Darkened Heart

Chapter Eight

The doors she was backed up against suddenly sprung open within seconds, causing her to lose her balance. Before she could fall on the floorboards below, he grabbed her. One of his hands took her wrist while the other snaked behind her. Charlotte cried out as they did so. Although it was only a moment, she could've sworn that his hands didn't feel like hands at all. If anything, the way that they held her was almost painful. It was as if they were pinching her rather than holding her. He whirled her around to where she was no longer him before pulling her wrists behind her. In a state of both pain and desperation, she begged, "WAIT! What're you doing?!!! LET ME GO!!! YOU MONSTER!!!" Charlotte struggled, trying to break free. Her heart thumped with fear as the tall man practically dragged her out of the living room. She couldn't see his face, and she expected it to be full of rage by now. However, what she didn't know was that he felt... torn. Behind his frown wasn't anger, it was sadness. It ran through his head like an open fuse. Why did she want to leave? Why go back when she had him and him alone??? Why did someone so perfectly beautiful and kind have to be so ungrateful to him?! It made him grit his teeth, yet it also hurt him to have to do such a thing. At first he didn't know what he was going to do with her after he left the living room. Giving her a time out in her room wouldn't do any good, therefore he realized he had no other choice but to throw her in a special place. That place, being inside an old mirror of his.

"Y-You... You're hurting me!!!" She couldn't help but let it slip. Finally looking down at her, he loosened his fingers on instinct. His own act made him a little surprised. If this was any other guest, he wouldn't have cared how hurt they'd be. But hurting Charlotte? No, no no... it wouldn't do at all! He paused in his tracks, turning to her briefly. "STOP STRUGGLING. You aren't helping yourself, darling..." The other father said sternly before continuing down the hall with her in his reach. Charlotte then realized that fighting against this... this creature was hopeless. Passing the many rooms, they reached the end of the corridor where he came to a screeching halt in his swift steps. Nothing but a large, rustic mirror took up the small corner of the hall. She was about to say something, but before she could do so, he took her by her forearms and somehow pushed her behind the mirror's glass. Charlotte's eyes widened, as she wasn't even expecting that at all! Now behind the concrete wall that resembles glass from the outside, she felt hot air engulf her body. The other father's hands never left her as he stuck his head through the wall along with half his upper chest. Now on her toes again, she looked into his black button eyes. Still with an angry expression, he breathed deeply. His face was so close she thought their noses would touch. Instead, he spoke in a mellow, commanding paternal voice, "You may come out... when you're ready to tell me the truth..." He hissed. Before he could turn away, she instinctively grabbed the black tie around his red collar, preventing him from leaving. "What truth?! Why are you doing this to me?!" She asked out of desperation. Tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes. For a moment his eyes softened at her terrified voice, and for a moment he thought about bringing her back out. However, he knew it was already too late for that. "The truth that you love me, my little doll... I won't rest until I hear it coming from those lovely lips of yours. But until then..."

He let go of her arms and tore his tie out of her quivering hands, causing her to fall backwards onto the ground. With one last glance, he was gone, disappearing from the mirror's grasp. Charlotte was left in the pure darkness of the room, not being able to see anything whatsoever. Fear stabbed her insides over and over again. As fast as she could, she crawled forwards back to the now solid wall. Her hands felt in front of her, feeling the cracked concreted surface.

Charlotte began to panic, realizing she was trapped with no way out. She pounded her fists against the wall, breathing quickly with fear driving every movement. Not even bothering to hide her tears, she let them fall freely down her cheeks. After pounding at the mirror's exit with no luck, she sunk down to her knees. Knowing that if she looked around the darkness her eyes would play tricks on her, she decided to close them. She sat at the foot of where he left her, back leaning against the wall as she hugged her knees. Part of her regretted what had happened earlier, but no matter how hard she tried she knew that she could never change the past. Sobbing into her lap, she regretted leaving the real world. She longed to see her dad again, and she missed her mother more than ever before. She didn't realize what she had until it was gone. The thought only made her heart ache even more. The moist ground and scolding air both seemed to choke her as she cried, but then, then came an unfamiliar noise. It sounded like someone had whispered. Looking up from her lap, she opened he eyes and tried to gaze around the room. The thought that she wasn't alone made her nervous. Trying to sound as brave as possible, she called out, "Who's there?" Her voice echoed slightly off the blackened walls. She wasn't expecting an answer, but she received one. It was a small and faded voice, like one of a small child's. She heard it as it called back, "Hush, and shush! He might be listening..." As the words filled the air, she could make out a faint glow on the other side of the room. It was brief with every syllable spoken, but it was enough for her to make out a nasty, rugged old bed in the corner of the room that had rusty metal hinges along with a slimy wet mattress. "You mean the other father?" She breathed, awaiting another response.