Chapter Sixty-Four If You Want to Die, Just Ask
I'm My Own High School Rival: Rika's Arc.
Eyes wired shut, I felt around, stretching both hands out to understand where I was. However, there was no ceremonious pleasure crowning the end of my decompression, just uncertainty with its broken grin. No light bore behind my eyelids, and no silk or constricting cloth bound my face, so the room must be dark.
I stopped moving and breathing to better understand who was around me. But silence was my only company.
I can’t believe that I fell asleep that freaking fast. I could have waited an hour longer, so I’d have an idea about where she would be when or if I woke up… maybe I’m already dead, and I can’t open my eyes. Maybe she killed me, and my mind is tricking me into believing that I was still alive.
I drew my hands back, searching my neck for any gashes where she may have cut. But I was fine. Then I began checking my arms by embracing myself, looking for sharp sensations caused by cuts. But nothing hurt.
Fighting back the desire to sigh, I checked…down there.
Everything was intact. So, why is everything okay?
The world around me blurred into vision as I made sense of shapes on the ceiling. I looked to my left and right, finding myself alone, and then I looked toward the foot of the bed, remembering the chair she had placed there. It was empty.
Had she seriously just left me here like some second-rate killer? I mean, what if I walked out of the room…
“Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to use the restroom,” I said, testing reality.
But after I said it, I continued lying on the bed, wiggling my toes, and staring at the ceiling fan. Had my body betrayed me?
I brought my hand to my face and gently grabbed a lock of hair. I measured the frizziness.
Eventually, I’ll have to go home… My Dad will have to—
I took a deep breath, dropping the clump of hair and letting my hand fall back to its side.
I yawned, leading into an amazing stretch, closing both eyes. Dread filled me when I opened them as the blood hurried from my face.
Above my head, she lay perfectly still across the pillows, wide black eyes staring down at me like she had been waiting for me to wake.
She reached over and rubbed my frozen face.
“You should use the restroom, and I do mean in the actual restroom,” she said.
“I-I can’t move. Why?”
She shifted her weight for the first time, bringing her face closer to mine.
“I didn’t do anything to you if that’s what you're implying.”
“I-is it okay?”
She smiled something false, crawling over to me until we were eye to upside-down eye.
“I’m not a monster, Cross. So, go to the bathroom, but leave the door open.”
I gripped the comforter.
“What’s wrong, Cross? What happened to the boy in the alley with eyes that could kill, or the you on the bus?”
My eyes widened, and so did hers.
What an asshole.
“How did… Why didn’t anyone stop you from…. Bus,” I said as her eyes grew uncomfortably large.
“You’re very expressive; it’s deceptive. Are you an assassin?”
I could see my fearful reflection in her eyes.
“An assassin?”
She rolled to her side, leaning on her arm. She picked up a piece of my hair and studied the frizziness and texture.
“When we danced in the alley, I thought that you were an amateur assassin from one of the clans, until you bit me.” She worked her way flat, lying next to me while still holding eye contact. “Getting you on the bus was simple. I carried you.”
Blinking slowly, she smiled genuinely for the first time.
“No way,” she nodded. “I’m one hundred and sixty-seven pounds. With dead weight, that’s like two hundred and twelve pounds. Are you telling me—”
“Yes, like a baby, Cross.”
If she’s strong enough to carry that much, why the knife?
“I-I… Bathroom.”
“I’m not stopping you,” she said, sliding to an upright sitting position. “But I understand your concern.” She placed her hands under her armpits and waited.
Without hesitation, I jumped up and raced toward the bathroom. My heart pounded. But once I was there, I could only turn slowly to see what was behind me. She was still on the bed, staring at me as if I had done something spectacular.
I touched the door, and her posture changed. So, I let go and made my way to the toilet. Fortunately, I had some privacy.
I sat down without preparation. I fiddled with my fingers and checked my clothing for damage.
“Using the restroom doesn’t take that long, or do you need help?”
Her voice sounded a fair distance away, and there were no looming shadows by the door. I looked around the bathroom, but it was stripped bare of typical items.
“I-I need to close the door,” I said with each word losing momentum. I looked at my shaky hands, balling up my fingers and blowing hot air on them. “Can I ask you a que—shit!” I screamed, covering my mouth.
She was leaning into the doorway, but I didn’t hear her move.
My heart pounded, and I was sure she could hear it, too.
“It isn’t cold, and the air conditioner is off.” She stepped fully into the doorway. “Are you going to ask me why I kill?”
“No… I-If you stand right there, can you close the door?” She blinked slowly. “You can hold the knob if it makes you feel better.”
While holding my stare, she reached in and gently closed the door.
***
I washed my hands, slowly, letting the warm water comfort me. I knew she was waiting for me, and I was sure of what was going to happen next.
Turning the water off, I turned to the door, unsure if she still held the knob. I gently knocked, and the door opened.
I stepped forward, lifting my chin and clenching my teeth. My eye twitched in anticipation, but she only stared without saying anything. Asking her why would only get me hit. She wasn’t much taller than me. If anything, she was the same height as adult Sakura.
Her eyes moved back and forth between me and something on the wall: a towel.
Hesitantly, I reached up, drying my hands. Once dry, she stepped to the side.
Just kill me…
I exited, turning to face her, and I started walking backward to the bed like a mouse locked in a cage with a cat. Once a good distance away, she followed me until I got to the side of the bed and sat down.
And again, she was staring at me…
“Why?” I covered my mouth. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Yes.”
Her voice was calm, without any hint of regret.
“So, why this? Why let me sleep?”
She reached over, gently tugging at the hand covering my mouth as she had done before, and my body prepared for the pop, but it never came.
“It’s easier to understand you this way. If you want to die now, just ask.”
I sighed, gritting my teeth.
“You are…something else, do you know that? I saved your as… I saved you.”
She smiled. “Interesting. Please explain how you’ve saved me.”
I gripped the sheets before realizing the bed was made.
“The boy you were going to kill, the one in the alleyway—”
“My mark.”
“Well, the girl he’s dating could end the world.”