Decipher | Watty's 2017

LXXIII. Monophobia

Monophobia

/mon-uh-foh-bee-uh/

noun

an abnormal fear of being alone

Melissa's POV

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It was like my inner being was being torn as it attempted to follow Luke while he walked away. He looked so calm as he took the final steps away from me and my love; however, I was falling into the large chasm of grief as I watched his frame disappear while I hid behind the comfort of my door. The cold of the wood seeped through my thin shirt and onto my skin, somehow managing to chill me to the bone. I pushed myself off the floor and walked dizzily over to my bed. By the time that I hit my head onto the pillow, I was out.

The face of my mother appeared before me as I attempted to wake from the nightmare, only to hear mutters around me of my inability to leave. Tears streamed down my face as I took in the torture room I was previously stored in, the cement walls displaying every crack and crevice that I remembered.

My arms and legs were strapped to the cushioned tilt table, completed with the added large leather strap secured around my torso. The table appeared to be locked in place as every time I attempted to tilt myself, it would only move slightly before resuming its previous position. I glanced around the room to find familiar pairs of eyes staring at me, including my father's blue eyes seeming to stare into my soul.

The blue eyes and blonde hair that I had inherited from him were easily recognizable to me as I stared into his eyes for a few moments before feeling the familiar tingles of electricity trace my skin, reliving the eerie feeling of breathlessness that I often experienced now. I yelled loudly as the pain overcame me, feeling like a sharp knife being stuck at various areas of my body.

Suddenly the power cut out, taking my pain away but replacing it with the ache remaining in my frame. My throat felt numb as I felt the burning slowly subsided. I attempted to scream loudly for Luke, only to be reminded of the burning that had occurred within my throat as only air emitted.

Laughter came from beside me as I closed my eyes, wishing for this all to be over and repeating that this was all a dream. I opened my eyes once again to find my mother before me, staring at me with light in her eyes and a happy glint in her smile. Tears were flowing down my cheeks as I heard her repeat the words I always heard before I would be tortured within the confines of this prison.

"This should be fun," she spoke, causing a groan to emit from my face as I fought against the chains on my wrists. Suddenly a new pain shot through me. No longer was the pain based upon the pricks of burning electricity, but a sharp stabbing pain caused by some sort of pointed object. When I looked down to assess the damage, my heart rate increased due to the obvious area where they stabbed me in my thigh. I didn't even realize I was screaming until my voice gave out. Another stream of pain coursed through me when they removed the blade. I tried to move my body to gaze down at the wound but hands pushed me back down.

Suddenly, a blindfold was placed over my eyes. I took in a shaky breath, now completely out of control with no means of telling what was about to happen to me.

"Did you know that looking at a wound has been proven to make it more painful? It makes it more real." It was the sound of my mother's harrowing voice that broke the silence and caused me to grimace underneath the mask. The voice most people knew that they were able to trust was now a voice that sent a rush of chills creeping through my spine. It brought me so much pain now since I knew of her intentions with me. She had intentionally caused me so much physical pain that now I couldn't even recognize her as my mother because no mother would treat her child with such disrespect and brutality.