Sienna’s green eyes danced in the silvery moonlight. Her pale skin was practically shining in the darkness. The only thing that was shinier was in her hand. A blade.
“Cut my arm,” Kaleb said, holding out his raw flesh, exposing his bare arm to Sienna’s blade. Sienna licked her top lip in delight and kissed his perfect skin. Drawing her head up slowly, she looked him in the eyes. Lowering the blade enticingly to his arm, Sienna began to slash. Her cuts were precise and planned. Blood spilled out of his once beautiful flesh. Trickling down his arm, the scarlet beauty was breathtaking to both. Sienna lowered her head seductively; she began to lick his open wound. Her soft lips were covered in Kaleb’s blood. He couldn’t hold back any longer. Savagely throwing Sienna on the bed, he kissed her with passion. This was their secret.
Sienna lowered the sleeve of her jumper, hiding the evidence of the night before. No one would understand the beauty and passion of their sacred act. No one else would ever know. The bell rang loudly, disturbing her dark thoughts. Sienna slowly pushed up the sleeve, just for a peek of the ecstasy she had felt less than 24 hours ago. The markings were there. Her scars were so delicate. So graceful. No indication of how disturbing they actually were.
Kaleb rested his head in his palm. The monotonous drone from the teacher washed over him. All he could think about was Sienna. And the night they had shared. He too was wearing long sleeves, not wanting to invite anyone to their secret escape. No one will know. None of the brain-dead zombies he called his friends, not the parents who brought him into this world. It was too special to share.
After what had seemed like eternity away from her beloved, Sienna finally saw him. She drew a sharp breath in as she caught sight of her true love. Although she had seen him many times, he still gave her butterflies and tingling fingers. When she saw Kaleb, it was like time stopped. No one was there, no matter how crowded the place may be. Her feet seemed to touch the air as she bounded lightly over to him. Sienna felt free when, and only when, she saw him. Leaping into his arms, Sienna covered his face with kisses. Tiny as she was, Kaleb liked to pretend that he was struggling to hold her. Taking Sienna by the hand, he gently led her to a secluded part of the school. No one ever ventured down by the drain pipes. After all, why should they? Kaleb silently invited her to sit down next to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he conveyed his emotions through his actions, as opposed to through words. Sienna’s knees pressed up against Kaleb’s chest, her cold hands cupping his face.
“I couldn’t stand being away from you in class today. It was hell. I needed you there, by my side,” Kaleb professed, gazing deeply into Sienna’s eyes. Sienna nodded. The emotions she felt were too hard to translate to words. She preferred to show him, through her actions. Leaning forward, Sienna kissed him, her love spilling into his soul. Gently taking her wrist, Kaleb kissed it softly, before drawing back his lips. He bit her wrist, blood spilling onto his tongue, removing him from the world. Her blood was irresistible. Who could refuse the sweet nectar of another’s soul?
Walking through the dimly lit street, all Kaleb could think about was his one and only, Sienna. She consumed his heart, his mind and his life. If anything ever happened to her… no. He couldn’t even think it. It would devastate him beyond words. There would be no purpose to life; he would have to join her in the unknown after world. Fiddling with the door handle, Kaleb let himself into his empty home. Well, not exactly empty. His brother was there. And his mother was probably in bed. Empty of emotions his house was. Shane, his older brother, was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a poorly made microwave dinner. Barely acknowledging Kaleb, he dumped his plate in the sink and left the room. Kaleb sighed heavily and pulled out a chair, collapsing in it. After his father died, his mother had barely gotten out of bed. And if she ever did, one glance at Kaleb would send her in a fresh burst of tears, leaving her bed-ridden for weeks. His mother used to tell people with pride how her son’s piercing blue eyes was just like his fathers’. Now she couldn’t look into them without pain flooding her veins and heart. Resting his head in his arms on the table, Kaleb shut his eyes and tried to sleep.
Sunlight burst through the cheaply made curtains. Sienna blinked rapidly, trying to wake up properly. Turning on her side, she looked at the clock. 8:32 the clock blinked. Shit. She was late. Her mother was probably still knocked out from last night and there was no way in hell she was going get a ride from her mother’s latest “boyfriend”. Drug dealer was more like it. Tempting thoughts of ditching school flickered through her mind, but only for a second. She couldn’t spend the day not seeing Kaleb. And her mother was likely to wake up, completely hung-over, ready to abuse her. No, she had to go. Walking was the only way, no matter how late she was. All she knew was that she had to be with Kaleb.
As soon as she walked through the school gates, she knew she had made a mistake. Dread pounded through her stomach like the beating of a drum. Without thought, Sienna pulled her cell out of her bag, her fingers dialing the well known number. After two rings, he picked up.
“Please come. I need you,” Sienna said, hanging up the phone before he replied.
He knew where to meet her. He always did.
Kaleb jogged down to the drain pipes. As promised, Sienna was their waiting. Her dark hair flowed around her shoulders, creating an almost angelic look about her. Kalbe felt time stop as she glanced up into his eyes. The tear streaks were not the first things he noticed. The blood flowing from an open wound on her cheek was.
“I just felt so helpless,” whispered Sienna, burying her bloodied face in her knees. Kaleb sat down next to her, holding her in his arms. Soothingly he kissed her hair and rested his cheek on top of her head. Kaleb’s eyes closed as they rocked back and forth together. Finally Kaleb felt at peace. He couldn’t sleep without Sienna by his side. Her soul slept happily by his. They gently lay back and slept peacefully.
Kaleb rubbed his eyes as he woke up. The sun had dropped down, the day was gone. So was Sienna. Why had she gone? Kaleb pondered this as he sat up. Hoping no one had noticed his absence. Pulling himself up, Kaleb began to wander home.
Sienna dabbed her open wound with a tissue. Hopefully no one would notice. She didn’t want to leave Kaleb behind, but she couldn’t help it. If she was gone much longer her mother would know, and she could never find out. Passing her mother’s bedroom, Sienna tried to ignore the sounds from the “client”. She had learnt long ago that if she wanted to eat, she had to push past the utter disgust of the act. At the tender age of fourteen her mother had decided to put her to work. “Learn the value of money”. But instead of working at the local supermarket like other teenagers her age, Scarlett was selling herself to the scum of society – the countless men she’d sold her body to, to paid the bills. She could tell no one, not even Kaleb. Not because her mother said so, she didn’t give a damn what that woman said, but because of the shame associated with her lifestyle. How could she expect Kaleb to accept her if she couldn’t accept herself?
Lying on her bed, her eyes to the ceiling, Sienna just stared at the darkness. She couldn’t bring herself to get up and turn the light on. From her bedroom, Sienna could hear the creaking of the staircase. Her mother entered her room, flicking the light switch on. Bright fluorescent light flooded in, stinging her eyes.
”We’ve got another customer,” her mother murmured. Without moving, Sienna replied. “Can’t you take this one? I’m tired.”
“Stop whining! You want to eat food, you can help me put it on the damn table!” she stumbled over her words aggressively. “And clean up your damn face!” She swept out of the room, slamming the door for effect. Sienna sighed, and dragged herself off her bed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. Slowly she made her way down the stairs. The doorbell rang again. “I’m coming!” she yelled, pushing her hair out of her face. Opening the door slowly, she was greeted with the face of the last person she expected to see here. Shane.
Kaleb slowly pushed the back door open. Hopefully no one would realize where he had been.
“Well, well, he finally returns,” a voice said, startling Kaleb out of his daydream. It was his mother. He hadn’t seen her out of her bed for so long. And not this calm, either.
“Um… hi mum. What are you doing up?” Kaleb asked awkwardly.
“Well apparently I missed a lot sleeping. Anything you want to tell me Kaleb?” she said, waiting for his reply. Ice flooded through Kaleb’s veins. Did she know?
“No,” he lied, staring at the ground.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You could have come to me if you were having trouble coping with your father’s death!” she burst out. Kaleb looked up at her in shock, completely speechless. His mother grabbed his arm in fury and pushed up his sleeve. There was no way he could get out of it now. The evidence was as clear as day. But the truth was as dark as night.
“Are you having trouble coping with your father’s death?” she asked, lowering her voice to a maternal level.
“No!” Kaleb screamed, fury erupting from his soul. “It’s not dad’s death! It’s everything! You don’t care mum; you don’t know what’s going on right now,”
Taken aback, his mother replied, “Well, I know I haven’t been there for you all the time, but there is no reason to take this out on me.”
“Really, mother?” Kaleb said sarcastically. “Well, who should I take it out on then?”
Collapsing in the kitchen chair, his mother lowered her head and began to sob. Kaleb opened the back door and slowly walked out.
Kaleb was running. He was running to the only place he truly felt happy. Sienna’s arms. Kaleb had never been to Sienna’s house before. She was too ashamed of her drug-addicted mother. Kaleb had never taken Sienna to his house either. He was not ashamed of his family but his mother would never approve. Although Kaleb had never been to Sienna’s house before, he still knew where she lived. Jogging up the driveway, Kaleb peered in the closest window. Maybe it was God’s way of telling him. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was “meant to be”. Call it whatever you want, his heart was broken. Why, you ask? Sienna was sitting in that room, kissing Shane.
Kaleb reacted instinctively and quickly. Throwing his raw fist through the glass window, the shards fell, like little teardrops from heaven. Blood flowed evenly from his wrist. Sienna and Shane jumped at the sound of the window breaking. Looking into his tear streaked eyes; Sienna knew she had lost him for good.
Chasing after Kaleb, Sienna felt her heart beating madly against her chest. Shane had come to the door looking for a prostitute. Although he claimed that he didn’t know Sienna worked there, she knew better. Grabbing Kaleb’s arm, Sienna forced him to look at her.
“You’re f**king cheating on me with my brother? How could you! I gave you my heart and my soul and this is how you treat it?!” Kaleb screamed madly, tears running down his face.
“No Kaleb, it isn’t like that, not at all!” Sienna yelled, tears running down her face as well. “I’m a prostitute. My mother sells me to sleazy men looking for fun. It turns out that Shane is one of them.”
Taken aback, Kaleb took a step away from the girl he thought he knew. “I don’t know you at all. This whole time it’s been a lie. How could you?” he whispered, turning away and walking home. Sienna didn’t try to stop him. She knew damn well that there was no way she could.
A ring from Sienna’s phone awoke her from her deep sleep. She had been almost delirious after her fight with Kaleb; she downed a handful of sleeping pills with vodka. It had done the trick. Checking the caller ID sleepily, Sienna jolted awake when she saw Kaleb’s number appear. She thought he would never talk to her again. Answering the phone eagerly, she was greeted with simple instructions.
“Meet me down at the drain pipes.”
Kaleb was feeling as stiff and emotionless as a robot. In his hand he held the one thing to help him recover. A blade. But not just any blade. The blade from their first night together. The blade which had drawn the first drop of escape for the both. Their secret. Kaleb could see Sienna sitting in the dark by the drain pipes as he approached. Sienna leapt up as she saw him, babbling incoherently.
“Oh Kaleb, I’ve been so worried! I am so sorry! I really…” Kaleb shushed her by holding the blade to her lips. A knowing smile formed on Sienna’s lips as she licked the blade with her tongue. Blood dripped out from her mouth, down her chin, seeming so beautiful in the street light.
“May I?” asked Kaleb, gesturing to her wrist.
Sienna held out her bare arm encouragingly. Kaleb smiled softly at her, positioning the blade to her arm. Then suddenly he tightened his grip on the knife and plunged it deep into her heart. Sienna choked in agony as she fell to the ground. A flicker of understanding entered her eyes, and her weak eyebrows narrowed in malice.
“I will get revenge,” she gasped out. Kaleb pulled the blade out of her chest and pocketed their only tangible memory. Sienna lay at his feet, dead. His hell was finally over.
One year later
Kaleb stood by the grave, shuffling his feet. The night he killed Sienna was a haze. All he remembered was the relief of her departure. The police and everyone who knew her believed it to be suicide. Kaleb felt no need to correct anyone. His brother ended up being jailed. Sienna was underage. Sixteen was illegal. Sienna’s mother would have gone to jail as well, if she hadn’t overdosed before the police could arrest her. Kaleb and his mother were finally forming some sort of understanding. She had tried to force him to see a therapist, but he refused. Why should he let a therapist judge Sienna? Holding a red balloon in his hand, Kaleb turned his head towards the sky and let it go. Slowly he turned from Sienna’s grave, walking away, not turning his head even the slightest. This was his goodbye.
Somewhere in the sky, a lone red balloon floated towards the heavens. Three simple words were written on it. Be my guest.
