AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glance to the side at my girlfriend, Elisa. I think about how lucky I am to have her, and how much I love her.
I met Elisa during my senior year of high school. The first time I saw her was sitting outside on the bench during lunch. It was early September, and the weather was in the low sixties. She wore a tight white V-neck; you could see her black bra through her shirt. Her hair was long and wavy, and she wore bright red lipstick.
Fuck me. She was hot.
Once I had the guts to talk to her, she became my girl the same day. Elisa knew what was going on at home the first time she’d seen my bruises, but she cried harder when she saw Sade’s state.
Elisa was the light to my darkness. I was her dark prince, and she was my saving angel. Whenever she was around, the voice in my head was silenced. The first time she experienced one of my bipolar episodes was after I found Sade half-conscious one night after work. Dad beat her so badly that I thought she was dead.
The next day, I stopped taking my meds. One day became two, then three. Soon the days turned into weeks. Even through all that, Elisa stayed by my side and helped me see that life was beautiful despite the ugliness in the world.
She managed my medications and made sure I stayed on top of them. I stopped smoking and drinking. She even got me eating healthy shit like rabbit food. Eventually, I started to feel better. I had more energy, had minimal episodes, and was finally happy.
“Yeah, baby, I’m good.” I kissed the side of her face.
A month later, the darkness returned when my angel was taken away.
The Day Of
JOSIAH
Tick, tick, tick.
That fucking sound makes me want to rip the goddamn clock off the wall. My hands that are securely cuffed to the table have gone numb. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting at the police station.
The demons were taking over my body. The voices in my head have gotten louder and desperate—desperate to take away what light I had left in me. I don’t recognize myself anymore.
I rock back and forth, locked up in a box with four walls and one door that could lead me to my death, or toward my freedom.
“Shut up,” I mutter, banging my fist on the table to shut the voices out.
I want them to leave me alone. Why won’t they fuck off? They took my first love from me and my mother. What more do they want?
And what about Sadie?
Fuck. I could’ve killed my sister.
I’ll never forget the look on her face. She’s suffered so much, and now I added to that pain. I was supposed to be the hero in her story, not the villain.
The door clicked open, and I looked up to see Carter. He brought me a bottle of water, a sandwich, and chips.
He sits on the chair across from me.
“Jo, you should eat something.” He puts the food on the table in front of me.
You don’t deserve it.
You keep fucking up.
Do you think your sister is ever going to forgive you?
You’re a waste of space.
Kill yourself already.
“Jo? Did you hear me?” Carter’s calm voice breaks the thoughts momentarily.
I nod and reach for the food. After inhaling the sandwich and chips, I down the water bottle without taking a breath between each gulp.
