In Hells Embrace

Chapter 7

You were running blindly in the dark, not sure if you'd lost your vision or it was just the perpetual darkness taking a toll on your senses. All you knew was that you were alone, well not entirely. There was something behind you, fast approaching and you had to run. Escape it. Hide from it. Disappear from its line of sight. And so you ran, as fast as you could, as far away as you could.

It was getting harder to move, harder to breathe. You felt like you were pushing your way through a riptide and the thing behind you—whatever it was— was closing in. Your legs had just about given up when you saw a light flicker, close to you. It wasn't blinding or too harsh as one would have expected, it was dull, a fading red, but somehow it seemed warm and welcoming. With a renewed vigour, you pursuit it. You just had to get to it and you'd be safe. You were sure of it. The closer you got, the more hopefully felt. Maybe you'd make it after all.

A hand stretched forth, you attempted to grasp the light. For a moment it seemed within reach, beckoning you forth. Then you were ripped away by the very darkness you were running from. A scream erupted from deep within you as you were dragged away from the light back in the deadly darkness.

You gasped, jolting up in pants. It was a dream you tried to reassure yourself. It took you a minute but you eventually calmed down and fell back on to the bed.

You missed Minjin more than ever, her comforting presence and soothing words would have put your mind to ease but she wasn't here now. You were all alone in the darkness. You had left her all alone in the darkness. Darkness has become your perpetual companion. There was no light for you anyways.

Who would protect you? Why would anyone protect you? What did you ever do to deserve such consideration? These thoughts jumbled up in your head like a bitter mantra. You knew they'd stay there for awhile. all you could do was to tune them out. More than a week had passed yet again since that fateful day at the store and you were quickly loosing hope of the same coincidence bringing you and that handsome stranger together again (you were wrong lol) so you just decided to forget about everything and get on with your life, no matter how bleak it was at the moment.

You dragged yourself out of bed, checking the blaring 9 am on screen. It was Sunday, you were supposed to relax today before work. You had planned sleeping all day to recoup the energy drained during the week. Life had a different plan for you it seemed. Since you were up, you thought on doing something remotely productive and mildly entertaining without spending any precious money. The idea came to you instantly, the library. You had loved reading, having a small personal library at your old dwelling with all the books you could ever want. Now, reading, or heaven forbid buying, a book was a luxury. One you could seldom afford. That went with most things in your life. With that depressing thought in mind, you grabbed the first outfit you could get your hands on and got dressed. Your attire was almost astoundingly different from back then, but then again, almost everything was.

After that gruesome dinner night, and the very vague statement Minjin had made, your life had taken a darker turn. It was like someone had taken your world and squeezed out all the colour and brightness. What was left behind was only shrouded in gloom and disarray. The only positive change, if any, was how your attitude had changed along with it. Gone was the quiet obedient girl, was took everything in stride and said nothing. In her place was the new you, blunt and often snarky. The only people you were now kind to were Minjin and your old staff. Miss Clair was appalled at your behaviour, she wasn't used to you talking back much less the cold attitude you had adopted, needless to say, she wasn't a fan. It helped you though, her bullying had almost stopped—almost—she was careful around you.

Your father had barely come back after that day. A small part of you hoped that it was because he felt guilty about what he had done, but the other part of you—this one much larger and much more dominant than the first— knew that he felt no remorse. He  probably just  found no need for his presence at the house. Everything was the same, yet nothing was the same. You could see the subtle changes in the house, a new pair of shoes that you'd never really wear, a dress a tad too revealing for your taste, lingerie finding itself in your drawer. They were changing your style to accommodate that bastard.