Lost Lies

I woke up in a panic, gasping for air as if I’d been held underwater and was finally being allowed the sweet relief of oxygen.

I let myself drop back down into the bed I was laying in, its silk red sheets twisted and crumpled as I’d been tossing and turning, trying to get away from something, but I couldn’t remember what.

I was about to close my eyes when I remembered what had happened and didn’t have a clue where I was.

I sat up slowly in the bed, examining the room.

The room looked sixteenth century Goth; it felt as though I had travelled back in time, to another century. At the corner of my vision, an open marble fireplace sat, slowly burning away chunks of wood, giving the room a homey feeling.

“Are you ok?” A voice came from the doorway.

I whipped my head around to see Alex leaning on the door-frame, smiling, a towel slung over his shoulder. He was only wearing a pair of black loose jeans that hung dangerously low on his hips. His hair was dripping wet with water like he had just got out of the shower and a strong scent of peppermint radiated from him.

“Where am I? Where are Sarah and the others?” I asked in a panic, trying to scramble out of the king size bed, but I wasn’t fast enough.

Alex hands pushed down on my shoulders as he said, “Calm down. You need to rest; you have a fever.”

I fought against him until I sighed and stopped struggling.

“Good,” he smiled, pressing the back of his hand to my forehead.

“You haven’t answered my question.” I hinted under my breath, knowing he would hear me anyway.

Alex sat on the edge of the bed beside me.

“You’re at my house – well, mine, Danny’s and Casper’s, but I don’t think Casper will be coming back here anytime soon,” he explained.

I nodded, “ O.”

“Sarah has gone back to her hiding place after she explained why she wanted us. Cara and Evangelina have gone dress shopping for tomorrow night and Danny -.”

“Is here, running around like a servant, making you dinner and explaining to Detective Hull where you have disappeared to.” Danny confirmed from the doorway, carrying a tray with a can of cherry Coke, a spoon and a bowl of something that smelt of garlic.

“Here,” he smiled, placing the tray on my lap.

“Thanks,” I smiled back.

“Is it still high?” Danny asked Alex.

I looked up from the soup. “Is what high?” I asked.

They both looked at me for a moment, and then Danny shook his head and laughed, “Nothing to worry your little head about.” But his laugh sounded forced, like he was hiding something.

I frowned, looking down to eat the soup again, letting the different herbs and spices dance across my tongue.

“Alex, can I have a word in private, please?” Danny asked, signalling for him to join him near the fireplace at the far end of the room.

Alex glanced at me and smiled before getting up to join Danny.

From the corner of my eye, I watched them whisper in private. Every so often, they would glance at me, then look away and start to argue.

After ten minutes of arguing and disagreement, Alex left the room looking a bit frustrated, but his eyes looked as though he was grieving.

“Why don’t you go take a shower? If you need a change of clothes, there’s a cupboard full of clothes in the corner of this room.” Danny called dryly from the fireplace.

His back was to me as he leaned forward, his hand resting on the wall above the fire and a small shot glass of a honey brown substance in his other hand. His head was bowed as if he was ashamed of something.

“Erm, ok,” I said softly. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Second floor - opposite the stairs,” he said sadly, laughing lightly at the end, but the laughter that fell from his lips sounded forced and strained.

I pulled myself out of bed and padded to the door, where a set of spiral steps led up to the top.
I stood confused, looking up at the spiral steps as I watched a set of candle lit lanterns flicker and light the way up.

Oh, not something you see every day, I thought.

As if sensing my thoughts, Danny told me, “You’re in the basement of the house, Alex’s room; he is a dark and mysterious person, worse than me. That guy was a cold blooded killer in the day.”
When I turned around, he was still lent over the fireplace, but I could sense the devilish grin on his face.

I felt a cold shiver rip through my body like wild fire. I never would have thought Alex to be a cold blooded killer.

Danny laughed softly and turned to face me, smiling softly as he said, “You shouldn’t be afraid, Cherry Pop.” Danny grinned when I frowned at the nickname. “Since Alex first met you, something changed in him, you changed him.”

“Me?” I gasped, pretty shocked that it was me who changed him.
Danny nodded.

“But how?” I spluttered.

“He loves you, but you don’t understand how much.”

In a blink of an eye, Danny was stood before me, his hands resting on my shoulders.

“He loves you more than you think; there’s something in you that makes him tick, makes him want to die for you or go to hell for you, even though you may barely know him he knows you more than you think.”

I felt a blush slip into my cheeks.

“See?” Danny smiled, his hand brushing my cheek.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Danny just shook his head and I quickly closed it.

“Just the look in your eyes tells me you feel the same for him. As a close friend of his, his brother, please keep him the way he is.”

Before I could say anything, Danny disappeared up the stairs.

After a moment’s hesitation, I padded up the stairs, my bare feet creating a slapping sound that echoed as I climbed the steps.

I was shocked when the scenery changed dramatically from sixteenth century Goth to oak wood furniture and plain light colours.

Alex was sat on an L shaped sofa, his arms and head resting on the cushions behind him and his legs resting on the glass table before him.

As I padded past, his eyes flickered shut and he smiled to himself.
As I reached halfway up the stairs, Alex’s eyes flicked open, blood thirsty and red but it quickly drained away to his normal eye colour.

“Enjoy your shower,” Alex said softly, a devilish smile on his face as he continued to stare up at the ceiling.

“Erm...thanks,” I called, quickly making my way into the bathroom and locking the door.

“Wow.” I gasped to myself.

The bathroom was large and Victorian, with a teal green and white colour scheme. In the middle of the room sat a large round bathtub which glistened with water speckles from Alex’s bath.

On the far left sat three Victorian large white basins with a wash stand. Above the basins sat three silver framed arched mirrors with shelves, perched on which were deodorants and other masculine things. On far right of the bath room, there was a high level lavatory with an oak seat.

At the wall facing the door were three large triple glazed arched windows with a set of glass shelves holding towels and other bathroom products, below them.

I smiled as I headed over to the bathtub to fill it up, only to be greeted by the strong scent of mint, but my smile soon faded when I glanced to the mirror and saw Chris in the mirror, a sad smile on his face, his hands pressed against the mirror, tears running down his pale cheeks.

I quickly ran to the mirror, pressing my hands where Chris’ were. His smile tipped higher when he glanced at our hands.

I felt tears silently rolling down my cheeks, but I was careful not to break down before him. I knew he was only just an imagination in my head, but I couldn’t resist it.

He began to write on the mirror backwards from his side with his finger, and it came back on my side the right way round.

I smiled, watching the words form, knowing exactly what he was writing - lyrics to Sad Song by Christina Perri.

“Today, I'm gonna write a sad song, gonna make it really long, so that everyone can see that I'm very unhappy. I wish I wasn't always wrong, I wish it wasn't always my fault, the finger that you're pointing has knocked me on my knees,” I crooned, tears pouring like taps from my eyes.
Chris began to write the next line when we both noticed he was beginning to fade away.

“No!” I cried, banging on the mirror with my fist.

Chris began to do the same; the glass cracked and shattered into pieces.

I let out a howling scream of pain, the loss of Chris finally coming to terms with me fully and for good.

I crumbled to the floor, clutching my bleeding hand, great sobs of disappear bellowing from my lips.

I curled into a ball on the cold tile floor, my heart racing, my mind reeling with images of the sad memories...how I found him in the his cupboard bleeding to death, how Alex screamed at me he was dead, how I betrayed him when I kissed Alex, the constant spin of my mind.

A loud knock came from the door and Danny’s voice drifted through.

“Winter, are you ok in there?” He called; his tone full of worry.

When I didn’t reply, Alex’s voice drifted through as he pounded on the door, his tone also full of worry.

“Winter, let me in. What’s wrong? We heard you scream. Please, open the door.”

I carried on sobbing, my head in my bleeding hands, my eyes swollen and blotchy.

Through my cries, I heard the bathroom door splinter and crack as if someone had just booted it.

Through my blurry vision, I watched as the door smashed to pieces and went flying around the room, Alex and Danny stood on the other side of the door.

Alex rushed to my side while Danny dashed to a shelf, pulling a bandage from a first aid bag before rushing to my side.

“H-he is gone,” I croaked.

Alex and Danny shared a worried look.

“Winter, what have you done to your hand?” Danny asked, pulling my hand away from me to pick out broken shards of glass and bandage it up.

“He-he was in the mirror, he-he-he was just there. Trapped, he-he was trapped,” I stammered, becoming confused and crazed.

Alex lifted me from the floor, carrying me downstairs to his room while Danny cleaned up the blood and glass.