Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 51

Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 51

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Annabelle...

I cried my eyes out for what felt like hours. I finally stopped when exhaustion started to seep through my bones. 

Refusing to fall asleep, I shuffled over to the middle of the room, where the bright patch of sunlight covered the floor in a tiny square. The small, square window was way too high up for me to see anything, much to my despair. It felt good to at least be in a spot of light, instead of the blinding darkness that cast over the rest of this stuffy basement. It made me feel almost safe and at peace sitting here, feeling the warmth on my soon to be cold and frail skin. It was almost like having Niall here, knowing he was out there somewhere, feeling the same sun on his own skin.

I knew he'd find me. I had faith he would, regardless of my last words to him. I just had to hold on until then, but boy did I know my fathers wrath was going to be extremely hard to bare, even more so with Nick here. I'm still relieved that the other two came to their senses. Nick was bad enough on his own.

I think that scared me the most. I was more scared of Nick than my father. The years of abuse didn't hurt me nearly as bad as getting raped. Beatings were just physical. It hurt in the moment, and then the ache eventually went away, along with the bruises. Being taken advantage of though, hurt much more deep. Of course it was physically painful, just as being beaten was, but the heavy amount of emotional damage makes it a thousand times worse. The disgust and hatred you feel afterwards for being so weak, it's awful, and it haunts you. There were so many nights, even now, when it terrorized my nightmares. I'd always been so lucky to have Niall around though. He was always my angel, who pulled me from my thoughts and kept me safely tucked in his arms.

I didn't know how I was going to survive without him anymore. I guess I'd have to use the sun as my comfort and connection to him, and when it got dark, the moon would do the same.

Slowly, the sun went away, leaving me in the darkness of night. As the light got dimmer and dimmer, I felt the panic and terror start to surge through me again. Gone was the peace I felt before, and now I was scared.

I didn't want to have to go through this again. I'd finally healed, physically and mentally, and I regained all my memories. I was completely me again. I didn't wanna revert backwards and suffer again. What if I lost my memories again? What if they fully paralyzed me by mistake? Or worse, what if they killed me?

Before I could answer myself, I heard the slow creak of the door, and heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. I felt the fear choke me, as the anticipation of who was coming filled the air.

I heard a click, and my eyes burned at the sudden brightness that cast over the room. My heart stopped beating at the sight of my father. He looked the same, yet completely different. His once fluffy short hair was now buzzed. His face was sunken in, and he looked like he lost a lot of weight. When he went back and forth from drinking, then to his drug phases, he would lose and regain large amounts of weight.

But no matter how different his appearance may or may not have been, the fear that bubbled in my gut will forever be the same when I lay my eyes on that monster.

"Well if it isn't my sweet little daughter." His voice was sickly sinister, to match his bone chilling smile. Every time he took a step towards me, I tried to shuffle back the best I could, with my limbs still tied. "I've missed you so much." I wanted to puke. "I was so heartbroken when you ran away from your dear old dad."