Offended

Chapter XXII

Warning: this chapter includes and mentions sexual themes/rape/sexual assault. If you feel uncomfortable reading this, feel free to jump ahead or not read this chapter entirely. Stay safe :)

SleepyFerret

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Monika stared at her reflection in the dirty vanity mirror with a grimace. She pulled down the white button up shirt down again, tucking it into her pants, leaving a few spots untucked and then untucking it again. She hated these clothes, but they were the only ones she found that actually fit her. She didn't hate them because she thought they were ugly, no, they were clean and the black pants and white shirt made her look... smart? Professional? Something along those lines.

What she hated about them, was the fact that they fit her, when they weren't her own.

She hated the fact that another young girl or boy had suffered the same fate that she had and now she was wearing their clothes.

Monika gazed back at the closet and felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The closet itself was full of dresses, pants, shirts, skirts; all in different styles and sizes. At first glance, they looked brand new, like that thing had bought them himself. But then there are those little details, like small stains or wear and tear around the hemlines of the skirts and dresses, that made her realize that these garments are used.

She straightened the shirt again, a shiver of unease running down her back as the fabric touched her skin, making her want to rip it off her body.

Monika's thoughts wandered back to the diary hidden underneath the floorboards.

"Catherine..." – she mumbled out loud, her voice feeling scratchy and strained, a reminder of how little she spoke over the past few days. Weeks? The days stretched on for so long it was hard to distinguish tomorrow from today and today from yesterday.

That name felt familiar, like she had heard it somewhere. Monika stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror and tried to remember. Catherine... Catherine Kilby. Such a familiar name and yet she couldn't remember hearing it. Everything was fuzzy in her mind.

The girl glanced back at the loose floorboard again.

What did Catherine look like? Did she have long hair or short hair? What color were her eyes? Did these clothes belong to her? What was her style like? What about her voice?

Did she survive? Was she alive and well right now?

Or was she dead?

Monika turned away and tucked her shirt down one final time before taking a deep shaky breath.

Something in the back of her mind told her that Catherine was dead and that's that. And that Monika was going to meet the same fate.

Maybe it was the hopelessness of her failed attempt at escape, which she rushed into far too quickly, without even giving it a second thought, that planted that seed of dread into her mind. Maybe it was the uneasy feeling, that shiver up her spine reminding her that he was watching, that she couldn't never escape him, no matter how hard she tried to outsmart him.

That thing will always be smarter than her, stronger than her, faster than her, because he isn't human. He knows everything about her and she knows nothing about him.

She is fragile, he is tough.

She is weak, he is strong.

She is slow, he is fast.

She is human, he is a monster, something that she doesn't understand and doesn't have time to analyze.

While he is something beyond her understanding, to him, she is but another human, a toy for him to play with.