Page 15

My hands grip the bars, my body wanting to be as close to her as possible. Her smile is soft as she kneels in front of me, her green eyes staring into mine.

I don’t register the way her smile changes from sweet to evil, only the pain as the blade slices across my knuckles. Hissing, I pull my hands back and look up at her as she laughs.

“You can call me Teddy,” she says, winking at me before turning back to the table.

My eyes are wide, jaw dropped, as I watch Ameli—no, Teddy—turn back to the boy at the table. I feel cold inside and my own heart is deafening to my ears. Gone is the sweet girl I knew, twisted by the years Jane kept us apart. My hands are bleeding steadily but I don’t notice until Teddy pops back in front of my cage, placing her hand under the blood that's dripping to the floor to catch it.

She watches my face, her big green eyes searching for a reaction. I glance down at her hand, coated in my blood, and swallow deeply. It looks so red against her skin. I can’t help but wonder what her blood would look like on me.

Keeping her eyes on me, she slowly lifts her hand until it’s just out of reach of her mouth. A slow smile curves her lips and a small pink tongue darts out to lick her fingertip. My eyes practically bug out of my head when she lets out a small hum then giggles, flicking her hand at me and splattering blood everywhere. I don’t react when it covers my chest and face.

“Yum,” she says before winking at me and jumping up and back over to the table.

“Well, well, my pretty plaything,” she sings at the boy on the table, the tone reminding me so much of Jane. “How are we doing? Did my pet keep you good company while I was gone?”

The boy doesn’t respond and I’m too in shock to even move, much less say anything. Teddy sighs, putting her hands on her hips.

“Well, you’re no fun either,” she pouts. “Won’t even talk to me anymore. Can’t fuck, can’t talk. Guess I’ll just keep coloring.”

“No!” he shouts, straining against his bonds, “I’ll talk to you! I’m sorry, I’ll talk.”

With her back to me, I can’t see what she’s grabbing and can’t for the life of me figure out why he wouldn’t want her to color. Unease fills me even before she turns around.

“Now I don’t want to,” she replies as she turns around holding something I don’t recognize in her hand. It looks like a fat pen with cords coming from it.

“Please!” the boy starts crying, the sound of his piss hitting the floor only barely audible over his screams. Teddy grins, moving closer as she clicks a small button and turns the device in her hand, holding it just like a pen. It emits a small buzzing sound.

The boy's cries continue and all I can do is sit and watch as she brings the pen down on his shin. The scream rises in pitch just as the smell of burning fills my nostrils, a combination of meat and burnt hair. She steps back after a moment and the boy’s sobs continue. And then I see her creation.

The tool is something that burns deeply, leaving the marks of small flowers with angry red and black. My eyebrows rise, and as morbid as it is, I’m actually a bit impressed with her drawing skills, especially considering the medium.

“Pretty!” she exclaims, leaning forward to continue her drawing.

She keeps going until most of his body is covered in small burnt flowers. Jane never comes, and the screams don’t stop. Neither do her laughs. My headache rages on.

I’m not even surprised when she pitches me into darkness and locks the door behind her. My mind is racing, trying to comprehend what I just saw, what she’s become. What Jane’s turned her into.

A steady drip is the only sound keeping me company.