He stands tall, and my eyes widen.
Oh God, no.
He’s leaving me here. Trapped.
Locked in a world of darkness.
“Killa. Please.” I rattle the handcuff against the radiator, fighting against the need to vomit. “Please!” My cries become louder as he spins on his boots, ignoring my every word, my every plea. “Please, don’t do this!” Every step he takes feels like he’s tearing me apart from the inside out. “Not this. Please, not this!” I beg, and he walks out the door. “Please, Killa.” I want to tell him I love him. I want him to believe every word I say, but how can I? How can I love someone so brutally cruel to me.
How?
I knew he would destroy me someday.
I just didn’t expect it to hurt as much as it did the last time I felt this pain.
Have I walked out of one monster’s arms and willingly walked into the arms of another?
CASSIDY
AGED ELEVEN YEARS OLD…
My rucksack hangs so low it hits my butt with each step I take. I’m short for my age, but the journal my mom and I finished creating yesterday is heavy and totally worth it. It’s full of memories from the summer, and I can’t wait to show my new teacher, Miss Gelachly. She’s going to be so happy when she sees it. I can’t help the smile on my face as I head down the sidewalk with a spring in my step.
Most kids my age don’t like school, but I do, and as much as I want to become a nurse like my mom,she says I’m clever enough to become a doctor, so that’s what I want to be. I’m going to make my mom proud.
In the journal are over a hundred photos of all the things we did this summer, and each one of them is a testament to our time together. She says I’m the ying to her yang, but that just makes me smile more because it makes her sound older than what she is.
“Excuse me, did you see the cat that ran under the car? I think I might have clipped it with my car,” a voice etched in worry says, so I stop in my tracks and turn to face the man. He’s tall, handsome, with short dark hair and darker eyes that hold something in them I can’t describe. My first thought is: I wonder if he has a wife, because I’m sure my mom would like him.
He gestures toward his black pickup, and when he points down at the small shrub beside the passenger door, I follow his gaze. “I just want it to come out so I know it’s not injured.” He winces.
My heart thunders at the thought of the cat being hurt, while my mind whirls with possibilities of how to fix it. “My mama’s a nurse. She can help it if it’s hurt.” I move toward the bush.Please don’t be Lulu, I chant in my head. My cat has a habit of following me everywhere, but I’m pretty sure she was on my bed when I left this morning.
“That’s good to know.” He smiles, and I bend down toward the shrub for a closer look, slipping one strap of the rucksack off a shoulder due to it weighing me down and making it difficult to see.
I scan the shrubbery and push some of the leaves out of the way, searching the greenery. “I can’t see—”
His thick hand covers my mouth, and he lifts me from the ground with ease. My bag falls to the pavement as I fight against him with all my might, kicking frantically, buthis hold on me is too strong, too painful. He throws me in the backseat of his truck, and I bite his hand, scratch at his face, and kick my legs in every direction, but nothing moves him, nothing stops his grip from becoming tighter on my face, making me to want to cry, but I’m too stunned to let the tears fall.
When the door slams shut, I bang on the glass and try the door handle, but it’s locked. He climbs inside, and I propel myself toward him like a fierce bear, only to be thrown back like a ragdoll. An evil smirk has me backing away from the sinister gleam in his eyes I failed to recognize before. When his fist smashes into my small face, I’m motionless, stunned, and a throbbing sensation takes over me. I feel like darkness is going to consume me. Warmth drips from my face, and my eyes become blurry, but I try my best to stay awake. The engine starts, and I watch on in horror as my journal flies open and the photographs blow down the pavement in the morning breeze, each memory floating away as if it’s nothing. My soft-pink bunny I keep stuffed in the bottom of my school bag hangs out at the side, taunting me. It’s almost like my childhood is disappearing right before my eyes.
And it is. In its place becomes the nightmares that will haunt me for the rest of my life, and all I can do is hope that one day I will be found, one day I can live a normal life and find freedom once again.
When his fist hits my face again, I close my eyes and give in to the darkness, knowing a future is out there somewhere for me. I just need to endure the pain to get it.
One day, someone will rescue me. He’ll be big and strong, fierce and protective. He’ll look at me like he’d burn the world down to save me, but he’d never hurt me. Ever.
No more tears can fall; I’ve cried so much my eyes hurt and my throat is raw. My legs are soaked from cum and urine, and I lie here on the cold bedroom floor staring into space like so many times before.
I’m rendered powerless, stripped of everything I worked so hard to rebuild.
Killa has destroyed me, and I knew he would all along. He’s the savage he claims to be; he never promised anything more, and I was a fool to expect anything different.
Next time, I’ll fight back harder, I’ll burn the world to the ground, I’ll become my own savior. There’s something that can be more powerful than love, and that’s hate, and I have it in abundance.
Watch out, Killa. Little Demon is about to fight back.
