I sighed and laid down my pencil. The picture in front of me was a mess of scribbles and random lines, reflecting how I felt today. I shifted restlessly in my chair for a while, staring at the walls as if they held some entertainment there.
But not even the white walls of my room held any interest for me today.
"Charlie, I'm bored!" I whined.
Charlie was perched on the edge of my bed, a grin spread across his boyish face. "Do you want to play a game then, love?"
I giggled. "Alright, Charlie, but why do you call me love all the time?"
"Because I loooove yoooooou!" He sung, leaping up and dancing around. He grabbed my hands, pulled me up and spun me around, laughing.
I laughed too. Charlie was fun when he was happy.
"Jessica, time for your medicine!" A woman stood appeared in the doorway, dresses in a blue uniform and holding a little paper cup in her hand.
Charlie immediately let go of my hands and slunk back to my bed, hissing. The woman pain him no head and strode in, smiling at me. I liked this woman. She came to visit me a lot.
Charlie slowly came to stand by my chair, snarling at the woman.
"Tell her to go away, love. I don't like her."
I pouted, but did as he asked. He would get angry if I didn't.
"Charlie doesn't like you. He wants you to go away."
The nurse looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled gently and took my hand. "Oh hunny, Charlie isn't real. You know that."
I heard Charlie squawk with indignation behind me. "Not real!? Who's she calling not real! Tell her to go away, love. Now!"
I bit my lip. "Charlie wants you to go away. You really should."
"I can't go away, sweetie. You've got to have your pills then go to therapy."
I sighed, then turned to look at Charlie. He was still snarling at the nurse, his sweet face twisted into something feral. "She won't go away, Charlie. I'm sorry."
"It's alright, love. I'll just make her go away."
He disappeared: one moment he was there, the next her wasn't.
I was actually glad he was gone. Charlie scared me when he was like this.
The nurse gave me a strange look, and then handed over the cup of pills. "Here, Jessica, eat these up."
I obediently did so, swallowing the rainbow assortment of pills and tablets with sips of water.
As I downed the last one, I heard a familiar voice.
"I'm back, love." I looked up to see Charlie standing behind the nurse.
He was holding a knife.
"Charlie!" I cried. "Where did you get that from?"
"Don't you worry about that, love." His innocent grin was now a malicious smirk. "You said you were bored, love. Well, I've thought of a good game!" The knife glinted under the harsh electric lights.
"Charlie!" I whimpered, suddenly scared. "Charlie, what are you doing?" I shrank back in my chair, terrified but unable to tear my gaze away. The nurse was looking at me, confused.
"Jessica! Jessica, hunny, what's wrong?"
I just whimpered again, eyes wide with horror as Charlie raised his knife above the nurse. His eyes were gleaming with a light I had never seen before. A light that that could only be described as evil.
"Charlie, stop!" I sobbed. "Please don't do it! Charlie please-"
The nurse's eyes rolled up into her head and she slumped forward into my lap.
Charlie straitened up, the knife hanging at his side, slowly dripping blood onto the floor.
I looked at the body lying across my knees, then up at Charlie again, tears dripping down my cheeks.
"Charlie… why, Charlie? Why?"
He leant forward, brushing my tears away with his thumb. "Don't cry, love. I did it for you. I thought you were bored."
"I-I-" I choked.
"Ssh." He soothed, stroking my strangely hair." I sobbed harder, trying to pull away from him. He held me tightly, almost so tight it hurt.
"Charlie! Charlie you're hurting me!"
"Jessica… darling… love…" He leaned close to me, and for the first time I realised what he was. He wasn't my friend. He was a monster.
"Jessica…" He murmured huskily, and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.
It was then I started screaming.