except my parents and brothers
I had no idea what to expect
and knew less about what I was doing
After a somewhat emotional weekend
of buying things I couldn't take with me
I was unceremoniously placed
in a third floor room paired with
someone I had never met
She was tall, intimidating
raven black hair and a fererce spirit
When it came to integration
we both were outcasts
Pagans in an overtly Christian bubble
We bonded through the occult knowledge
of being old souls
She had this boyfriend
I didn't like the guy even though
he was a man of standing
They would have loud sex
while I pretended to sleep
Sometimes I wake up from a deep sleep
hearing them moaning and growling
It made me feel sick
I said nothing because I didn't want
to be a prude and have them dislike me
One time he had me drive his Bronco
up and down the unfamiliar highways
while they loudly fucked in the back
They paid me quite a bit of money
I still felt a little bit slimy over the whole thing
One day she said she couldn't take it
In a drunken rage she took an army scalpel
sunk it into her wrist, deep
Blood was everywhere
I froze in horror
I had never seen something so drastic
And then I swear on all things holy
I watched the wound close in seconds
only a small amount of blood remained
She screamed at me
"see what I fucking have to deal with?"
She ran out of the room
and I never saw her again
Her belongings scattered all over the room
preserved for months until they figured out
She wasn't coming back
I stayed in that room alone
until I was assigned somewhere else
The vague suggestion of suicide
haunting the space eternally
