Two Fractured Souls

𝐀 𝚮𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭

(Y/n's POV)

I ignore the erratic flickering of the lights as I slowly make my way down the flight of stairs. One of my hands tightly holds my teddy bear, which is being dragged across the floor behind me, while my other hand is clutched to my chest. As I descend further and further down the flight of stairs, the distant voices become louder and more distinct.

The wood underneath my feet is chilly, causing goosebumps to appear on my pale arms. Holding my breath so that I don't make any noise, I tiptoe closer and closer to the white door, which is looming above my small body. When I reach the door, I quietly push it open a few inches, just enough to allow myself to peak through into the bedroom.

"We can't do this anymore," the man standing in the room tells a woman. "She's too dangerous to keep here."

"She's our daughter, John! We can't just send her away!" the woman argues, holding her head in her hands.

"I'm not saying that she's not our daughter. I'm just saying that if she were to ever find out the truth, it could cause a catastrophic event. I love her just as much as you, but she's dangerous," the man replies, trying to make the woman see reason.

"Where would we send her?" the woman asks, starting to give into the man's wishes.

"We could send her to boarding school. Somewhere in the countryside, where there will be less people to injure if she were to find out," the man suggests, handing the woman a brochure.

She scans the brochure for a few seconds, and a tear makes its way down her face. She folds the brochure and glances up at the man before slowly nodding. "Alright, let's send her away," she whispers.

I jolt back in surprise, a waterfall of tears dripping down my face. In my fear and haste, I forget to be quiet. A loose floor board creaks underneath my feet, causing the voices in the room to immediately fall silent. I try to remain quiet, but I can no longer control my sobs, which are ripping their way out of me. How could they do this to me? Don't they love me anymore?

The door opens and out walks the man. "Y/n, what are you doing down here? You should be asleep upstairs," he tells me before noticing that I'm crying. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you sending me away, Daddy?" I ask between sobs.

He glances at my mom, who covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head in sorrow. "We're not sending you away, baby. Think of it like a vacation," I hear him respond, although I'm too panicked to actually process his words.

"I knew it! You don't love me anymore! I was too loud and too annoying, and now you're giving up on me!!"

"That's not why..."

"I can do better!! I'll pick up my toys, I'll be quieter, and I'll even help Mommy out more with the dishes!" By now I'm completely hysterical and can barely breathe through my sobbing. "I'll do better, I promise! Just give me another chance! Just one more chance!!"

I'm too wrapped up in my fearful thoughts to notice that one of the lamps suddenly catches fire. I'm completely oblivious as the fire trails across the furniture and sets the floor ablaze. By the time I finally notice, the walls are already slightly singed black from the scorching flames. I stumble back in alarm of the situation, and when I look over at my parents, I can tell that they've noticed as well. Their mouths are hanging open, their eyes are blown wide in shock, and they're both staring at me in terror, causing me to start crying even harder, which I didn't think was possible.

My dad tries to move closer to me, but as soon as he takes a single step, the flames immediately surround him. It's as if our house was made of grass with how fast the fire is spreading. My breathing remains labored as I move closer to the flames, trying to reach my trapped parents. As I raise my hand to attempt to grab onto them, the flames leap up, and I can feel the full intensity of the heat as they come mere inches from burning my entire face.

"Go!" my dad's voice momentarily breaks through the creaking and splintering of the burning wood.

"No, I won't leave you!" I insist, glancing around the room for another way to reach them.

After finding no other way around, I sigh in exasperation. I can barely see my parents anymore since the smoke from the fire has almost entirely filled the room. Coughing to try to expel the smoke from my airways, I almost keen over from the lack of air reaching my lungs.

"Y/n, you have to run!" I hear my dad say somewhere in the distance.

"But..." I start to protest.

"Now!"

I let a whimper escape my lips before I gather all of my remaining strength and take off running down the quickly burning hallway. Tears pour down my cheeks as I kneel down to avoid getting hit by a crumbling beam. I make it out into the open right before the house collapses behind me, sending smoke hurling into the once clean air.

I wake up gasping for air and drenched in sweat. My hands noticeably shake as I clutch the sheets, trying to ground myself. Inhaling deeply for a couple of seconds, I release a few shaky breaths.

After I regain control of my breathing, I step out of bed with trembling legs. My mind goes numb, and I let my body take over as I begin walking in a random direction. Although it's been a long time since I've had a nightmare that strong, they're not in any way unfamiliar to me.

Coming out of my thoughts, I'm surprised to find myself standing in the middle of the kitchen. I quietly sigh before glancing at the variety of teas, hot chocolates, and coffees sitting on the far side of the counter. Making my way over to the counter, I sift through the different types of drinks. I suppose a cup of tea won't hurt. I definitely don't want to go back to sleep. Although, it's not as if I could sleep even if I wanted to. Looking through the many flavors of tea, I eventually settle on peppermint. The Keurig is way noisier than I thought it would be, and I silently pray that it doesn't wake anyone up. I hum in relief when it stops, and there's still no sign of anybody entering the kitchen.

I realize that I allowed myself to be relived too soon when I suddenly feel a presence behind me and hear a voice whisper, "Couldn't sleep?"

I gasp in surprise and barely manage to stop my tea from spilling all over myself and my clean pajamas. "Loki!" Why would he be down here at this hour? A horrible thought suddenly enters my mind and I wring my hands together in fear. "I didn't wake you up, did I? I'm really sorry if I did. I was just making some tea, but the Keurig was louder than I thought it would be. I didn't mean to..."

"You didn't wake me up," Loki reveals, stopping my rambling. With that sentence, I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. "You didn't answer my question," Loki continues, staring at me with squinted eyes.

I pause and think about how I should respond. There's no way he can find out about my nightmares. He'd only make fun of me, and I'm in no mood for that. "Not that it's any of your business," I finally speak up, "but I went to bed early last night and decided to wake up early this morning to work out." I can tell that he isn't buying my lie, but I'm thankfully saved from having to explain myself further when an alarm sounds, the blaring noise echoing throughout the ginormous tower.