14 The Writing on the Mirror

Beep Beep! Beep Beep!

Diane's alarm went off around eleven.

Her stomach knotted with suppressed hunger before growling. "Ughh". Her whole body ached like someone had forced her to move bricks overnight across the Red Sea. And her ribs-

Both hands roughly moved to rub below her breasts in search of where something might have cracked. "Nothing? Was it all a dream then?". The feeling of being kicked in the ribs has been so real...

Was it merely a dream?

She could remember up to when she'd left Gwen's place. "I was waiting for an Uber, then...".

Beep Beep! Beep Beep!

Her body jerked up to slap the bedside alarm clock quiet. The noise was giving her a headache already. She felt the urge to lie back down and sleep until she couldn't anymore or her intestines might begin to feed on one another.

After a few rounds of mental struggles, her body moved to get off the bed although her knees seemed to buckle once her feet touched the floor.

It was raining heavily outside which meant that seeing Gwen off to the airport and especially in her condition would be bad. Not to mention the fact that the flight might be delayed due to the weather.

It was after hungrily opening the fridge that she realized that she'd been too flat broke to even stack her house with foodstuff.

She limped towards the kitchen while trying hard not to bump into anything. "Water...". She leaned down to gulp as much as she could from the tap.

"Ahh!". A deep sigh escaped her formerly patched lips and her stomach seemed to be a little calmer now.

"Grrrrrrrww".

Or maybe not-

The nearest supermarket was more than two blocks away and it might be selfish to order pizza during a horrible downpour like this.

She sighed before moving to lie on her couch. Her phone was on the coffee table, shattered. It was the phone Josh had bought for her so many years ago-

A sad smile formed on her lips. "Nothing lasts forever, I guess". She shut her eyes. "Not even a phone".

Her mind has drifted into either taking a shower or braving it to the supermarket. But it seemed the cheaper option would be the best.

There was a knock at her door which came as a surprise since only Gwen knew where she's been staying. Or has she come to check on her?

Diane lazily got up to answer it. "I'm coming!". She flung the door open without asking who it was.

Before she was Josh soaked as though he'd taken a dip into the ocean. But what stood out the most was the deep frown on his lips and the bags in his hand.

"I'm coming in". He moved before she could stop him and placed everything down on the coffee table. "I'm sorry I've dirtied your floor but you should ask 'who' before casually opening the door". His voice came out harsh yet concerned.

Diane merely shut the door in dumbfound silence, had Gwen snitched her newest hideout?

He seemed to notice the expression on her face while taking off his suit jacket. "Don't be mad at Gwen, she said you were drunk last night and your phone wasn't going through".

"I can't believe it...". She shut her eyes to think. Would she be moving to a different place now? Josh was someone that would try to help even without her asking, and at the rate it was going - she won't be able to stand on her own two feet.

Her tummy growled.

With a solemn expression, he approached her. "I still want to be friends with you, please".

The way he said those words made it hard for her to decline. "Sure". She moved away and towards her bedroom to get a fresh towel for him. "Take a warm bath unless you'll catch a cold". She avoided his eyes.

"Diane...". He couldn't stop the warm smile that formed on his lips as he moved to embrace her. "I was so worried when Gwen mentioned you being drunk and leaving alone past midnight. Why didn't you just spend the night there? No, you should have called me! What if something happened to you?". His arms tightened around her back.

"I'm okay". She didn't want him to worry too much. Plus there was no way she'd have called him to pick her up a few hours after making their break-up clear.

Josh pulled away to look at her. "If you won't live with me, at least let me get you a better place that's closer to mine".

Her jaw clenched at those words.

Yes... her apartment was small and plain compared to the places he could afford. But - this was her own decision to make. Would she remain a parasite forever?

She turned away from him. "I'll get the mop". It was a sentence urging him to leave her alone for the time being.

"How did your phone break?". He'd caught a glimpse of it after dropping the stuff he'd bought for her. Since he was the one who'd opened her bank accounts - they were all linked to his phone till about a week ago when she'd gone to the bank to migrate the accounts.

And up till then, she barely had enough to pay two months' rent. Even for a shabby place such as this-

They both parted their separate ways and the warm water licking down his skin felt heavenly.

"Licking...", the words had a touch of nostalgia to them.

He returned with a towel at his waist to find Diane seated on the sofa like a bot.

"Are you hungry? Those are for you". He smiled pointing at the bags.

"You didn't have to". She pouted. "I would have ordered pizza".

"It's raining and I know how you are". He rolled his eyes before moving to sit a distance away from her. She was an odd woman.

While most women would be jumping at the chance to be pampered and taken care of, Diane was trying to throw everything away.

Did she have someone wealthier?

He'd sent her to the most prestigious school in their country which most of her high school classmates couldn't afford and managed to keep tabs on the blackmailer who'd gone to a public university and was working at a cyber cafe now. Karma was surely a bitch.

It was all to avoid certain memories getting triggered.

He reached out to grab a bag of chips to pass to her. "Eat this, while I microwave the food". He took up both bags to leave.

Diane could only look to her feet in embarrassment.

He stopped by the doorway to speak. "One last question". His eyes suddenly turned fierce. "What's the meaning of the writing on the mirror?".

Her eyes turned to meet his. "What writing?".

His frown deepened before he went into the kitchen. "Go see for yourself".

It was as though her heart had begun to pound faster as she rushed into her room to check the mirror.

'I hate the sight of my blood', read the letters written with blood.