Test Substances Ch 2

Test Substances
Chapter Two

Ivory sat on her bed once again, but this time un-cuffed. It was four A.M. now. She had gotten about four hours of sleep off and on this night. More then could be said for the last three days. Her eyes shined in light of the lava lamp. Aura slept soundly as it seemed.

The sound sleeping didn’t last long though. Aura was screaming and sitting up her blanket and sheets a flurry around her not a few moments after Ivory decided to take notice to her. After the bout of screaming Ivory crawled out from the tangle of her black comforter and walked over to the other side.

“Shh quiet Aura.” Ivory hummed a few feet from the bed. “Just a dream.”

Aura looked up at Ivory her metallic eyes big and round. They were glazed with red tears. “Okay…” Aura breathed softly. “Can you get my tissues I think they were in the bag they brought after we came back from being outside with the other girls?”

“Sure I’ll put them on the bed…” Ivory mumbled as she walked off. At least she was awake when this happened. She probably would have been rather disgruntled if she had finally gotten to sleep when this happened.

“Why not just hand them to me?” Aura asked innocently as she refrained from dirtying her simple nightgown with bloody tears. This happened sometimes; she’d scream and wake up crying. She had ruined so many things that way.

“Because I don’t want you to touch me.” Ivory said as she shifted through the bag next to the door. “I don’t like people touching me.”

“Why?” Aura asked carefully as she watched Ivory find the tissues and stand up.

“I don’t know, I just don’t want anyone to touch me.” Ivory muttered as she lightly tossed the little thing of tissues onto the bed next to Aura. Actually Ivory had some idea of why she didn’t like people touching her. Every time someone did touch her she seemed to get hurt. Ivory knew it sounded delusional, but she had become so afraid of people touching her. She hadn’t meant to become like she was about touching, but it had happened.

Now she just didn’t want people touching her…

“Ooh…” Aura drew out as she took a tissue and started to wipe her tears from her cheeks and chin. After she used that one she put it in the little trashcan that now sat under her table with the lava lamp on it, than she finished up with a second one and disposed of that too.

“Are you going to be okay now?” Ivory asked looking down at the white haired girl as she pushed her own long brown hair back over her shoulder.

“Um…yeah, I’ll be okay.” Aura said quietly. She watched Ivory sit back down on her bed, and wrap herself up in her black blanket. “I have a question though…If…if that’s okay.”

“Go ahead…” Ivory said as she looked at the girl cuddle uneasily back down to her pillow.

“Why is your hair so long?” Aura asked as she moved the lava lamp back a little so she could see Ivory when she answered.

“I don’t know. Every time they cut it, it just grows back.” Ivory said quietly. It was true her brown hair hung down to her hips, and no matter how short the doctors cut it her hair would always grow back to around that length by the end of the day. After a while the doctors gave up on keeping it at a reasonable length.

“Oh…” Aura mumbled and turned onto her back so she could look up at the ceiling. After a second she asked, “Can you tell me a story Ivory?”

“I don’t know any.” Ivory said shaking her head.

“Then make one up.” Aura insisted as she turned back onto her side to look at Ivory. Ivory didn’t talk much, and Aura wanted her to talk. She didn’t know why, but she just wanted Ivory to talk.

“Fine…” Ivory breathed. “Give me a second maybe I can remember one…” After a few moments Ivory said, “Okay I have one…but you have to lie down, close your eyes, and be quiet and still.”

Aura nodded eagerly and cuddled even farther into her pillow and blankets and closed her eyes. “Like this?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, now no more talking…” Ivory said like a mother would to her child. After a second once she was sure Aura wouldn’t interrupt Ivory started her story…

“Once there was a cat and a dog…The dog found that he liked the cat very much, so he told the cat that he liked her…However the cat thought it would be wrong to be with the dog…The cat had been taught that cats should be with other cats, but this didn’t stop the dog from liking the cat…”

Ivory paused a little she could see Aura’s mouth turn down into a frown, and the girl wiggled a bit. Ivory could tell she wanted to ask a question, but she just went on with the story.

“So the dog followed the cat insisting that cats didn’t have to be with other cats…One day when the dog was following the cat the cat cut her paw.”

Ivory paused again when Aura made a slight noise. However when there was no other sound Ivory went on…

“The dog wanted to help, but the cat told the dog to leave her alone, that a another cat would help her…but none of the cats would help her…This made the cat cry…The dog didn’t like to see the cat cry so he helped her even though she told him not to…Even though the dog helped her when the other cats wouldn’t, the cat still thought that it would be wrong to be with the dog…”

Ivory frowned when she saw Aura open her mouth to say something, but smiled softly when she saw her mouth close again…

“But the cat agreed to be the dog’s friend…One day the cat liked the dog back…Another day the dog found out that the cat liked him…Than another day they decided to be together for the rest of their lives…”

This time when Aura opened her mouth she asked softly, “And did they?”

“Yes they did.” Ivory said simply. “Now go to sleep…”