THIRTY-SEVEN

THIRTY-SEVEN

I knew it before I woke up that something wasn't right. I knew whilst I was still that far deep in dream land and still unwilling to leave it. My dream was like any other blissful dream, just equally peaceful and serene. But the dark vibe that misted itself around, almost like a blanket covering a whole scene and releasing the horror chills, was present and it was almost suffocating to a point where I just had to wake up.

It's just a bizarre dream... I assured my half asleep mind. I kept my eyes firmly closed, hoping that this dream would pass and in place would come another. I was also hoping to get some dreamless sleep before I actually had to wake up and start my day.

I shifted to my left side, lifted the blankets and put it over my head to get that extra darkness my room couldn't give. I was already in a dream, way too deep to even comprehend anything logical when I felt it.

At first I thought it was another extract from another bizarre dream. But, part of my mind still clung onto logic and reality and it made me ponder on my own thought.

Nothing shouldn't feel this heavy on you.

It didn't make sense. It was like a pile of files was placed all over my legs and my hips, creating this heaviness as though some was actually on me. That all seemed impossible so I decided to just try to go back to sleep. Yet, this nagging feeling of just wanting to check kept me awake. For something that heavy to be on you, it granted at least a small lift of the head and a small open of the eyes.

Reluctantly, I moved the covers from over my head to just below my nose. I didn't actually see anything up until I moved my leg just the smallest amount and heard it. The sound of paper being ruffled before it all dropped to the floor with a significant thud. That's when I saw it.

My throat instantly filled up whilst simultaneously preventing air from reaching my lungs. Slowly, ever so careful, I perched up on my elbows and turned my body so I lay on my back and stared at what seemed like a thousand or more Polaroid's all over me.

I reached for one from the pile nearest to me with trembling fingers. I lifted one up and stared at it, completely swiped from any reaction. Initially, it looked like someone sleeping heavily, a complete stranger even. Until I recognised the setting of the room. The way the bedside tables were mismatched but holding up the same lamps, the way the picture from on top of the bed was slightly off center and the way the pillows were placed neatly on a pile next to floor of the bed.

I looked down and blindly picked up another one from the same pile. This one, from a different location but with the same image. I picked another one up, and saw the same picture but from a different spot, and another and another.

I threw that whole pile off me and frantically reached for another nearest to my hip. This one was of a much closer shot. Sleeping peacefully on the bed, with the covers just thrown across the midsection of the body and the hair all of the pillow case and some strands covering the face.

I jumped off the bed and threw the Polaroid across the room. Standing near the foot of the bed, I could see how much there was and seeing all those Polaroids, knowing that everything had come to this point... I was fighting myself from passing out. My legs were holding onto a thin rope as they quivered uncontrollably and my arms practically gave up on me as they hung from my shoulders numb.

I could hear my own erratic heart pumping in my throat as my mouth silently formed words. "Shit."

I dragged my weak legs closer to the bed and picked up a few more Polaroids in my hands. I stared, at myself, as I slept peacefully.

"This fucking creep," I whispered out a cry. "This fucking fucker creep!"

He was inside here and watched me as I slept.

A sudden strange sound came from my laptop. I snapped my head in its direction and saw that the small blue light was on, indicating that it was still on. I moved to it carefully, my mind instantly thinking that the danger was far from over, and that my own laptop posed a threat to me.

I moved the mouse the tiniest bit and my screen instantly came alive. Not one second passed when some sort of audio recording started to play. I frowned, knowing well enough that I didn't leave my laptop like this. I put the volume up.

It was us. From last night.

He fucking recorded us!

I slammed my laptop's screen down, shutting the whole recording down.

An shrilling scream came out from me.

I ran back to my bed and reached for every single Polaroid as though it was my only source of air and threw them all off my bed. I checked, throwing my cover to the ground, and checked by throwing my pillows on the ground that none of them were still on the place I slept. I put all my pillows and my covers back on the bed, making sure to leave everything else on the floor. I went back to my laptop and blindly threw it on the pile of Polaroids.

"I'm fucking done with you!" I screamed at him, knowing well enough that he couldn't hear me.

I went to my closet and put on the first thing I could get my hands on. A pair of washed out jeans and a worn out white t-shirt. I slipped it all on, along with a pair of flats and put my hair up.

I turned back to see my room... and screamed again. "You piece of shite!"

I legged it out the room, my head only focused on doing this one thing that I collided into my Father. He grabbed both my arms and steadied me, restoring my already pathetic balance.

"What's all that screaming?" He asked, lifting my head up and staring down at me. I saw the faintest hint of worry, which itself nearly threw me off.

But I was done with him, as much as I was done with what my whole life had become. I stared at the man who, even with his presence in the house seemed to provide me no drip of safety. He was meant to take care of me, beat up anyone who so much as looked at me in the wrong way, and make sure that no one, not even a fly would cause me distress. Wishful thinking from a parent who seemed like nothing but a ghost to me.

"If you so much as care for me," I breathed out heavily and stepped back so his arms dropped down. "If you so much as care," I repeated whilst holding his eye.

"Go in there," I pointed behind me over to my bedroom, "and call the police. Tell them you can find me at the Dane's resident and tell them that I killed Mr Dane's daughter on the twenty-third of August nearly two years ago."

I never saw my own Father look so white before, with all the blood drained from his face. I didn't stand there for another second and left him to call the police on his only daughter that killed an innocent civilian.

I raced down the stairs and straight out the house.

**

I wasn't entirely sure whether I walked, ran, or even jogged to his house but I made it quicker than I anticipated. I stood right in front of his house, my breathing labored and my whole face heated up. I was scared, I was alone and I was completely done with it.

I was going to end it. Right this instant.

Staring at his house, how innocent it looked and how well-put together with the fence and the big front door and elegant front pathway, you wouldn't think it was a residence of someone so corrupt and downright sadistic. It seemed like it belonged to a picture perfect family with a picture perfect life. They would have a family dog, they would have loving parents who doted on their children and every night they would have homemade dinner on the dinner table. There would be love, there would be trust and they would all feel safe.

I never had something like that, at least not since my Father did nothing but work and my Mother did nothing but shop. They lived their own lives under one roof and expected me to follow suit when all I wanted was to have some resemblance to a picture perfect family.

I met Link's Mother once. At the hospital when Palmer got sick. I didn't know her well enough for any pleasantries but I still respected her as mother, to tell her that I was the one that killed her daughter. So, as I made my way to their front door, I hoped his Mother would open the door.

There were no cars up front so I assumed his father was out. Let's just hope the culprit himself was out too.

My plan was simple. I wasn't going to allow Link to have this over my head anymore. I wasn't going to allow him to dictate my life anymore and I sure as hell won't give him the pleasure of telling the authorities about my crime. Because I'll be doing it myself as soon as I let Mrs Dane know.

My head was spinning when I came to the front door but I pushed it aside and lifted my finger up to the door bell. I pressed down on it and waited.

And waited.

I started to nervously jump on my feet. I moved around, repeating the words I was going to say to this woman over and over again to myself as I waited.

Until I started to hear some distinct sounds of footsteps and some shoveling coming from behind the door. I heard them fiddling around with the locks, a lot longer than you'd expect the whole Mother of the household to take. I heard an agitated loud sound come from behind the door and then it went completely silent.

I wasn't sure what was going on and was half tempted to ring the doorbell again when the door knob clicked and slowly opened the smallest bit.

"Sorry about that," said a young woman's voice before she appeared from behind the door. "I'm not so used to these locks that keep getting changed."

I tried to spread my lips into a smile, albeit failed and I wasn't sure what to say to this woman since she wasn't Link's mother. "I'm just looking for Mrs Dane." I told her, cranking my neck over to the side and trying to see through the door. A completely rude thing to do but I was soon going to be a wanted criminal so I had to speed things up.

Finally she managed to open the door fully and finally stepped out front. "Hello there," she greeted out cheerfully with a broad smile etched cross her glowing skin.

"Oh my god," I breathed out, stumbling back and nearly tripped over. I hit something, one of their tree's maybe and this time, I collapsed to the ground. "Oh my-" the rest was lost somewhere on my tongue.

I lost my whole-self whilst staring at someone who was meant to be dead.

////

> yes guys. It is who you think it is. And yes, some of you guessed it correctly a while back lol.

> And lastly, I'm so sorry I've been ghosting for nearly 2 months. But I'm back to finish this :)

> vote and comment and sorry for the super long wait. I hope I haven't lost many of you guys :(