Obsession

Secret: Chapter 3

They were in a different town that bordered a city miles away from their hometown. This was something Gabriel had reminded himself of, daily, like a holy mantra following the relocation. It had worked after a while but for the first year following that unfaithful incident five years ago, Gabriel had lived in a state of paranoia, often finding himself gauging the behaviour of the people around him – even mere passers-by.

Gabriel had trusted no one, and one of the things he had feared most following the move, was being left at home alone for extended periods of time. Even one hour felt like an eternity and he would jump at the slightest sounds. His paranoia had gotten to the point that when left alone at home, he would lock every door and window that served as a point of entry, and for extra measure, he would take a knife from the kitchen and barricade himself in his bedroom, flipping the lock there as well just to calm his nerves.

Panic attacks were also a thing he had struggled with which had led to him taking safety precautions when left at home alone and had kickstarted his thought process in evaluating the pros and cons of making friends. Then, thirteen-year-old Gabriel had arrived at the conclusion that friends would help curb his anxiety and paranoia since there was strength in numbers and having friends would keep him busy. There was truth in the saying, 'An idle mind is an evil mind' since one time too many, he drove himself into hysteria thinking the most outrageous of scenarios.

It had been at its worst in the months after they had moved to Shaw, and while he had managed to make friends, he never travelled home without walking with a group of people – among faces he was acquainted with – or he would take the school bus. Making friends had helped tremendously – just as he initially theorized – since he no longer had a reason to be left at home alone. If he were, it took one phone call to the Stroup residence and Gabriel would spend the day there.

His paranoia had soon fizzled out, and he'd put the unfortunate incident out of mind. Gabriel and his father had been moving on, and five years later, he would consider them moved on and recuperated.

So, it had made no sense to Gabriel as to the reason behind a nightmare, and one so familiar. Even in his unconscious state, as his mind's eye slammed him back to a night five years ago, he knew the dream was absurd yet terrifying altogether.

In the dream, Gabriel was back in his bedroom in his old home in his hometown. There was a slight difference though, and a few things were out of place which told him it was a dream. For one, the colours of the bedroom walls were all wrong and were the colour of a pale yellow, much like the colour of the walls at the Stroup residence. In his old home, Gabriel's bedroom walls had been painted a baby blue.

Just like that night, it was dark, inside, and outside of the house, and it was silent, just as he had remembered it. He saw himself lying on his old bed, asleep, and he saw the window that looked out into the front yard and the street. The window, however, was open, and the white curtains billowed gently in the night breeze.

In a matter of heartbeats, Gabriel found himself lying in place of his then twelve-year-old body in the dream, eyes shooting open as he bolted upright into a sitting position. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest until it drowned out all other sound, the chilly night air from the window came washing over him, biting his cheeks. His adrenaline was pumping, running high and his mind whirled.

Something was not right. He'd known it that night five years ago, and in his dream's eye, he knew exactly what he'd find. And in his dream, as silent tears began to drip from his eyes, muffled moans bubbled up his throat in the real world, but still, it was not loud enough to awaken someone else.