Almost Forgotten

Chapter 2: Buried in Mud

I am the righteous hand of God.
And I am the devil that you forgot.

"Dinner." I hear the doors being pushed open when the body jumps on me. Choking down, my hand flies to rub my eyes when I see Cailtin in the hallway and my hand is holding Leah. Blinking away a couple of times, I notice the darkness from the outside, meaning I have probably slept through all day.

"Oh my God." I drag my hands over my face to shake the dizziness and headache.

I hear Leah and Caitlin plotting into doing the same thing for Lilah down in her room. Well not quite hers, but during this storm she has agreed to stay here and help me with Leah, which wasn't even the first time, so her having a permanent room here isn't surprising.

The clothes and towels are in my hand as I ignore the mild pain of cramps in my legs and arms when I head into shower. As soon as the air hits my bare body, and the odd shakiness doesn't stop, I understand that I have not escaped fever this time.

Nevertheless I let steaming hot water drip down my bath while I have my hands buried in my hair, trying to wake me up further. My wound is mostly covered when I walk down stairs, greeting all of them shortly before taking the plate with food and returning back. Water is almost filled in when I drop in whatever Caitlin said would make the foaming soap on the surface.

Dipping my feet, then the rest of the body inside felt like heaven on earth. There is a propped up surface where a plate filled with the past lies along with my phone. I make sure not to push it down when I let my elbows rest on the sides. My eyes are closed while the music enchants my ears into a false sense of peacefulness.

The smell of food is luring me in, but I feel no desire to eat it. In all honesty, I feel no desire for anything as I let my body slide over the bath porcelain steel. When my face dives down, my ears are buzzing, the words from above are heard through muffles. The warmth of the body, the sweat in which I woke up in here with me, making my body tremble but my mind is at peace.

It's rarely at peace, so I ignore the rest while I let myself fight with air for lungs rather than answer to doom.

Whichever peace there was, it shattered along with the mirror across me as I dived out from water, brushing away the water and soap as I stared at it. Hundreds of pieces on the floor, bigger ones still in the frame with sharp edges. I am out of the bath mere seconds after, slowly walking around it while footsteps follow from outside.

"What the hell was that?"

"Winter, are you okay?"

"Dad?" the yell from Leah is what snaps me back to reality.

"Yeah." I add, stepping back to wrap the towel around me. "A mirror broke, but I am fine."

Grabbing my phone and tiptoeing over the shattered glass is harder when I feel myself being lightheaded, the situation bringing in more headache for me. Stepping outside of the room, Leah is wrapping herself around my leg before I properly pick her up, still staring inside.

"What did you do?" Caitlin asks.

My lips are parted as I rub Leah's back and I shake my head. Never once in my life have I had a mirror break on its own. "Nothing."

After I hand her to Lilah, I am in my room to grab a pair of new clothes while my sister stays back to pick up the broken pieces. Pulling a sweatshirt over my head and looking at the closet mirror brings up the strange shiver in me as I close it, not wanting another incident.