Monochrome Stories

White's POV

*click* 

"Hello? White?" The voice on the other end of the line asked.

"I'm on my way." I replied.

"Oh, let me drive you h-" I interrupted.

"No need. Bye." 

*click* 

I can't believe I'm doing this. When was the last time I saw my family? Four, five months ago? I couldn't stand being in that house... It's like being treated like a freak. Well, I don't blame them. 

I tried to kill myself two years ago. I'm what you'd call a nerd at school. I didn't have any friends, and my grades were the only thing I've got going for me. Because of this, I was the perfect target for bullying. I transferred schools when I was in ninth grade because of my dad's work, and that's when my life started to become even more of a mess. 

At first, it was just harmless. They'd hide my stuff, they'd call me names, and if I was lucky, they'd just pretend that I didn't exist. Then it gradually got worse as time went on.

They started writing on my desk, spread rumors throughout the school, dumped water on me, threw food at me, and beat me up. I didn't wanna worry my parents, so I never said anything. I just stayed quiet. "It'll pass." I told myself. "They'll eventually get bored.", but they never did. 

One day, when I thought there was nobody at home, I took the pills my mom had stored in her cabinet for her health, and then took them all. I emptied one whole bottle, then I started to lose consciousness. Next thing I knew, I was inside an ambulance with my mom crying beside me and my dad comforting her. Turns out my little sister was home and heard a noise coming from my parent's room. She went to investigate and saw me lying unconscious on the floor. She immediately called my parents and an ambulance, then I was rushed into the hospital.

"Where did I go wrong?" My mom sobbed as she struggled to talk. 

I immediately regretted what I did after hearing her blame herself like that. I tried to say something, but it hurt too much to speak... You didn't go wrong anywhere. 

"Don't worry, honey. He'll be fine. I just know it." My dad tried to comfort her. 

After that, my vision started to blur and I couldn't hear anything else but the sirens of the ambulance. And just like a cue in a script, I lost consciousness again. 

I stayed in the hospital for two weeks, then was taken to a psychiatrist right after. They told me I had depression, but that wasn't enough for my parents. I was taken to multiple psychiatrists since they couldn't accept the fact that I was suffering from it. They wanted to "fix" me even when there was nothing wrong. I could hear them talking at night about which hospitals to go to next, or which doctors to meet. I felt trapped, alone... It didn't feel like home anymore. It felt more like a jail cell, and I was the only inmate going through rehab. 

It got to the point where I grew tired of it and started to fight back. It was like I didn't have a voice anymore, but then that's when she came. My grandma and I have been close ever since I was a baby. She loved my creativity for art, and I loved to paint for her. She was the only one who'd listen to me, and she was the one who encouraged me to run away from home. 

A year after the incident, she gave me a large sum of money and recommended me to a friend she knows that could provide me with an apartment. It was cheap, so it was perfect. So I ran away, but of course it wasn't all so smooth. I received loads of calls from both of my parents, which I ignored every single time. After a month, my dad stopped calling me, but my mom was persistent. Every single day she called me at least twenty-five times, and one day I decided to answer. 

*click* 

The first thing I immediately heard was my mom crying heavily. There were no words. Just continuous crying. 

"What do you want?" I asked, with a bit of anger in my voice. 

"White..." She continued sobbing. "Please... Please, come back home. We miss you. I miss you. We just want to help you..." 

I snapped. "Help? You wanted to help me?!" My voice was getting louder. "You've never wanted to help me! You were trying to fix me!" 

"Honey, it's not-" 

"No! Shut up! I never wanted to be fixed! I never needed to be fixed! You've never even asked if I wanted to do this! You were just doing this for your own gain! You didn't want one of your children to be fuċkėd up!" I gasped for air. "Mom... You never went wrong anywhere... It was always me... Please, just leave me alone... I'm doing my best to be happy now..." 

*click* 

It's okay. It'll be okay... It'll all be okay... 

-Now arriving at --- Station-

I heard the voice of the speaker. I opened my eyes a bit. I didn't even notice I fell asleep. I guess it was time to go to the hospital. 

I got a part-time job to support myself so that I didn't need to keep relying on the money my grandma gave me, but then she called me again to say something important. She told me that she enrolled me in one of the most expensive art schools in the country, Artis Et Operis Academy. My tuition was already paid for, so I didn't have to worry about that anymore, but even then, I knew it was too much. I tried to tell her that she didn't need to do that, but the reply she gave me was far more than what I needed. 

"I just want you to be happy. Continue your art, and maybe someday you can invite me to one of your art shows. And who knows? Maybe you can find more reasons to be happy in this new school."