Torturous [Fillie]

Bedtime

"Time for bed!" Ava shouted while climbing up the side of the queen sized bed that her and Millie share. Millie was already laying on one side of the bed with a small children's book in her lap, waiting for Ava to lie down next to her. Ava soon got on top of the bed and got under the big fluffy covers. "Are you ready?" Millie asked with a kind smile.

Ava shook her head and scooted closer to Millie so she could see the pictures in the book. "Now I am." Ava said. Millie flashed a smile and opened the book to the first page, reading it slowly. "Once upon a time, there was a-" she was interrupted by Ava speaking up. "Can I read?" Ava asked. Millie looks down at Ava for a moment. Usually Millie is the one that reads. She hesitantly nodded and hands the little girl the book.

Ava takes the book and observes the page for a moment. The words are too hard for her small brain to understand. She furrows her eyebrows and looks back up at her older sister. "Can you read it?" She asked. Millie smiled, understanding that Ava can't quite read yet. So she takes the book from her sister and slowly starts off the story again.

"Once upon a time, there was a-" "Millie?" Ava interrupts once again. Millie looks down at her. "Yeah Ava?" She softly asks. Ava looks down at the book in Millie's hands, contemplating on finishing. "Uh,um..." She couldn't get it out. Millie put her arm around Ava. "What is it?" Millie asked. Ava looked up at Millie with glossy eyes. "Will we ever see mum and dad again?" She asked.

Millie opened her mouth slightly, shocked by her sisters words. She didn't know how to answer her though. Millie just looked down at the book in her lap and removed her arm from around Ava. "I-I hope so." Millie answered with a slow nod.

Ava started fiddling with a loose string on Millie's white sweater. "Can we see them soon?" She asked the older girl as a tear fell out of her eye. Millie could feel her eyes water a bit too. She sighed and looked down at Ava. "Look," Millie started. Ava wiped away her tears and looked up at Millie. "We'll see mummy and daddy someday, I promise, but not soon. It just isn't a good time for us to see them yet."

Ava nodded with a smile. "Okay Millie." She said. Millie smiled and looked down at the children's book still in her hands. "Now can I finish the story?" She asked. "Yes." Ava responded and lied back down, listening to her sister tell her a bedtime story.

-

Later that night, the room was dark and quiet. Millie felt a little uneasy. Her instincts told her to wake up, so she did just that. Millie opened her eyes and quietly sat up looking around the dark room. Something felt strange to her still. She thought she was just being paranoid so she lied back down in bed. Suddenly, there was a noise outside of the room. It sounded like something dropped.

Millie sat back up with her eyebrows furrowed. She decided to go check out the noise and got out of bed quietly, trying not to disturb Ava who was sleeping right next to her. She slowly walked to her bedroom door and opened it silently. It made a small creaking noise, but at least it didn't wake up Ava.

Millie stepped one foot out of her bedroom and into the living room. It was dark and she didn't see anything. She thought she should check the kitchen. Millie had this feeling in her gut that told her to just go back to bed and pretend nothing is wrong. She didn't want to though, she had to make sure there was nothing suspicious going on in her apartment.

Millie slowly made her way to the kitchen in fear of catching someone in her house. Her breathing became heavier as she got closer. Millie started to panic. She turned the corner to see an empty kitchen. No one was in there and there was nothing on the ground. She felt a wave of relief go over her. She was also wondering what that noise was since nothing looked out of place.

Millie put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath to calm herself. She came up with the conclusion that maybe she was just hearing things. Her throat started to feel a little dry though. She walked into the kitchen toward a cupboard and opened it to get a glass out. She softly closed the cupboard and walked to the sink to turn on the faucet and fill her glass with water. She turned off the tap off and took a nice big gulp.

She removed the glass from her lips and sighed while setting it down on the counter next to her. The brunette ran her fingers through her short brown hair and looked down at the sink thinking over her day. It was awful. First she embarrassed herself in front of a hot guy, then Iris embarrassed her in front of him, later some guy flipped her off, then the schools slut said some very mean things, and then she was bullied in the school hallways.

Now Millie is drinking tap water in the dark wishing her parents were still alive. She hated being so independent and having her little sister rely on her for everything, but Millie chose this way. She thought it would be easier. She was wrong. Millie sighs and turns around looking out of a small window across the kitchen.

She slowly walked closer getting a better view of an ally that was lit up by the moonlight above her. It was pretty much what you would expect. A few dumpsters and trash cans along big brick walls with garbage everywhere. Suddenly, Millie felt something cover her mouth and nose. She gasped and screamed for help, but nothing worked.

She kicked and screamed trying to free herself as the back of her head was pressed up against someone and her face was buried in a folded white cloth. She couldn't breathe or move her arms due to whatever holding them against her. Millie started to feel weak and limp as she closed her eyes to see and hear nothing.

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Is there a difference between the words while and whilst? I don't know if you can only use while in a sentence like "it was a while ago" or "I was sitting while drinking". How do you use whilst, is it just Edwardian for while? Educate me please.💉