The room was dark, the only light being a slight peek of sunshine through the closed curtains. Nevertheless, no light touched the teenage girl as she sat with her back in the corner of her room, her knees drawn up to her chest and her hands quivering against her temple. She was still in her red nightgown, even though school was just now being let out, and there was an insistent knocking on her door.

“Eri, unlock the door, are you feeling alright?” Her mother’s hazy voice said through the wooden slab and the named Eri’s head snapped up, her red-brown eyes widening.

“N-No, please don't come in! I d-don't want to get you sick!" Eri just weakly managed to yell.

“Okay.” Then the soft pit-pat of her walking away from the door.

Eri let her hands fall from her face and onto her knees, her wrists jerking and the backside of her hand stinging. The mere thought of the pain brought tears to her eyes as they dribbled down her face. Stinging, stinging, stinging.

_The body writhed and jolted along the tiles and her mouth stretched with a shuddering tongue slapping against her lips. Screams tore from her throat, awful, mind-numbing screams. She convulsed onto her side, her body shaking and trembling, her head slamming onto the floor multiple times until slight blood was left behind._

“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” Eri cried, slapping a fist into the side of her head.

Was this her so-called gift? Or was this her punishment for being such a cruel being? For all the pain she caused her friends? She didn’t mean to hurt anyone, she just wanted to have fun, feel exhilarated.

_Her legs ached, burned, but she continued running. A shoe slipped off mid-step and she tumbled to the ground, her knees smashing into the concrete of the sidewalk. It stung, badly, but it didn’t matter. She continued running, sprinting, to get away from those agonizing screams, those awful screams._

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Eri sobbed, rubbing furiously at her eyes. When she removed her hands and lifted her head to lean against the wall, she saw something glitter with the only beam of light in the room. Her cellphone.

She rushed towards it, on hands and knees, tripping and falling multiple times, until she scrabbled to her nightstand, her scratched up knee bumping into the leg. She fumbled with her phone before turning it on and entering her passcode. The home page came up and she scrolled through her apps, searching and searching until she saw an app with a girl’s face on it.

_“Help! Help! Somebody help – my friend, she’s hurt, something happened! I don’t – I…”_

Eri breathed heavily through her nose, willing her thumb to move but it remained motionless, poised over the simple square.

_“It’ll be okay, Kotone, he’s not worth it.”_

Her finger slammed into the button on the top and the screen went black.

_“Kotone, don’t cry.” She said as she rubbed her hand across her back. It felt odd on her hand, tingled, but she would always be there for her friends. Even if she caused the pain, she would soothe it. _