Broken Pieces

CHAPTER {18}

AKARI

I pulled my hoodie away from my skin as I had just woken up from a nightmare, a thin coat of sweat covering my body. I pulled off my hoodie leaving in my shirt that was stuck to my skin. I looked over at my bedside table and checked the time, 04:09 am.

I stood up and went towards the bathroom. I threw water on my face and looked up at myself in the mirror. The dark circles under my eyes were really dark at this point. I couldn't blame myself though, it was my mother who was to blame.

I feared sleep because of her. I feared it so much that even the thought of it is nauseating. I began to remove my clothes along with my boot and made my way to the shower but decided against it and went towards the bathtub. I opened the water and sat on the toilet as I watched the water rise.

I grew a liking to water because as I had said before, it cleanses me. Of those horrible hands, my fears, my anxieties. When I was in the water, I was most at peace and serenity. The water rises to my preferred height and I switched off the water.

I lowered myself into the hot water, sighing at the stinging sensation that came from the water. I was fully in the water and rested my head on the edge of tub and closed my eyes, sighing again as I felt my muscles relax. I was slowly fading into sleep.

I felt a hand push me down into the water and kept my head under the water. It was slowly growing harder to breathe and I was fighting the force of the hand so I could breathe. I began to thrash around as the person's hand was persistent and strong.

I began to take in hot water into my lungs and it was so painful. When I thought I was about to die, I jolted awake, slashing some water onto the floor. I was gasping for air with my hand pressed on my chest as I felt my heart beating out of the ordinary.

My other hand gripped the side of the tub tightly. I took deep breaths to regulate my breathing. Why did it feel so real? I got my breathing back to its normal pace and got out of the tub. I took out the stopper and went to my towel rack and dried my body. I threw on my robe and grabbed my clothes and boot and I got out of the bathroom.

I walked into the dark room and went to switch on the lights. Once I did, I put on a pad and threw on the clothes I had on before as I was going to fully shower later. I slowly sat on the bed looking down at the floor. I brought my hand up to rub my throat as the feeling of hot water came back.

I looked at the time, 05:07am. I took that long? I quickly put on my boot as I realized that I couldn't keep my boot off for long the next time I shower as I had already exhausted an hour. I grabbed my phone and the first thing I saw was a notification from instagram. I opened it and it read,

Follow request from Al3xa_ndros69.

Alexandros? I accepted it because why not? I don't even know what I'm doing. I began to watch some videos, some were funny but not enough for me to even smile, some were highly concerning but I still passed a lot of time.

I switched from instagram to TikTok and from TikTok to instagram and sometime between, checking my calendar, my period is to finish today. I went back to my switching and a video on TikTok caught my eye. It was a girl in tight clothing, she twirled so gracefully to the music that played. She looked happy and I wanted to feel the same.

I wanted to be free just like her. I stood up and copied her form. She stood on her tippy toes, her arms out and turned around. I mimicked her form but when it came to the turning I failed. I failed again and again until a knock echoed in the room.

Before I could answer, Zachary peeked his head into my room and smiled at me. "Breakfast is ready," he informs me and as he was about to close the door, he did a double take and walked into the room. I was scared. Being in a room with a man was not something I like to think of.