7 Days Before the Party - Kathryn

The girl sat in silence, legs folded beneath her, tucked into the farthest corner of the couch like she didn’t want the fabric to know she was there.

The office around her was sterile. Quiet. The kind of quiet that didn’t come naturally—it was designed. Everything in the room was soft gray, muted beige, calming tones that screamed “nothing to be afraid of here.” But fear didn’t care about color palettes. It lived in muscle memory, in the way her shoulders stayed tense even when the room was 72 degrees and safe.

Across from her, the therapist sat with a practiced patience. A notepad rested on his knee, pen hovering like it was waiting to sketch a map through her brain.

He waited thirty seconds before speaking.

“How was your morning?”

She didn’t answer.

He nodded, as if silence were progress. “You’ve been consistent with sessions. That’s good.”

Still nothing.

“You’re still drawing?”

A beat passed.

“No.”

It was barely audible, but it was something.

Dr. Merrill smiled softly, like he’d just been handed a puzzle piece. “Why not?”

She stared at the bookshelf behind him.

“I just haven’t felt like it,” she said.

No mention of the last time she drew. The thing that appeared in her notebook. The petals. The mirror girl with no eyes. She wasn’t going to give him that.

“Can I ask you something?” he said gently. “Do you think this is helping?”

That pulled her eyes down, just for a moment. She gave a quiet exhale that could’ve been a laugh if it had any life in it.

“No.”

He smiled again. But this one looked a little more tired.

“Would you like to schedule the next appointment?” the receptionist asked as she walked past the front desk.

She didn’t answer. Just walked straight out the door.

⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻

That Night

The light under my bedroom door was too bright. Even with my eyes closed I could still feel it.

I stared at the ceiling and counted how many bumps I could see in the plaster. Some were shaped like mountains. One looked like a cat’s paw. I wondered if the people who built this house ever imagined a stranger would lie awake beneath their shitty drywall, trying to make sense of her life by turning the ceiling into constellations.

There was a knock. A soft one.

“Kathryn?” my foster mom called through the door. “We’re eating dinner now, honey. You’re welcome to join us.”

I didn’t respond right away. Then, loud enough to be heard but flat enough to not invite follow-up:

“I don’t care either way, I guess.”

A pause. Then her footsteps walked away.

I hated that I made her hesitate. I hated that I noticed.

Later, I pulled my sketchbook from under the bed.

I didn’t want to. My chest was already tight. I was already sweating, even though the AC was on. But it was like my hands moved before I could stop them. My fingers opened the cover.

A flower.

Pressed between the pages.

Black. Velvet-soft. Real.

A Black Dahlia.

I didn’t know where it came from. I didn’t put it there. I hadn’t left my room since therapy. No one could’ve come in without me hearing. I should’ve felt scared. I didn’t.

I felt… watched.

I opened to a blank page.

I told myself I wouldn’t draw. I wouldn’t even touch the pencil. I just wanted to look. Just a glance.

But somehow my hand moved. The pencil slid from the cover sleeve into my fingers like it belonged there.

I blinked.

A figure stared back at me from the page. A woman. Pale. Elegant. Her mouth was full of petals, like she was chewing them. Her eyes were two perfect voids. She held a knife like it was a purse strap.

I dropped the book.

My hands were shaking.

No. I didn’t draw that. That wasn’t me. I didn’t even remember doing it. I didn’t choose it. But it was my style. My lines. My pencil pressure.

My name.

I shoved the sketchbook back under the bed and curled up beneath the covers, too hot, too cold, heart going crazy in my ribs.

I didn’t draw that.

I didn’t—

I closed my eyes.

And in my dreams, I saw her again. The girl with the black mouth.

And she smiled like she’d been waiting for me.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***