4-The Corpse

Her cloudy and white, expressionless eyes stared right at mine.

I could neither scream nor run.

All of my senses and reasoning went into chaos as I started to realize those eyes looked a little too familiar to a friend of mine, Faye.

I unwillingly began to recall those memories I tried to bury deep inside.

How could I ever forget that day?

6 years earlier

"Faye! Get it together the customers will be here soon!" Screamed a lady while pouring herself a drink

"Yes, mother" Faye muttered while cleaning the floor with an old and worn-out mop.

Faye worked in her mom's old struggling cafe called the 'Dream Room' and proceeded with her studies along with it.

Her mother owned the cafe but was usually never there.

Skylar somehow came across this isolated run-down cafe when he was running in the small alleys trying to get away from the pouring rain.

Ever since then he would often visit the cafe after school was over.

Faye was a shy and reserved girl so she found Skylar's actions weird, but soon she opened up to him and said

"You know, you are our only customer here"

"Oh is that so? I just find this place calming and peaceful, I'll be sure to bring my friends here next time,"

"Oh... You don't have to!" Said Faye bashfully

The next day we found out that we had tests consecutively for three days so Skylar couldn't make his regular visits to the cafe.

After the tests were over, Skylar pestered me and the others about the cafe every chance he would get.

"You guys have to come with me to this cafe, it has amazing coffee I swear!"

"Are you sure this is about coffee and not the girl you met in the cafe?" said Jake

"What!? Skylar met a girl? Where!" Gray whined

"Gray, stop yelling in my ea-

*boom*

A massive sound of thunder interrupted me and blasted all across the classroom, soon followed by a heavy downpour.

We were all so startled by this unexpected thunder and lightning that the whole class went silent.

The silence was soon broken by Skylar who yelled, "what?! This just had to happen when I promised her, even I won't be able to visit Faye today"

"So it was about the girl after all," Jake mumbled

"Who the hell is this girl, and why do you all seem to know about her but me?" Gray sulked

When it was about time to leave school, it was still raining heavily.

And none of us had an umbrell-

*click* *swish*

Jake smirked while flexing at all the three of us

"Pfft"

"Hey, Jake I am your brother you have to take me with you!" Yelled Gray while running towards Jake who was already within a walking distance

*sigh* "how am I going to get home like this-"

Before I could finish the sentence Skylar grabbed my arm and ran towards the brothers, as he yelled

"We're coming too!"

"We won't fucking fit!! you dumbass-" I yelled as I stumbled onto my feet

As we were on our way...

We took a detour to avoid the heavy rainfall because at this point the umbrella was pretty much useless.

On our way, we stumbled across a person who was a few meters away from us and he seemed to be sitting right at the side of the path while leaning towards the wall and facing downwards.

The alley we were walking in was a poverty-stricken area so coming across a scene like this wasn't surprising.

When we were only a few feet away from the individual, we realized that it was a girl in her school uniform. Her body trembled as she sat on the cold and grainy road exposed to the chilling rain.

We all glanced at each other

"She seems like she could use some help," Gray muttered

"You're right, but I think we'll just scare her if we approached her like this " Jake told Gray

"But we can't leave her like this either," I said

We discussed while Skylar just kept staring at her

*whack*

I smacked Skylar's head and said,

"You pervert!"

"No!, I recognize this uniform!" Skylar yelled as he hurriedly kneeled to check up on the girl

"Hey!? Hey!!.. Wake up! Are you okay?!" Skylar shouted

"Hmm? Who..?" The girl said while rubbing her eyes with her cold and shivering fingers

"It's me! Skylar!"

"Huh? Oh... Our regular customer! you sure are loyal to come here even in this heavy rainfall, unfortunately, our cafe is closed today so-" Faye mumbled

"Faye never mind that! what are you doing here in such heavy rain? Do you want us to take you your home?" Skylar said with concern

On hearing this suggestion Faye's face went pale as she adamantly refused to go home

"No! Don't do that my mom is still at home, I don't want your help! please leave!" Faye said frantically

We didn't notice at first, but on a closer look, we realized that her arms were covered with several cuts and bruises.

Skylar decided to take her home to give her first aid and I decided to go with him because I didn't trust him. The brothers agreed and gave us their umbrella as we parted ways.

When we were finally at home, I asked Skylar to warm water while I take care of the unconscious Faye, so he left.

I was just sitting and minding my busing when-

*thwack*

Faye grabbed my hand and glared at me.

"What am I doing here? I need to go back!"

"Wait! Faye calm down, you were hurt so we just gave you-"

She didn't listen to a word I said and started hurrying out of the bed to the exit of the bedroom.

*thud*

After taking just a few steps, she collapsed to the ground. As she was sitting she wrapped herself with her arms and dug her fingers into her arms.

I rushed over to her and held her hands. The tips of my finger felt cold as I held onto her weak and pale arms.

She looked up at me trembling. A sudden chill went through my bones when we made eye contact. She had no expression whatsoever, her eyes were swollen and red. On looking closely I saw her cornea was gradually turning milky, I was so uneasy that I called for Skylar.

"Hey!!! Skylar come back he-"

"It..hurts...*sniff* *sniff*..." She mumbled

I was shaken up from just seeing her motionless eyes, it seemed as if something was poured onto her eyes.

But who would do that And why!?

Drops of tears started pouring from her injured eyes, I wanted to help her but had no way of doing that

I needed to take her to the hospital!

"What happened?!" Skylar yelled

"Something has happened to her eyes, we need to take her to the hospital" I yelled back

"no..you don't have to, I am fine...!" Faye mumbled with her shivering and dry lips

It was still raining but regardless we took her to a clinic nearest to us, unaware of the greatly disturbing truth Faye was hiding from us, which was horrifying enough to shock the entire clinic.

They started asking us questions, but we had no idea what happened to her.

"She was just fine three days ago! doctor, please help her! "

"Alright fine! But you boys better wait here if we learn you guys did anything to her you'll be responsible!" the doctor yelled at us and walked away hastily

As the time passed by we both felt like it was taking forever. We were both speechless and just as shocked as the doctors.

"How did you not see her eyes!" I asked him

"I don't know, she was barely conscious when we found her "

We both fell silent again

This awkward silence was broken by a nurse who was rushing toward us

We both stood up and asked her

"Is everything okay with Faye?!"

Which she replied to

"No, the patient has various injuries like bruises all over her body, and it seems some alkali fluid was poured onto her eyes, which has caused her to go permanently blind in the right eye and partially blind in the left"

It was like the rug was pulled out from under us. We were so shocked at what the nurse had told us that we just stared at her in dismay.

Skylar seemed particularly shaken up. It was natural since he was acquainted with Faye.

It took two days for Faye to fully recover from the incident. When she was healthy enough to talk Skylar and I visited her in the hospital.

When I entered the room Faye's bed was lying in the middle of this small room, which appeared comfortable enough.

We asked her what happened and the doctors were there too.

She hesitated in the beginning but went on to reveal the most horrifying thing that no child should ever have to go through.

She went on to reveal how her mother was a disgruntled alcoholic even before her life went downhill after she quit her barista job at a well-known cafe to take care of the cafe the 'Dream room' which her mom originally owned.

She never needed any particular 'sad' reason to abuse substances, as she would normally portray. She just liked drinking which got worse over time and eventually started affecting her mental health.

"She started with screaming at me for doing something wrong to eventually whipping me to release her pent up anger" she continued "I was 12 back then"

Nobody could say anything, we all just stared at her weak body with our hearts filled with undying pain for the girl.

"Even a tiny strike would break this little girl, how dare that wretched woman!" the Doctor yelled

Faye continued

"I was very well aware that what my mom did was wrong, I could have gone to the police, but I wanted to believe she would come back to me, the old her, who loved me very much, I believed she would embrace me just like she did before and tell me she loves me and tell me that she is proud of me for enduring all the sufferings,"

She continued

"But all of my delusions came to an end when one day she suddenly came back home after being missing for a week, she was now abusing drugs as well, I was shaken up from this unexpected finding that my world came crashing down, I couldn't handle it anymore and yelled at her to stop doing these horrible things which escalated to further physical fight"

--Faye's Pov from 5 days ago--

"You are such a bitch!!, you keep complaining every day even though I provide this roof over your head"

"I work in that damned cafe, I have to work other jobs to support us while you only work to pay for your drugs!" I yelled

My mother enraged with anger stomped toward me and grabbed my hand as if she was ready to break it, and dragged me to our discarded and rusty bathroom

"Remember this place? Where I first locked you for misbehaving?"

My blood ran cold as I remembered being locked in that bathroom for days and was left on the brink of death from no food and water.

She used to shove me inside and lock it from the outside. Little to no sunlight reached inside the dingy old bathroom, but I could see those scratching marks on the wooden door, my fingers bled from being covered with splinters and my hands didn't heal for weeks.

My reunion with the old traumatizing memories ended with my mother shoving the door open.

She was carrying a drain cleaner in her hands

"Don't you think this bathroom is filthy!?" She yelled as she hurriedly opened the cap of the drain cleaner

I just froze there trying to grasp the situation that I was in. I was too late as she yanked me out of the bathroom screaming, "you must have gotten dirty let's clean you up"

She held the drain cleaner right above my head

She is insane!

I thought to myself as I struggled to run away but I was far too late.

She tried to pour the drain cleaner on my face as I screamed in horror

"Aaaaaghhhh let me go! Let me go!!"

A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I gained tremendous strength

*wham*

My mother hit the bathroom door as I pushed her away, she stumbled on her feet and poured the drain cleaner on herself instead.

"Gahhhhhh ahhhhh, Faye!!! Faye!" She screamed but I didn't dare look back as I started running away.

I ran as fast as I could.

*sob* *sob* aghhhh!!

When my adrenaline-filled running finally came to an end

I collapse on the grainy dirt-covered ground. My entire body was exhausted and aching all over.

Suddenly I could feel fresh and different striking pain in my eyes. Oh no! Some of the liquid has gotten in my eyes.

It burns so much and all of my logic became so twisted that I started to pour dirt into my eyes to ease up the pain. Only a few minutes later I fainted in the middle of the street from unimaginable pain and suffering.

--Back to the hospital--

The doctor and nurse were both just as heavily shaken up, as were we after hearing Faye's horrifying ordeal.

I couldn't even begin to imagine the ordeal she had to go through, and if we hadn't just stumbled upon her what would have happened to her?

I felt like throwing up

I glanced at her weak body, her eyebrows twitched and sandwiched those colorless eyes as streaks of tears poured from them,

Those eyes will no longer shine as bright as they did before, no matter how much light you may shine at them.

--Back to the present--

*gulp*

I summoned all of my courage as I tried to touch her face. My hand was trembling more the closer it got to her bare face

Faye just stared into nothingness lying as still as a corpse.

I slowly caressed the hair out of her face but she didn't move. I tried to feel her breath to see if she was breathing.

My blood went cold

Nothing

I couldn't feel anything from her!

I checked her pulse and nothing again!

Didn't she just move a few minutes ago though?!

Was I hallucinating?!

Noway that can't be! My breathing turned heavy as I started panicking, but I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to escape whatever danger is awaiting me this time.