Web of Lies

1

10 years later

Danielle's POV:

AN alarm clock blaring to the left of me brought me back out of the depths of my head. The actual purpose of it doesn't work when you don't dare let yourself fall asleep, when you're not sure of what torments your head might have in store to plague upon you that night. It can have other uses though, I've found that it can help bring you out of your thoughts, even when they are threatening to overwhelm you.

Reaching up, I quickly press the snooze button and collapse back onto my bed, dreading getting out of the comforting warmth of my covers, out of my shield to the world. Nothing can hurt me when I'm here I always tell myself, nothing except me of course.

The sun had started to seep through the thin blinds covering the windows, faintly illuminating the room. The empty bed across from me was a constant reminder of what happens when you don't follow the rules, when you don't listen to what is said, when you get too much out of their control.

They keep it there to portray a message, a representation of their power and how easy it is to make someone disappear. There's many of those 'messages' littered around the house just in case you forget and need a little prompt to remember how life really is.

It wasn't always so bad, not when he was here. Everything was great back then. Well not everything but comparing it to my life now, it was definitely an improvement. All because he was right here with me, experiencing it at the same time, helping me find strength to carry on.

Snapping me out of my momentary peace, the ringing of the alarm filled the room once again, the sound bouncing off the walls and echoing down the hall.

Pulling myself up, I turn it off completely and walk to the other side of the room, rummaging through my backpack. We are always needed to have one packed, our mother drilled it in us the second we learnt how to speak English.

"Always be prepared," She used to say, "You never know what could happen, you don't know how much time we might have to get away."

Taking out a pair of black jeans and grey hoodie, I quickly pull them on and make my way out of the room. Not needing to stay particularly quiet, I walk down the hallway towards the kitchen, taking advantage of the almost empty house. Dad was out on another trip for work, unsurprisingly since he only spends about 20% of the month at the house. Mom, however, was completely knocked out from last night, the scent of alcohol still wafting down the corridor.

Opening the second door on the right, I head straight to the cupboard to retrieve a glass and fill it up at the tap. Sipping at the water, I lean against the counter and gaze around the room.

The yellow paint caking the walls, to make the illusion of happiness filling the kitchen, of sunny days and ice-cream. To try to make everything seem fine. The empty pizza boxes and bear bottles covering the table in the far corner of the room, the stack of dishes and pots surrounding the sink all awaiting to be cleared away.

Sighing, I begin to get to work, scrubbing at the pots left over from the previous night, that's my job after all - that's how it works. They're allowed to live, do whatever they want and I'm just here to clean up the mess and consequences.

Judging from the number of plates stacked, they must have had at least 6 more people over last night and that's just the ones that were eating. I honestly don't know how they do it, how they cram about 10 people in a room the size being no bigger than a garage.

A buzzing sound interrupts my train of thoughts, I dry my hands and look around to find the source of it. Underneath an empty pizza box was my mother's phone, an unknown number flashing upon the screen.

I held myself back, not daring to do anything with it, so the call got sent to voicemail. If she ever found out I touched her phone, let alone answered a call, I would find myself not being able to walk for a week.

The notification for the voice mail came through and another message popped up straight afterwards.

I quickly glance back to the hallway just to check that my mom is indeed out cold, her loud snores echoing down the corridor confirming my question almost immediately.

Snatching up the phone quickly so I don't get second thoughts, I unlock it and open the messages app. Clicking on the first one and scrolling to the bottom, I am met with the answer of why this person needed to get hold of her so urgently.

"They know where you are."

A/n: I'm still just setting the scene so this is quite a short chapter but they will be getting longer as they go along.

Thankyou for giving this book a try, please don't forget to vote and comment. I hope you have a great day or night! Don't forget to eat something, have a drink and get some sleep <33