What am I going to do?
I wipe my thumbs over my stinging face. I’m tired of being in fear. Tired of my life. I hate my mother for bringing us to this rich, but dark place.
After I finish the last of the wine, I wash my face, but the mascara is a bitch and smudges around my eyes.
I brush my teeth, and turn off the television. My stinging eyes need some relief. Hopefully, when I wake up, I won’t give a damn.
Yes, in the morning, everything will look different.
In reality, I know my life won’t change.
My eyes dart open. This time I am sure I hear footsteps in the house.
My body trembles as I lie and wait for the next sound.
I’m sure I can hear someone creeping around. I turn and glance at my door, checking I locked it.
Nobody knows I’m here.
Maybe it isn’t him.
Is it a burglar?
Would anyone dare to break into this house?
I’m sure it’s footsteps I can hear climbing the marble staircase. Yet, the security alarm didn’t make a sound.
I gasp, slamming my hand over my mouth and scramble out of the bed. I glance around my bedroom.
Am I safe inside this locked room?
What if someone saw me? What if someone is here to take me? Kidnap me? Hold me ransom and kill me, anyway.
I stare at my closet, but apparently after looking under the bed, it is the next obvious place for someone to hide, according to the murder mysteries I insist on watching.
So I tip-toe to the door, press my ear against the wood and listen again.
And listen...
There’s no sound.
I slam my hand over my pounding heart, silently chastising myself for being spooked. I probably dreamed it, woke up and thought it was real. I press my back against the door as I wait for a sound.
I also wait because I’m not ready to close my eyes just yet.
Just in case I’m wrong.
Youdreamedit.
I’m still uncertain, but I creep back to my bed and curl into a ball on the mattress. My eyes darting around the darkened room, listening for the sounds again.
Nothing...
I say a silent prayer, hoping God hears me–but he never has before.
It must be five minutes that I wait, and only when I hear nothing more am I happy to stop fighting my tiredness. I relax into my pillow and let fatigue and darkness find me again.
“Hello, Amara, you were naughty tonight,” he whispers in my ear. My eyes open as a shiver shudders right through my core. My stomach clenches and panic floods my brain.
