"Now now, you don't want to watch your mother die, do you?"

"Why are you like this!? What did I ever do to you!? What did my mother do to you!"

"I despise you." She spat. "Arthur, Arthur, Arthur... how would you feel if your mother dies today and someone else comes into your life and claim to be your mother─"

"She never claimed ─"

"But someone else did."

I looked into the eyes of the girl. There was nothing but rage and vengeance. Her black eyes contained so much regret and fury that I shuddered.

God, I hate my life! Why was I ever born? Why did I ever grow up?

Growing up taught me to understand so many things that I did not know when I was a child.

"Mom, let's run away," I told her one day.

She laughed. And I loved watching her curls in front of her face trying to get the hair out. I ran and brought a scrunchie for her. Then as she talked, I made a messy ponytail.

"What about your father?"

"We will all run away."

"Funny." She spoke. But her words contained no emotion as she started pondering.

As I looked at her again, I saw her fading away... into the sea, into the abyss...

And as tears brimmed in my eyes, yelling not to let her go, fighting against someone as they held me tight against them... I saw her sinking below the great depth. When she again looked at me to see me for the last time, I saw not my mother but...

"JANET!" I screamed.

I was jolted awake, snapping out of my dream. To be specific, the nightmare. My shirt was stuck to my skin. I was breathing heavily as if I'd been running for long. But still, I couldn't catch her. Couldn't save her.

"What's wrong with me!? Why was I dreaming about her? Did... did something─"

The thought alone made me shiver. I felt thirsty, hot, and scared. I went up to reach for my water bottle and gulped down in one go.

I waited for the night to end to avoid the nightmare. Because upon closing my eyes I could think of nothing but that nightmare.

⭑⁎꙳⭒☪︎⭒꙳⁎⭑

"Yes... yes. Oh my God! Seriously?..." I watched her as she snickered while talking with her friends. She looked at me through the corner of her eyes and looking away she started talking with others again.

She fucking ignored me. I shouldn't care. But after the nightmare of last night, I couldn't seem to shake the image of her from my mind. That pale skin, dark eyes, curly hair, and the scene of sinking below the endless depth.

Goosebumps rose over my body, and I flinched.

Fuck my ego today. I have to talk to her.

"Janet..." I spoke, my voice was hoarse.

She shuddered, looking directly at my eyes. I could clearly understand that she did not want me there.

"I need to talk to you." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Why?" She spoke again being sassy.

"God, please..." I pleaded. 

"Okay, fine." She huffed.

When I was pushing past the crowd, Wren held me there giving me a worried look. And even though the hall was filled with people, I could hear her ragged breath and the sound of her pounding heart.

"I know." I gave her an assured look and started walking. As soon as I reached the practice room. I pulled Janet into the room locking the door.

"Ouch!" She gave a small yelp and my fingers felt warm and watery. I pulled my fingers up to see blood.

I almost jumped in fright and looked at Janet, through my widened eyes. Her face scrunched up in pain as was holding her upper arm which was bleeding. My whole body trembled.

"W...what happened?"

"Can you be any more rough?" She gritted out.

"How did that happen?!" I asked holding her steady. "No, wait. Don't answer me now, just wait here. Don't go anywhere." I baffled.

I ran to my mother's cabin and knocked. She came out with her eyes puffed up as if she'd been awake all night. But I had no time to examine her face right now as I stormed into the room.

"Mom, I need a bandage and an antiseptic liquid."

"What happened!?" She asked concerned.

"Don't have time to explain Momma... Janet got hurt." I explained quickly.

"How?" She asked.

"I don't know, but the cut on her upper arm looks bad."

She gasped as if acknowledging a unique piece of information. Then looking at me again, she clamped her mouth shut. I looked at her critically.

What was wrong with this woman?

"Can... Can I go with you? She might need my help."

But I didn't want any kind of disturbance as I wanted to talk about something important with her.

"Mom, I can do it just fine. Don't you worry!"

When I returned, I saw her with her roommate, I didn't know what her name was.

"Took you fucking long to bring that piece of thing!" She snarled at me. "And here she's dripping all over the floor-"

"Avery it's okay." Her soft voice seemed to calm her down and she stopped talking and took the bandage and wrapped it around her wound.

"Hey, that needs a wash up-" I tried to say.

"I already did that." Avery replied curtly.

Handing me the antiseptic bottle, she caressed Janet's hair. To be honest, it didn't feel genuine.

"Are you sure, you'll be, okay?" Avery asked.

"I'll be fine, Avery. You have practice, don't forget." Janet said and gave her a smile.

"I swear to God, if something happens to her-" She tried to say but I had had enough. I crossed my arms over my chest and towered over her.

"Then what?" I said as my eyebrows raised.

Her nostrils flared as she mumbled something under her breath and looked up at me with rage-filled eyes. Then without another word, she stormed off.

"Janet..." I whispered, "From where did you get it?" I asked as I pointed toward the injury.

"What were you going to ask?" She asked me, ignoring what I just said.

"My question is linked with this one... where did you get it?" I asked again. I was confused. Was I being too polite to her? And that she was taking advantage of that politeness? To hell with it, being gentle to girls was never my thing. Or, so I thought.

"Nowhere. Just a graze when I fell while playing."

I chuckled mirthlessly, "What do you take me for Janet? A fool? I surely know the difference between this and the graze." I narrowed my eyes at her, and she looked away.

Don't ask it. Don't ask it. Don't ask it.

"Why do you care?" Then she asked the most famous question which I was trying to avoid.

"I do not care. Just... just some... you know what? I'm trying to find something. But if you don't wanna help me then fine." Her eyes widened at my words and just when I was about to turn around and go, I heard her hushed whisper.

"I am finding something too." She said and I stopped dead in my tracks.

I slowly turned to look at her when she started talking again.

"The hushed whispers, the creepy mysteries, and the lies were testing my patience. Arthur, is it really wrong to want to find out the truth? For God's sake, I'm new to all these! I never set foot outside my comfort zone or more like my parents' marked zone. Just had some group studies and casual parties thrown by my close friends. I don't know why the hell are they so overprotective and when I finally started to see what the outside looked like, tons of problems came shooting at me! Not the normal ones but the crazy ones, that no normal person has to face! Tell me, Arthur..." She came toward me, her eyelashes wet with tears, "Tell me do I deserve all these! And even if I deserve, I firstly, deserve to know the truth!" She held my collar with both of her hands and shook.

Her rage baffled me. And I stated calmly ignoring the slight pain in my chest, "What do you want to know?"

"What were you doing outside the café?" She asked all of a sudden. I flinched.

"What... Café?"

"Don't you dare lie to me now Arthur!"

I slowly took my hands to hers and kept them there. There was no way she had seen me there. I had been cautious. I did everything to not let the truth out, did everything to make me invisible but still she felt my presence? God, no! I couldn't lose the game only after coming so close. But the way she looked into my eyes, determined and fiercely, there was no point in lying.

"Yes. I have been there." I murmured.

She loosened the hold immediately.

I cocked my eyebrow at her as I slowly stated, "Now, tell me about this. About this injury." I had to know about this.

"It's just... I wanted to find out about the hushed whispers, the feeling of the negative energies and most importantly I heard someone call my name. Over and over again... like a prayer."

I shivered at the thought, "When was the time?" I asked.

"Past midnight."

Exactly, when I saw the nightmare. Cold sweat broke out on my forehead the world around me started spinning.

"And... when I was just going deeper following the sound, I heard something sharp coming towards my direction cutting through the air and luckily it's just grazed my arm and pierced the tree beside me."

"Tell me you didn't follow it." I stated.

"I did." She paused and looked at me. Then a faint smirk appeared on her face which I tried to erase. I blinked. Twice. I must have imagined that. 

"That was an arrow." She spoke. And I felt as if my heart stopped.

A. Fucking. Arrow? Not a knife, not a gun but a fucking arrow?!

"What the fuck, Janet?! And you told to no one?" I shouted but she shushed me, looking over my shoulder.

"No. You are the first person I told, and I hope you can keep it a secret." She whispered.

I looked at the direction she looked, but holding my jaw she turned my face harshly to her direction.

"I thought I saw someone there but never mind."

"And why do you trust me?" I asked her perplexed.

"Because you're in the same situation as I am, and I know you'll be willing to help me knowing you could also be in great danger."

"What makes you say that?" I asked. The surrounding felt tenser... heaving with dark and untold truths.

She took out a small diary kind of thing and due to darkness, I couldn't see it properly. But the moment she spelled the next words, my heart was in my mouth.

"Because I think I got your pocket diary, Arthur. . ."

Can you guess what Arthur is hiding?

Why is he so terrified all of a sudden?

Any thoughts? :)

Thank you all for reading! ♡