Whispers Of Fate

15| Terrors of the Past

The memories crept in, like unwanted guests, invading my thoughts with an intensity that felt both suffocating and familiar. No matter how hard I tried to lock them away, sometimes the past clawed its way back, dragging me under its dark waves.

I was fifteen that summer, a time when I should have been reveling in the joys of adolescence-carefree laughter with friends, late-night talks under starlit skies, and dreams of the future and I did until the night I was plunged into a nightmare that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

It was one of those warm evenings, the kind where the air feels thick with the scent of blooming flowers and the promise of freedom. Kate invited me over for a project and we weren't done until late night. She insisted on staying but I refused knowing Mom and Dad would be worried sick if their 'little girl' wasn't home by now.

I had just left my best friend Kate's house, and my heart was filled with the thrill of a summer night.

"Be safe, okay?" Kate had said, giving me a quick hug as I stepped out the door.

"I always am," I replied with a grin, waving as I headed down the path.

Choosing the shortcut through a dimly lit alley felt routine, a path I had walked countless times without a second thought. But that night, an eerie stillness hung in the air, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. As I walked, I heard footsteps behind me. I laughed it off at first, muttering to myself, "You're just imagining things."

But the footsteps grew louder, their echo bouncing off the alley walls. Panic surged in my chest, and I quickened my pace, glancing back to see a shadowy figure following me. My heart raced, and instinct screamed at me to run, but my legs felt glued to the ground.

Then it happened.

Before I could scream or even fully comprehend the danger, a strong hand clamped down over my mouth. I felt a sharp tug as I was yanked into the darkness.

"Don't make a sound," he hissed, his voice low and menacing.

My heart pounded violently against my ribcage, drowning out all reason. I struggled, my muffled cries swallowed by the night, but he dragged me deeper into the alley, away from the streetlights. I could barely see his face, but the glint in his eyes sent chills down my spine.

I fought back with every ounce of strength I had. "Let go of me!" I tried to scream, but my voice came out as little more than a desperate whisper.

"Shut up," he growled, pressing me against the cold brick wall, his hand still covering my mouth. I thrashed, trying to free myself, but he was too strong, too fast. His grip tightened, and a malicious smile twisted across his face.

"No one's coming to help you," he whispered, his voice dripping with a cruel delight. "Now let's go somewhere quiet, shall we?" Those were the last words I heard before everything went pitch black.

I woke up to the sound of chains rustling. I could barely feel my hands and legs on the cold damp floor.

Then I heard a voice. A voice which made me tremble with here as it came closer and closer. I could feel his presence so close now.

"You like the place cupcake? I found it just for you." He said holding my wrist ever so tightly I could barely speak.

I opened my eyes as to where I was sitting and looked around only to see no one and a place so dark and scary I could hardly make out where I was or who he was.

"Oh cupcake?" He clenched his teeth holding my wrist even tighter now.

I was trembling with fear now. My body shaking at the touch of his cold hands. "Who are you?" I cried out loud.

"That's not important cupcake. All you need to know is that you are mine."

Tears began running down my cheeks as I tried to scream for help, but nothing.

My mind screamed for help, for anyone to rescue me, but the place was empty, the world outside oblivious to my terror.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I screamed not being able to hold in the tears that came flooding in. "Why me? What did I ever do to you or anyone!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. My hands covered my mouth as tears began to spill.

He crouched down to meet my gaze while I was sitting on the floor. He lifted my chin with his finger before speaking, "Don't cry cupcake, you know how I hate seeing you cry." He said with an evil smirk.

He grabbed my arm tightly, a bit too tightly which made me gasp, and spoke, "You are mine and only mine,  do you understand cupcake?"

That was the last thing I heard before the grip of his hands tightened around my neck chocking me till I lost consciousness, and my body fell into a dark abyss, swallowed by the silence that enveloped me.

The only thing I remember is waking up at the hospital with my family beside me and Kate of course. They told me it had been a week since I was found in the basement of an abandoned building covered with bruises and brutally assaulted. It was no lie as I couldn't look at myself after that. I asked them what happened but no one knows, all they could tell me was that if he hadn't found me that day I wouldn't have survived.

In the days that followed, I slipped into a fog of silence. The nightmares began almost immediately, each one more vivid and terrifying than the last. I would wake up gasping for breath, drenched in sweat, clutching my blankets as if they were my last hold on reality. Each night, I relived it-his grip, his threats, the darkness swallowing me whole.

I couldn't reach out. I couldn't let anyone in, afraid of what they might see, of the darkness I couldn't escape. Friends reached out, but I withdrew further, haunted and feeling like a ghost in my own life.

As time passed, I learned to hide it, to wear a mask of normalcy. I smiled when I needed to, laughed when the situation called for it. But inside, I was a storm of emotions, battling against the waves of fear and shame. I was terrified of being touched, of anyone getting too close, fearing that someone would see the scars I carried deep inside.

Even now, years later, the past still haunted me. The sound of footsteps behind me could send my heart racing; the echo of laughter could make me flinch. I had tried to push it all down, tried to move on, but the trauma lingered like a shadow, always there, lurking just beneath the surface.

I'm forever indebted to the person who rescued me and will never ever forget what he did for me. I never found out who he was but I would someday.

As I stood in front of my mirror, I took a deep breath, forcing myself to confront the reflection staring back at me.

"You're not that fifteen-year-old girl anymore," I whispered, willing the strength into my voice. "You survived."

But as much as I wanted to believe it, the weight of my past still pressed down on me, a burden I carried alone. I had built walls around my heart, fortifying myself against the world. And sometimes, in moments of solitude, I wondered if I would ever truly escape as one thing was sure that to him I was no stranger. Would the shadows of that night ever fully release their grip on me?
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Here it is guys, the moment we've all been waiting for😭

Do you guys expect it? Will Tyler find out or wait what about Jason?

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Thank you guys so much for being a part of this journey with me so far♡