Vanilla

Chapter 31

Nyree watched me look at all of the papers in front of me and groan.

"Am I not going to attend Beach University?" I asked her.

"I honestly can't answer that, you'll have to ask Indigo."

"I don't even remember her," I said.

I stare down at Indigo's picture and my hand flew to my head as it throbbed in agony. "Ugh!"

"Dani!" Nyree got up and ran to my side. "Dani! Are you okay? Is it your head? Do you need painkillers?"

I shook my head and felt like a knife was being dragged inside of my head. It was killing me. I screamed in pain and listened to Nyree's fast footsteps run out the bedroom door.

Then that same flashback happens again.

"B-because the monsters will get me..."

"Monsters?"

"Y-yes...mommy told me the monsters will get me if I don't go to sleep."

The unknown person sighs. "There are no monsters, Dani. She's just playing around, okay?"

The sound of a loud thud occurs somewhere inside of the house, which is quickly followed by the faint noise of whimpers and groans.

"W-what is that?" I ask with a shaking voice. "I-Is it-"

"Dani, maybe you should go to sleep."

"B-but is mommy okay?"

"Dani..." the person pinches the bridge of their nose while looking as if they were questioning life. "Please...just go to sleep, okay?"

I slowly nod as I slip under the covers. "Sorry..."

"Dani, don't-don't apologize. All you need to do is go to sleep for tomorrow."

"Yes..." I duck my head under the cover and hear the sound of their footsteps heading to the door.

"Goodnight Dani, sleep well."

The door closes and I tremble while I silently sob.

"They're fighting again...I know it," I mumbled before I drifted off to sleep.

I replay that same flashback over and over again in my mind. I squinted and the person's face started to reveal itself more clearly. It was Indigo, she looked younger than in the picture, but she had her hair cut short back then.

She always comforted me back then and hummed a similar tune to my mother. But hers was a bit different. It had a lighter tune and softer words that went with it.

Like a lullaby for a baby.

"There are no monsters, Dani. She's just playing around, okay?"

Our life before mother died was honestly tragic. You refusing to leave your room, but never wanted to fall asleep because of the 'monsters'. I remember it so clearly.

I dropped my hands from my head and looked up at the ceiling. My screaming stopped, my pain didn't stop, but her words were engraved into my mind.

"She always used to tell me the monsters weren't real," I mumbled. "For an adopted person, she really acted like she was around for a long time with me. I wonder what her thoughts were with me. Did she like me? Hate me? Care for me? What was on her mind?"

"Dani, I got the painkillers!" Nyree said and rushed into my room with a cup of water and a bottle of painkillers.

I looked down at her hands that were offering the two things and looked back up at her. "Did I complain about monsters with grandma?"