Forever Enigmatic

Chapter 22

SIERRA FELL TO HER knees, crumbling over the weight of all the pressure. Tears continued streaming down her face, but she was so used to the wetness, she was barely conscious of it. Her vision was blurry, but she didn't find it in her to care. She managed to make out the cream color of her washed out kitchen tiles as she pressed her palms against them.

"Sie," she heard Scarlet call out again. Immediately, she felt arms wrap around her. Scarlet lifted her head from the ground. Her brown eyes met her tear-filled ones and wiped her wet cheeks with her fingers.

Zilla knelt down beside Sierra and started rubbing her back. The touch was warm against the cold inside of her. It was like she held the power of warmth, and with one touch, she was spreading it to her insides.

Gwenn and Aura knelt down last, right next to Scarlet. They grabbed any visible body part and comforted her as well. Scarlet still held her face, trying to make her focus. But she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking.

The thought of knowing her mother saw her as a failure in life suffocated her. She saw her as a parasite, a virus she didn't want to catch. Her poor lifestyle baffled her, and she blamed her for being in that position.

After everything she said, Sierra feared she might be right. The fact that she hadn't been able to get out of her rut was enough to solidify her argument. She worked at a café that barely paid her well, overworked herself to exhaustion, and then went back home to study for college but had no real major. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life.

She hated everything.

She hated herself.

"Sierra, please stay with us," Scarlet pleaded.

They were so far away. It was like she was a universe away, reaching a hand out to her friends. They stretched out their hands to no avail. The darkness surrounded her, smothering her.

It welcomed her back.

"She's not responding," Scarlet cried. Her body shook incessantly. She could feel their desperation, but she couldn't quite get there.

She was a failure.

She was a waste of a human being.

Her mother was right. It should've been her instead.

"Sierra, please, don't leave us." Scarlet's voice grew distorted. More voices started chiming in. She heard Gwenn pleading. She heard Zilla murmuring her name over and over again. She heard Aura begging her to come back.

Come back for what?

Was there even something for her to come back to?

What was the point?

There was none.

She was only going to make things worse, on her friends, on her family, and on herself. She wasn't going to succeed. Her mother said so. And by where she stood, she could see it too.

Why not succumb to the darkness in her mind?

"I don't know what to do," Scarlet cried.

More bodies moved around her. That much she was certain.

"Sierra." A man's voice. "Come on, girl, this isn't you and you know it. Where's the girl that brushed off everything and went off to cause trouble?" It was Jake. "Where is that girl?"

Sierra blinked and looked down. Her kitchen floor came into focus. They held their breath.

"I think...she's gone," Sierra croaked.

A heavy hand landed on her back, moving in soft circular motions. The callouses and overall feel was familiar. Kyle.

"No, Sie," Scarlet made her look into her eyes, "she's just very lost, and we'd like to see her come back."

Sierra coughed as she choked on her saliva. Everyone started caressing her body in comforting manners. She didn't know how to feel.

"Let's move her some place comfortable," Kyle suggested. Everyone murmured in what she assumed was agreement, because moments later she was lifted in the air. She could barely understand what was happening.

Her head grew dizzy, but soon enough she was covered in her fluffy comforter. She stared blankly to the side, not particular focusing on anything. She went back to the dark, seeing herself falling backwards.

It was like a mirror. She continued falling indefinitely. Her arms flailed about trying to grasp anything to help her get up. A hopeless attempt, seeing as there was nothing to grab on to.

As she continued watching herself fall, she saw herself realizing the inevitability of the darkness and what she presumed was her soon-to-be landing.

"Sierra, please don't leave," Kyle whispered to her. Her vision tunneled on him. "I'm not leaving you until you come back." He was crouched beside her bed, staring into her eyes. Everyone else stood beside him, peering down at her.

"I'm trying," Sierra muttered. Everyone held their breath after those two words. "Thank you for coming today. You're all so sweet." Her voice was small, barely above a whisper.

"You've done that and more for us," Scarlet sat down by her side, trying not to be in Kyle's way. "Now rest up, we'll celebrate this weekend like we originally planned. Eat the cake though, alright?"

Sierra nodded. Scarlet grabbed her shoulder, leaning next to Kyle, and squeezed it. They stayed there for another couple of minutes, but then filed out of her apartment, giving her some much needed space.

Except Kyle.

He told them he would stay to keep an eye on her, just in case. They all nodded and left.

It was just her and him, in her bedroom, as she laid down on her bed with a brewing migraine.

They had a small staring contest before he shook his head, staring at the floor.

"Go to sleep, Sierra. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He stared again, inching closer to her face. Her lips tilted upwards ever so slightly. Her head pounded, so she closed her eyelids.

Perhaps she could find a latch in all the darkness if she tried hard enough.

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Chapter 22 is so short 😆 (and it's not the shortest chapter on this story) That's why I was saying it needed to be updated quickly with Chapter 21. (Which didn't exactly happen, I'm sorry!)

How did this chapter make you feel?

This was a bit of a different route for me, writing style wise. Did you enjoy reading it?