In and Out

2

Sleep was a curse, because hidden throughout her sleep were nightmares. Nightmares of her abuser. Nightmares of the very man who was dating her naive mother. The very man who lived in her house. In her so called 'sanctuary'. The most she could do was keep watch over her sister at night while staying awake off of the energy drink she had bought earlier that day.

She kept the hallway light on, sitting up in front of her sister's closed bedroom door with her sketchbook. Her latest piece was a recreation of the back room at the store. The sheer amount of words that were in that room stunned her. She shaded in the shadows, blending them with her blanket that she kept wrapped around herself. She listens to her sister's quiet breathing. In then out, in then out. So sweet and unknowing, and it was her job to keep it that way. It was her job to protect her little lamb.

Mary was going to be starting middle school soon, in a brand new town, with brand new people. Andy was terrified that she wouldn't be able to protect her for much longer. Andy would be starting high school soon as well. That thought didn't scare her as much as not being able to protect Mary.

The front door slammed shut. He was home, back from the bar. Andy slipped into her sister's room, closing the door gently behind her, as not to wake Mary. Andy set down her art supplies and crawled into bed with her sister, preparing herself to be able to protect her.

The stairs creaked as the monster climbed the stair drunkenly, sounding like an elephant. Andy buried her face into Mary's hair, humming a soft melody to keep her asleep. He stopped at the door, his footsteps pausing. Opening the door, he peeked in to see Andy's eyes glinting green, like a cat's. She scowled at him, turning her face into a snarl, ready to defend her sister as a lioness would her cub. He rolled his eyes, and closed the door louder than he should have, causing Mary to stir. Rage awoke within Andy, and she slid out of the bed, rushing to the hallway as fast as she could. The lights were off when she exited, causing her heart to leap around in her chest. Immediately she knew she should have stayed in the room.

She felt cold, clammy hands cover her mouth. "If you scream or make a single noise I will make you watch me hurt your sister. Andy nodded, tears rolling down her face like precious pearls. The monster took her by her arm downstairs into the basement, where there was a bare mattress that he had tied her to more than once since the move. In every house they had lived in with him there had been a basement that locked from the inside. He turned that lock now. Shoving her toward the mattress, he ordered her to dance for him. She complied, struggling to stop crying as she stripped down to nothing. She did the same to him by his orders, tears falling like rain now as she tried to go numb and detach herself mentally from her body before the worst of the pain ensued.

This was her hell every night. Falling for the same tricks every night. She had to protect Mary no matter what. She had to keep her little lamb safe, and she was willing to go through anything to do that.