Better To Forget

Hey, readers. Just so you know, this isn't going to be a happy story. It won't be funny, or heartwarming, or anything else like I've written thus far. I figured I should let you know. And you want to know why? Because if I don't use these dark ideas I have built up, then it might bleed over into my regular stories, and that won't be good at all. So, if darkness is your thing, then this story is for you. It'll only make the light in my other writings even brighter.

xxx

Pain!

Defeat! Despair!

Why did you leave me?

Why?

WHY?

The door opened in Weiss' mind, but she didn't want to see what was on the other end. Maybe it was too terrible to think about. Or maybe she just didn't want to accept that such things could ever exist.

All she saw was a shade of red. A shade of blood, a shade of death.

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodwhywhywhywhywhywhydidthishappenpleasewhydidthishappenwhywhywhyohgod

The door opened again. Weiss saw a clear sky, a desirable place. A place where she could escape everything that weighed her down.

The door opened again, and nothing came out. Nothing after nothing after nothing came bursting and bursting out. Nothing filled the room, until it consumed everything. Even Weiss.

Especially you.

Who are you?

Nothing.

Who are you?

Weiss spun around, a blank, empty smile on her face. "Hello, I'm Weiss Schnee!"

Weiss didn't like what she saw. "No, that can't possibly be me!"

Who are you?

Weiss slapped the figure in front of her. "You moron!"

"That isn't me! It isn't!" cried Weiss again.

Who are you?

A mousy Weiss dug the toe of her shoe into the ground. "I'm… sorry, for everything. I regret so much, I can't even stand it. I wish I could have done more."

Weiss wrapped her arms around herself. "That isn't the real me!"

Who are you?

Weiss spun around, her eyes looking hollow, her smile even emptier. "Hello! I'm Weiss Schnee!"

Weiss hugged herself tighter. "None of these are me! None of them!"

Who are you?

"I don't know! For the love of god, I don't know!"

Who are you?

"Stop! Just stop! Please!"

What are you?

"I… I… am me…"

What are you?

"Stop, damn it! JUST STOP!"

Weiss found herself looking at the sky. A firm grip was around her hand. It felt soft, as if it was perfect for caressing. Maybe it was Ruby?

Curious, Weiss looked to her left, hoping to see the person lying next to her. She saw nobody. Only a lithe, pale arm. An arm that could have belonged to Ruby.

Weiss would have cried out in terror, but she was too drained to do anything. All she could do was look and feel. She could feel the coolness of the arm. She could feel the bitter stinging of the salt in the air. She could feel the tide of the sea gradually swell, until it began to swallow her up.

Soon enough, Weiss didn't feel anything anymore. There was nothing to replace it. All she could do was see as she was consumed by a red sea, which eventually faded into an inky black.

The door opened again, this time the image becoming clearer.

Rope.

An exit.

Caseation.

Why?

Weiss turned her eyes away from the view. Even if the image wasn't clear, she had the feeling that she didn't want to see it anyway.

Thisshouldn'tbehappeningohgodnonononoitcouldn'thavehappeneditjustcan'tbepossibleit'simpossiblepleaseletitbefakejustletitbefakejustletitbealiepleaseI'mbeggingyoupleasejuststopIdon'twantotseeitIdon'twanttobelieveitmakeitgoawaypleasemakeitgoawaysomeonehelpohgodpleasesomeonehelpsomeonehelpmehelphelphelpHELPHELPHELPHELP

Help

Help

Help

HELP

HELP

OH GOD SOMEONE HELP ME

The door was mostly closed. Only a single streak of red light bled through a small crack in the doorway.

"Ruby? A-are you there?"

Weiss stepped forward, and opened the door.

All there was in the room was a table and a lone chair. Ruby sat there, not even lifting her head off of the table to greet her partner.

"Go away," was the cloaked girl's request.

"Ruby, I just want to help," Weiss pleaded, moving to Ruby's side. She tried to touch Ruby's shoulder, but she angrily jerked away from her touch.

"I SAID GO AWAY!" Ruby roared, jumping out of the chair to glare at Weiss. Her hands were clenched, and there was nothing of the old Ruby that Weiss recognized in her silver eyes.

Nothingleftnothinglefttoseeorknow

"Just tell me what's wrong!" begged Weiss, edging closer.

"I tried! I tried and tried! But you didn't want to listen! All you did was ignore it, like the frigid bitch you are! I HATE YOU!" screamed Ruby.

"I—I just want to help… A-and if I help, you can help me too…" Weiss lowly said, stopping in place. She lowered her head in shame. It hurt to hear what she felt to be true.

"Just go away," Ruby ordered, turning her back.

"Help me… Please, help me… Just don't leave…" Weiss muttered, her head pointed towards the ground.

At that, Ruby turned around to face Weiss. Weiss looked up through her hanging bangs to meet the eyes of her partner.

"No."

A simple response. A deadly response.

It killed Weiss to her that. She just couldn't accept that at all. There was no way Ruby could leave her, there just wasn't!

"Don't leave… DON'T LEAVE ME!" Weiss' shrill screaming filled the room. In her panicked fit, she flipped over the table, and smashed the chair against the wall.

Weiss huffed over the remains of the wooden chair. She staggered over to Ruby, and grabbed her by the collar. "DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Don'tleaveIcan'tliveanymore

Ruby ignored the desperate plea. She lowered her head, the hood of her cloak obscuring her face. Angrily, Weiss jerked up Ruby's head by the chin. She just needed to look her in the eyes, to see if maybe she could recapture the old spark that she knew was once there.

Instead of a face, Weiss saw…

Saw…

Saw…

Truth.

An end.

Something else entirely.

Something she wished she had never seen.

…

…

…

…

The first thing Weiss remembered was the sounds of her terrified screams.

The rest soon followed.

…

Weiss opened the door, coming back from a regular day. Ruby wasn't by her side, like usual. She claimed to feel sick. In fact, that was her excuse all week. Every time Weiss tried to coax her into something, Ruby claimed that she just wasn't up to it, and that she was feeling tired.

Weiss didn't know what was going on, but she respected her partner enough to make her own decisions. She was a grown lady, making decisions was her responsibility now.

"Ruby?" Weiss called, unlocking the door to the dorm room. "Are you felling bette—"

Weiss froze in place at the sight.

The top end of a rope was secured with a knot to the light fixture. At the other end hung Ruby. Or rather, what used to be Ruby. Now it was an empty shell. A body without a soul anymore.

Ruby couldn't have hung herself that long ago.

The thin trickle of urine that trailed down her leg was still dripping onto the carpet. Above the damp spot, Ruby stared ahead with dull, bloodshot eyes. All the blood vessels in her face had burst, giving her normal white complexion a sickly, almost purple color. That color was matched by her tongue, which swollenly hung out like a limp piece of meat. The rope burns around her neck were still fresh.

It couldn't have been long ago that Ruby struggled to breathe, strangled on her own accord.

Weiss' ears could barely handle the cries and screams that escaped her lips. There was no other way she could express the tragedy of it all. The only language she could speak now was the language of grief.

Slumping to the floor, Weiss weakly pounded at the carpet. This shouldn't have happened, it just couldn't have! Not like this!

Not like this.

Through the bleariness of her tears, Weiss saw a small square of paper on the ground, next to the growing puddle. She limply crawled over to it, maybe, no, hoping that there was some reason why Ruby would commit to her ultimate fate.

It was a picture of some woman, wearing a white cloak. Beside her was a small child, smiling and waving at the camera. That little girl couldn't have been more than three or four years old. Then, Weiss recognized the silver in the girl's eyes.

It was Ruby when she was younger.

Weiss quickly flipped the photo over, desperate to find an explanation on the back. She found one, but it was no less painful.

Weiss,

I couldn't handle it anymore. I tried to tell someone how I felt. I just felt so alone, even with you by my side. It was like a part of me was gone. I just couldn't get it back anymore. That's why I'm like this.

I'm sorry for the mess. I guess you'll have to clean up after me one last time.

Ruby Rose, age 15

What Weiss saw that day was an end. An end to a life that she thought she could have help. If only she wasn't so blind to ignore her partner's pain. In hindsight, Weiss thought she could have done something to avert Ruby's fate. Maybe she could have been nicer. Maybe she shouldn't have insulted her when they first met. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

All Weiss could do was think about it. She put it all together, no matter how much she tried to forget. It plagued her consciousness, and it haunted her nightmares. The spark missing from Ruby's eyes, the pain she caused with her death, Weiss saw and experienced it all.

She couldn't get it out of her head.

There was only one thing left to do, to allow her to atone for her inaction. She was going to see Ruby soon.

She was sure of that much.

AN END.