps closer to me, and I stayed still, even though I wanted to run away. He grabbed my wrist, making me flinch. He pressed my hand to his chest.
"Wha-"
There were tiny things poking out of his skin. I jerked my hand away, entirely freaked out by everything. I stared at his skin, where my hand had just been. As I stared, something happened. It was grotesque. It was unnatural and disgusting and when I saw it, I had to resist the urge to vomit.
Little hooks, like fish hooks, started tearing out of his chest, curving just so they stayed attached but hung out in the open, covered in blood. He laughed as they broke out of his skin, tearing him up.
"Jamie, what the absolute fuck is going on"
Nails and screws and even just little pieces of wire started falling out of him too as he kept laughing, letting them do as they pleased, falling to his feet or staying on him, deforming his once smooth skin.
A nail hit my foot, and I looked down as I flinched. It was only at that moment that I realized I'd been standing on a huge, dead spider the entire time.
I didn't sleep; I just rested a few minutes. I had a mountain of homework to finish, and I'd been putting off practicing for a while. If I messed up the duet, I would never forgive myself. I'd worked way too hard on it to miss a note or get the bowing backwards.
That said, if Sydney fucked it up too, I'd probably be pissed at him for the rest of my life.
Something didn't feel right when I went downstairs. Momma wasn't home, but she should have been. Her car was gone. But she shouldn't have gone out. She never went out after 8. She was always in bed, reading or finishing up some work.
"Jamie, are you home?" I called out, a little creeped out by the eerie silence that filled the house.
I heard a cough and the sound of someone knocking something over in the garage. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. I hated the garage. There were bugs and gross things in there, and the lights never worked. It was already dark outside, so chances were that I wouldn't be able to see much of anything in there.
I crossed through the kitchen and laundry room to get to the garage door. "Jamie, are you in the garage?"
"Kell, you're so fat. Look at you. You're practically obese."
I pushed the door open, shining my phone in as a light. I couldn't see anyone.
"I'm not fat."
"Yeah, you are. What do you weigh? Like, 130? You're huge. Your stomach sticks out. Your thighs are massive. Your arms don't even have a shape. And your cheeks, Kell. They're so big I'm surprised your face can support them."
"I'm not fat." I found myself poking at my skin as I tried to find him, though. I guess my stomach wasn't all that flat, and I always had kind of a baby face.
"You are fat. You're just in denial."
Everything felt wrong. It was dark and gross and I couldn't find Jamie.
"Okay, I'm fat. Where are you?"
"I'm right behind you."
I turned around, but there was no one there. Where I would have normally been pissed off, I was just scared and confused. Jamie had never spoken to me like that before. And he was so fucking impossible to find.
I turned forward again, only to see Jamie standing about a foot away from me, shirtless and exposed. He looked like a skeleton, and I was fairly sure he was sick. His hair was everywhere, and it looked dirty. His eyes were sunken in, and his skin was practically transparent. Bruises covered him, and his nails and lips were discolored. When he smiled, I saw that his teeth were pretty bad too.
"What happened to you?"
He took a few steps closer to me, and I stayed still, even though I wanted to run away. He grabbed my wrist, making me flinch. He pressed my hand to his chest.
"Wha-"
There were tiny things poking out of his skin. I jerked my hand away, entirely freaked out by everything. I stared at his skin, where my hand had just been. As I stared, something happened. It was grotesque. It was unnatural and disgusting and when I saw it, I had to resist the urge to vomit.
Little hooks, like fish hooks, started tearing out of his chest, curving just so they stayed attached but hung out in the open, covered in blood. He laughed as they broke out of his skin, tearing him up.
"Jamie, what the absolute fuck is going on"
Nails and screws and even just little pieces of wire started falling out of him too as he kept laughing, letting them do as they pleased, falling to his feet or staying on him, deforming his once smooth skin.
A nail hit my foot, and I looked down as I flinched. It was only at that moment that I realized I'd been standing on a huge, dead spider the entire time.