Rise of The "Beast"

Bound By Whispers

As weeks pass by, Casie saw that her father was starting to act... different... He would wear long-sleeved shirts more than usual, and he would jump every time she addressed him. He wasn't even eating! She grew worried for him, and every time she asked if he was alright, he would smile and turn away. She tried to go to her mom to ask if she knew what was going on, but she didn't know either. She would soon notice that her dad was in the bathroom longer than usual as well. Like, HOURS at a time...

Eventually, she heard him starting to whisper to himself, growling about who knows what. But for some reason, he pauses like he's listening to someone... and he even replies after a moment of silence! It was weird... and creepy! Casie tried to communicate with him while he was having his internal exchanges, but she was met with him snapping at her. After a moment though, he would soften up his face and apologize to her.

"Personal stress, you know?" He just told her with a smile. Every single time...

Soon, it was the day of her seventh birthday! Casie opened her bedroom door to see lots of streamers and balloons around the apartment. Her mother was placing the birthday candles on her cake at the table. As the youngling walked over, her mom took notice of her. "Casie, good morning! Happy birthday, my love!"

"Hey mama!" She said, her eyes pivoting to the cake. "Is that my cake?"

"Yes, it is! And I got your favorite!" Her mom took the cake steadily in her hands and showed it to her. "Red velvet with chocolate icing! I also added the sprinkles you like too."

Her eyes dilated in joy and licked her lips. "Wow! Thank you, mama!" she said, looking up at her.

She smiled. "Anything for my cute little gremlin!"

Then, her dad walked past them... he was huffing quietly as he tried to make it to the front door. As he had hold on the knob, he heard his wife scoffing.

"Are you really leaving the apartment on your daughter's BIRTHDAY? You didn't even say hello to her!"

He froze and slowly turned to look at her. "Uh, I... I'm... I'm going to run some errands for her birthday!"

"But I thought we got all that we needed?" She told him with a raised brow.

"We... we uh... we need more ice cream! You know how much she loves her ice cream! Right, Casie?" He asked his daughter.

She slowly nodded. "Yeah..." She mumbled. "But Papa... aren't you sick?"

"Sick? OH yeah! Yeah... you can say that."

"Wouldn't you need rest?"

"This sickness doesn't require rest, Case. I think... but don't worry about it, okay? I'll be better in a few days tops!" Her dad told her with a grin. "Hopefully..." He then muttered as he opened the door, quickly stepping out and closing it behind him.

Casie frowned and looked up at her mom. "I'm worried..." she said.

Her mother was quiet and glared at the door. "Do you see what he does for you?" She said.

"What?"

"All the things that he's doing with you... isn't what a child like you should be participating in. You should be safe here, at home." She started to tell her as she set the cake back down on the table.

"Oh..." Casie mumbled. "But if they're so bad... why do they make me happy? Why does Papa want to show me the things he's shown me?"

Tammy then crouched down to her level. "Because I know how to deal with you better than he does. Yet, he never lets me do it. Do you know why? Because he thinks that I'll just treat you like an animal, but I won't! I mean, we're all animals under our sophisticated personas! You... are just different than everyone else. Something special even the world can't understand. And if they won't, then they don't deserve to see the beauty of your difference..." She growled before looking down at her and hugging her. "I love you more than you can ever imagine, baby girl. I don't ever want to see you hurt... I just want to keep you safe from the ones higher up, that's all. And you know the saying..."