I waited {L.S}

1.1

Everytime I fell asleep, it was full of nightmares. I woke up breathing heavily and crying multiple times throughout the night, terrified I was back in the room. Most of the time my mom woke up and soothed me back to sleep, but this time, I was the only one awake.

I wiped at my eyes and looked around the dark room that had furniture, setting it apart from the other room. My mom slept on the other side of the large bed, closer to the window.

I got up quietly once my breathing had calmed down and tiptoed to the window, opening the curtain a tiny bit, then looking back at my mom. When I noticed she was still asleep, I turned back to the window and looked at the street. I saw my mom's car. The lampposts were on, but other than that, there was no movement.

After just observing for a few minutes, I moved away from the window and walked towards the door, opening it without making it squeak. I left it slightly open and made my way to the bathroom I was shown.

I looked into the mirror for the first time since I had been taken from my mom. I didn't look the same. I could still tell it was me, but I looked older and a lot skinnier than I remembered. I washed my face then walked back to the bedroom and sat down on my side of the bed.

I pulled my knees to my chest and hid my face in them, mad that I was so scared of everything, but it's not like it's my choice. Everytime I tried trusting someone, it was either bad for them or me and I never saw them again.

It wasn't long before the sun started coming up. I found myself sitting by the window, watching as the sky changed colors like it was the first time. I had always loved the sky, I just loved the way it could change colors whenever it wanted.

When the sky was mostly a pale blue and the orange and pinks had disappeared, I heard my mom starting to wake up. I moved back to the bed, not wanting to scare her by not being where she thought I would be. And I was afraid that she would get mad at me for looking outside. He got mad when I tried to look outside.

I covered myself with the blanket and closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. She kissed my head before getting up. I heard the door open and I slowly opened my eyes, after a few seconds, seeing the door open, but not my mom.

Instead of getting up, I closed my eyes again. They felt heavy. I didn't want to deal with a nightmare, though.

Sleep overtook very, very quickly. It must have been a couple of hours before I woke back up because the sun was shining brightly in the room.

I stood up and slowly made my way from the bed and went back to the window, looking at the ground and just outside in general. It looked different. There were more cars and it sounded louder than it was when it was dark.

"Lou, are you up?" My mom asked after I had been looking for a few minutes. I turned around and moved away from the window quickly, chewing on my lip. "Hey, sweetheart."

I bit my lip and looked down. I heard her feet pad softly across the carpet as she walked closer to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded quickly, still looking at the ground. My mom touched my shoulders softly and smiled at me. "It's okay, Louis. You can look outside, baby." I looked up at her, and she began to nod slowly. "Do you want to go outside?"

My lip hurt from how much I had been chewing on it, but I kept finding comfort in it. I shook my head quickly to answer her question. I was only supposed to go outside at night, if I was ever allowed to go outside. And if I was sent outside, it wasn't ever good.

"Then let's go get some breakfast, yeah?" My mom asked instead.

I didn't get breakfast. I barely ate once a day, and it was whenever he felt like giving me food. I hesitated and looked down, stepping away from her. I started shaking my head again. I was hungry but I shouldn't eat yet.

"Louis, please?" She pleaded. I shook my head again and she sighed. She studied me for a few seconds and I wanted to shrink into nothing so she wouldn't be able to see me. So no one would be able to. "Were you allowed food before?"

I shook my head no, still not looking up at her. I wrung my fingers together. My mom whispered some thing under her breath.

"You're allowed to eat, whenever you want, alright? You're allowed to get food, Louis."

He'd be mad. He said I wasn't done. That I better still follow his rules. I don't want him mad. Him being mad is really, really bad.

"How about this?" My mom asked. I looked up to see her wiping tears from under her eyes. "I'll get a plate for you made up, and if you want, you can eat in the car. Does that sound alright?"

I nodded slowly, letting go of a deep breath. I followed her from the room, not looking back as we walked down stairs. Katelyn smiled at me when I entered the kitchen. "Hey, you hungry?"

I shook my head. Mom went over and explained he situation while making a small plate for me. They hugged and my mom nodded before she walked back over to me. She touched my shoulder gently. "Ready to go home?"

I nodded slowly, stepping away from her touch without making it obvious. I was scared to go "home". It was going to be different. I still had to follow his rules without making it obvious that's what I was doing.

We walked to the door and I hesitated. I didn't know how long it had been since I had been outside in the light. Before I was taken, that's for sure. My mom looked over and smiled tightly at me. "Lou, it's alright. I promise."

I nodded once and she opened the door. The light streamed through and almost reached my feet, but didn't quite. I had to squint and close my eyes while they adjusted to the brightness. Then I slowly walked outside, letting the warmth embrace me. It was weird. There was a light breeze too, making the hair on my arms stand up a small amount.

I didn't know how I felt about being outside again.