Katy McKenna

Nothing Can Tear Us Apart

Morning slithered through the curtains and touched the hardwood floors with a silent whisper. A girl sat upright on a bed of luxuriously fluffy white sheets and a down comforter that surrounded her like a cloud. Hair cascaded in falls of chocolate brown that rippled over her bare shoulders and reached down to where the top of her white silk shirt met the middle of her back. She glanced around the room and took in the scene around her. The light was streaming in from the windows and dancing across the dust particles that lingered in the air. The room around them glowed with a shimmering, fantastical ambiance that gave her the feeling of floating; a feeling of dreaming. She inhaled the sweet September air with her eyes closed and her lips pursed, breathing steadily in through her nose and out through her mouth. Her fingertips began to search through the blanket surrounding her until they met a rough, fleshy surface a few inches away. Using her forefinger and middle finger, she gently walked her hand up the height of the surface and left circular patterns in its wake. She opened her eyes and visually picked through the sheets until she saw a hint of gold peaking out from underneath the nearest pillow. Without making a sound, she picked the pillow up and threw it across the room, allowing her eyes to marvel at the masterpiece before her.

Color had never affected her in such a way. She felt her chest swell and ache at the image in front of her. Her heart beat heavily in her chest as the memories of a former conversation flooded into her mind and seared the corners of her skull. As gently as she could, she moved his head ever so slightly to the side to see his masterfully sculpted face and allowed a sigh of relief to escape her lips. He was still sleeping, and she loved to watch him sleep. As she continued to draw miscellaneous patterns on his back and along his arms, his voice slipped into her mind, and she closed her eyes again. "Jess, we have to talk."

"Yes, dear?" Her voice replayed so sweetly in her own mind.

"I don't think this is working out." The pain in his voice had been almost tangible.

"What do you mean, dear?"

The scene unfolded across the inside of Jess's eyelids. Daniel had just walked in dressed in his work attire with a jacket roughly thrown around his shoulders to keep off the chill of the night. Jess sat on the bed in her night robe with her nightgown already on underneath. The windows were closed, and outside, it was dark as the trees that lined the streets three stories down blew gracefully in the wind. Daniel's hands were shoved deep in his pockets while Jess laid across the freshly made bed.

"Just come to bed, dear, we can work all this out in the morning." A smile played on Jess's face, but Daniel stayed put and rocked back and forth on his heals. Jess stuck out her bottom lip and shifted her weight to her elbow. "What's the matter?"

Daniel didn't meet her eyes. Instead, he continued to look at the ground and said, "Dr. Schwartz called, Jess. I know you've been canceling your appointments."

Jess scoffed and pushed herself up into sitting position. "There's a perfectly good expl—"

"And you haven't been taking your pills."

"What makes you think—"

"The pharmacy called and said you haven't been back to refill your prescription in over two months." He looked up at her and saw that her face had gone from sensuous and playful to horrified and anxious. "Two months, Jess? I thought you were going to stick with it this time."

"I have been. I'm better, I mean. I haven't heard from her in all that time without the medication, I swear."

"That's not the point, Jess. You're supposed to be healing, and you can't do it by yourself; we've already tried that, remember?" He rolled up his jacket sleeve to reveal a long scar that extended from the nook of his elbow down to his wrist.

"I'm doing much better than I was, Daniel, and I think it's rather rude of you to completely disregard my progress. This isn't easy for me, you know." Jess hopped off the bed, wrapping her robe tightly around her torso and tying it in a double knot, tugging it hard before dropping her hands to her sides.

"You've been showing improvement, but that doesn't mean you're suddenly all better, Jess."

Her hands clenched into tight fists. "Penny hasn't been here since June, Daniel. June. Do you know how much progress that is? There was a time when I couldn't go without seeing her for a few hours. Nearly three months is monumental, and all you care about is keeping me medicated!"

Daniel stepped forward and reached out a hand to her, "It's not like that at all—"

"Don't touch me." Jess retracted her arm and walked out of his reach.

"Jessica, you need help, honey. Please, just go talk to Dr. Schwartz."

She was now pacing around the room with her thumbnail between her teeth. "I knew it. You want to get me sent away, don't you? You want to get rid of me, is that it, Daniel? Is it?"

Daniel shook his head, frustrated. "No, Jess, I don't. I want you to get better."

"I am FINE." Jess shouted at him from across the room. Her legs were firmly planted on the ground and she was breathing heavily. Daniel crossed the floor quickly and grabbed her hand, yanking her fingers away from her mouth. He held up her hand at eye level.

"Look at your nails, Jess. Do they look familiar? Didn't you always used to bite them down to the quick when Penny threatened to show up? By the looks of your nails, she's been around in the last month. And quite frequently, judging by the bleeding." Jess tugged her hand free and smacked Daniel with the back of it so hard that he staggered to the side.

"I thought I told you not to touch me."

Daniel rubbed the side of his face. "You need help, Jess. I'm calling Dr. Schwartz, and telling him he needs to make a house call. Just lay down and go to sleep and we'll talk about all of this with him in the morning." Jess stood in the middle of the room cradling her hand to her chest. Daniel cleared his throat and swallowed the lump that had begun to form at the base of his Adam's apple. "I love you, Jessica. I just want you to be healthy, honey." Jessica dropped her hand and slowly walked up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pulling him into a tight embrace. Tears dropped onto his jacket and left a dark spot where her makeup rubbed off. "Everything's going to be alright, Jess." She peered over his shoulder and searched behind him until a gleam caught her eye, bringing a smirk to her face. She broke the embrace and gave him a quick smile as he maneuvered around her and headed towards the door. A chill ran up her spine as she wrapped her fingers around the cold scissors on the bedside table…

She opened her eyes at the muscle memory. Her hand tingled as she looked down and saw that she was still drawing patterns on Daniel's back. His golden hair contrasted against the white bed sheets sent goosebumps trickling up her arms. Suddenly, her eyes slid out of focus. She closed them and shook her head a few times before opening the again.

She squinted at the light as she reopened them and looked around the room. Confusion etched itself on her face as she looked down at the flesh under her fingertips and panic began to seep through her body. She bent down to his cheek and ran a hand gently though his hair, but Daniel didn't move. She kissed him on the cheek again, more roughly this time and whispered, "Daniel, get up, dear." He didn't move. A gasp escaped her lips as she lifted herself off the bed and walked around to his side table. Just as she got around the bed far enough so that it was no longer blocking her view of the floor, she shuttered. Enormous blotches of rusty red covered the fluffy white carpet and the side of the bed.

Frantically, she rushed to the lump of blankets under which Daniel was hidden and threw them off the bed into a pile across the room. A scream escaped her lips as she collapsed on top of the bloody, lifeless mess that was Daniel. She looked up at his face, so angelic and peaceful she would've sworn he'd been asleep, and began to sob as she took it in her hands. His body effortlessly moved at her command as she shoved herself onto the bed and lifted the head of golden locks into her lap. "No, no, no, Daniel baby, please don't leave me." She ran her hands through his hair with so much vigor and desperation that clumps of it started to catch on her fingers and fall out. Sobs racked through her body as she collapsed on him yet again, awkwardly wrapping her arms around any part of him she touched.

She heard a knock at the door, but ignored it, burying her face in Daniel's hair. Her chest ached and her head started throbbing as the knocking on the door grew louder. She inhaled and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"Jess? Daniel? It's Dr. Schwartz, are you home?"

The sound of his familiar voice caught her attention and she jumped at the opportunity to get help. She gently placed Daniel's head back on the pillow and ran to the door, slipping on a pair of scissors covered in blood by the edge of the bed. She threw the door open and let him in, trying to describe the situation through her hysterical sobs. Dr. Schwartz's eyes grew wide as he glanced into the bedroom and saw the red splatters that covered the bed. He ran his hand through his hair and stuttered attempted words of condolences. As he spoke, her eyes slid out of focus. He cocked his head to the side as he watched her regain her consciousness.

"Are you alright?"

She looked at him like she'd just realized he was there, smiled and said, "I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry, Jess. Do you know what happened?" Dr. Schwartz reached into his back pocket and held down a button, speed dialing someone.

She shook her head solemnly and looked into the bedroom. "Jess is going to miss him so much. She'll never forgive me."

Terror appeared in Dr. Schwartz's eyes as he put the phone up to his ear and whispered urgently into it. She stepped past the doctor and back into the bedroom, gazing proudly down upon her creation. The smile on her lips slipped into a smirk as she looked down and noticed the dark red stains on her palms. She looked back up into the face of her opponent and her lips parted into a grin. "Now nothing can tear us apart."