Kiss From a Rose

Matt winced and hissed as he poured peroxide on the carving on his chest. The wound bubbled bleeding slightly as Matt wiped it off. After cleaning the wound he stood in front of the mirror looking at it.

Whatever it was Ember had carved it deep into his chest. So deep it probably would never go away.

It was a strange looking symbol it was a circle with what looked like an eye and hands nearby it. Near it was a wild rose.

Matt traced it before putting gauze on his chest as he tended to it the phone rang. He walked over answering it.

"Hello?" He said.

"What's up Matt?" Brian said. "Haven't heard from you in a while."

"I've been occupied lately." He said.

"Occupied?" He asked. "By what or who?" He asked with a hint of that smirk in his voice.

"It's a who." Matt said. "Her name is Ember."

"I knew it!" Brian yelled. "No wonder you haven't been calling." "You're too busy rocking this girl's world every night."

"More like she's rocking my world." Matt said eyeing the bandaged wound.

"Oh so she is good in bed." Brian said. "What does she look like?"

"She's pale, blue eyes, her hair was black but she dyed it red recently, as far as body she's borderline between skinny and average." He said.

"So when do I get to meet her?" Brian asked.

"She's not really social and when she does talk she says the strangest things." Matt said.

"Strange?" He asked. "Like how?"

"As in it makes you raise your eyebrow and leaves you confused." Matt said. "Sometimes it also makes you question her mentality."

"Her mentality?" Brian asked. "What exactly does she talks about?"

"She's always talking about magic, occult, what things like colors and symbols represent, and death." Matt said.

"Death?" Brian asked. "Sounds like this chick is twisted and a freak and I don't mean in the good mindblowing sex way." "I mean she may have something wrong with her."

"I'm starting to think that too." Matt said. "I mean I find it kinda appealing and the things she would tell me are interesting but now I'm worried."

"Worried?" Brian asked. "What did she do?"

"Today during sex she pulled out a dagger." Matt said. "She cut my chest licking the blood."

Brian made a disgusted sound. "She sounds like she's night he part of those blood drinking cults."

"That's not all." Matt said. "She craved a symbol and a rose in my chest then told me to leave."

"What kind of symbol?" He asked.

"I don't know what the hell it is but it looks like some kinda satantic or symbol used in witchcraft." Matt said.

Brian was silent for a while. "Matt you gotta get and stay away from this chick."

"That is the smart thing to do but at the same time I don't want to." He said. "Even though she is fucked up I feel like I can't stay away."

"Matt if she's carved some shit into your chest just think about what else she can do and is capable of." Brian said.

"I know Brian I've lost my mind but I find that even more attractive about her." He said.

"Yep you're totally fucked up." Brian said. "This chick could kill you in your sleep and you don't care."

"She wouldn't." Matt said. "She doesn't stick around long enough to do so."

"You mean she just vanishes out if nowhere?" Brian asked.

"Yeah like sometimes we're together and she'll say she needs to be somewhere and she won't say where." Matts said.

"Sounds like she's hiding something." Brian said. "Something she doesn't want you to know about."

"Well I'm going to find out." Matt said grabbing his keys. "I'm going right now."

"Be careful man." Brian said. "I don't wanna have to go to a funeral for another friend."

Matt drove finally returning to the apartment complex where Ember lived. Getting out he got on the elevator pressing the button for the third floor.

When the doors opened he walked down to her door and knocked. There was no answer so he tried to open the door finding it locked.

Matt started jiggling it. "What are you doing?" A voice asked.

Matt looked behind him seeing a frizzy haired woman standing there. "I'm trying to reach the woman who lives here." He answered.

"Well you're wasting your time cause she no longer lives here." The woman said.

"What?" Matt said. "I was here about an hour ago and she was here."

"Well she's not anymore." She said. "Good riddance to her to sge was a very strange young woman."

"You've talked to her?" Matt asked.

"Rarely if ever." The woman said. "And when we did she was always talking about dark topics that made me uneasy." "It was always about magic, serial killers, and tragic historical events."

"Anything else?" Matt asked.

"Sometimes it sounded like someone else lived there but all I would see is her." The woman said. "Not to mention it sounded like she was talking to herself."

"Talking to herself?" Matt asked.

The woman nodded. "She would be yelling sometimes go away, leave me alone, or why do you hate me so much?" "Kept me up at night sometimes she's someone I definitely won't be missing."

With this said the woman went back in shutting her door. Matt stood there processing this new information. He looked back at the door pulling out a paper clip and started picking it.

Matt finally got it open and turned on the lights. His eyes widen the entire apartment was empty and bare as if no one had ever occupied it.

Walking through he found nothing that showed that Ember had been there. Walking back to the living room he glanced down seeing something.

Squatting down he reached under the couch pulling out two items the first was a red rose the other was an empty prescription bottle.

Turning it over Matt read the inscription...

"Prescripted to Ember McClain take two times a day." The rest had been ripped off.

Matt laid in bed that night his mind swirling in all kinda of questions. He was brought out his thoughts by a light tapping noise at the window.

Getting out he pulled back the curtains seeing the raven perched on the ledge with a note attached to it. After untying it from its leg the raven flew off into the night.

Matt opened it a few blue and gray rose petals falling out. The letter read...

"Sometimes we get involved with people that lead us into very dark dangerous places."

"Come to the theater at 7 tomorrow night you'll understand then."