Poisonous

Chapter 13 - Send Help

I woke up to the sound of a loud crash. I groaned and looked at my clock. It read 9:07am. I slowly got out of bed. My head was killing me.

I walked out of my bedroom. I put my phone in my sweatshirt pocket. I didn't change into my pajamas last night. In the hallway, a small vase was broken on the floor. Soil was everywhere. In the kitchen, our small eat-in table was flipped over. There was a bang coming from the living room. I ran to the room to find the couch's cushions were thrown. The chair was on the opposite end of the room of where it normally is. I saw my mom. Her hair was a mess and she was red in the face.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked.

The look she had in her eyes when she saw me was incredibly scary. There was so much hate. "You! How could you!"

"What-what are you talking about?"

She pointed to the TV. The news was talking about last night. The caption said "Poison Oak-Our New Friend!"

"I worked so hard to get you into the evil ways. You could have made it big!" My mom said.

"What if I didn't want that! That life is for you! I was happy trying to be a normal girl!"

My mom came over and grabbed my arm. Her nails dug into my skin. She punched me in the face. One hit after another. "You ungrateful little girl. You should listen to me more often."

My face hurt. My arm hurt. My head hurt. I felt my mom drag me to the hall closet. "No! Not there! Mom!" I screamed. I hated the hall closet. Nothing was in it but a light. She took me there when I was really bad. The first time I was in there was when I was ten. I had told Olivia our family secret. I still have nightmares about the closet and what she does to me.

"I wouldn't have to do this if you just listen to me!" My mom didn't even sound sorry for what she was doing.

"No! Please! Mom! No!" I screamed.

My mom kicked me in the ribs. "Shut it! You're acting childish!"

She pushed me into the closet. She slammed the door shut. I heard her lock the door. She added a lock after I broke out the first time. She also pushed something up against the door for extra locks.

I felt the walls closing in. It was getting hard to breathe. I started hyperventilating. I let a blood piercing scream hoping a neighbor would hear. I doubt they would. They haven't heard for fifteen years.

I took a deep breath. I felt around the wall to find the light switch. Once I found it, I flipped on the switch. The small, empty closet appeared. The closet was so small they the only way to sit was to pull your knees up to your chest. That's exactly what I did.

* * *

I heard my stomach growl. I looked at my phone to check the time. 1:30pm. I didn't have breakfast. I guess I wouldn't have lunch either.

I got a text from the Harrington's saying Olivia's funeral would be Tuesday after school. I didn't want to think about the funeral. I don't want to think about Olivia. The last conversation I had with her, I was yelling. I was mad at her over who she was hanging out with. It was stupid now that I think about it.

"I need you, Olivia," I said to the air.

I dialed Olivia's number. I knew it would go to voicemail, but I had to try.

"Hey, it's Olivia! Sorry I'm not at the phone. Knowing me, in probably asleep." There was a crash on the voicemail. I was with her when she recorded it. I remember we wanted to give the caller a scare, so I threw a chair on the floor. "Uh, gotta go. Bye!"

I let out a small giggle. We were so stupid back then.

More time passed before I heard anything. The doorbell rang. I heard my mom open the door.

"Who are you?" She asked the person.

I could barely hear who was the other person. I could only hear a low mumble. I could really only hear my mom's voice because she was talking really loud. It was almost as if she was mocking me. Like she wanted me to scream for help and get into more trouble.

"She's not home right now."

There was a long pause. The other person was talking.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I think she just needs time to grief. I'll tell her you stopped by."

I heard a small "But I," coming from the other person. It sounded an awful lot like Damian. I wasn't too sure. I couldn't really listen anymore because my mom slammed the door in his face.

"Oh, Eva, darling!" Mom called. "Someone was here to see you! You should have really come out."

I heard footsteps walking towards the closet. Then, bang! My mom hit the closet door. I jumped back a little.

"You're friend wanted to talk to you. He said something about Olivia. What happened? She died, didn't she?"

"Stop!" I screamed.

"Stop what? You know, little girl, I was thinking about letting you out because of your good behavior." She didn't think that. Not at all. "But I guess now, since you screamed, I'll add a couple of hours."

I let out a small sigh. I leaned my head on the wall. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.