Caged In

Chapter 22

Eyes opened to stare up at a ceiling. Tiny legs appeared and were hoisted off of a bed, launching the field of view towards a door which opened up to a hallway. A five-year-old’s hand clutched onto the side of a wall so that she was peering around a corner. There stood Alyce’s mother and father, talking across the kitchen table, drinking out of mugs.

Her mother sighed. “I never get to see you. You’re always gone. Don’t you know how that makes me feel, Jasper? I’m always so lonely”, she whispered, gazing down at her mug.

“I’m sorry, Betty. I’m just trying to make money to support our family. You know I love you”, he said, reaching out to grab her hand.

Betty jerked her hand back quickly. “Do I?”

“I-“

“No, Jasper”, she said, her voice rising and cracking a little. “I don’t know. It’s really difficult to keep up this act in front of the kids. I just want to break down and cry. I miss you, Jasper.”

Alyce’s body shifted. She no longer could see around the corner, and she dropped down to sit criss-cross on the floor. Her eyes closed slowly, and her parents’ voices gradually turned into screams. Her eyelids popped open, and she scrambled onto her bed, where she began to break down into sobs.

Alyce’s eyes suddenly opened and she gasped. Not another nightmare, she thought. That was the third one in the past three nights. They began to get even worse than before. She sank down further into her bed and fell asleep instantly, only to wake up to see that it was already 10 o’clock in the morning. As Alyce slid out of bed, she could hear Darcy and Blake talking in the living room. Just like in her nightmare, she walked downstairs into the hall and peered around the corner.

            “You can’t stay here forever”, she heard Darcy say. “I feel terrible, hiding you away and keeping you guys a secret.”

“Well what do you plan to do with us?” he asked. It was a good question. Alyce had been wondering since she had arrived here what would happen to them. She couldn’t even imagine how far behind in school they were. It terrified her to even think about the future.

“I’m going to take you both to Mom and Dad and see what they want to do with Alyce. They’ll probably be surprised that you’re even alive”, she said, sipping from a mug.

            Blake didn’t say anything. He just sat there, staring at the ground. It was obvious that he was as scared as Alyce. The future was horrifying. Of all of the versions Alyce had imagined, none of them looked great.

            Alyce lay back down on her bed and closed her eyes. All she wanted was someone to protect her. Someone who could help her through the madness of her life. Someone who knew what she was going through and would love her no matter what. She wanted Blake.

            Once she had collected her thoughts, she opened her eyes, stood up, and strode into the living room. “Hey guys”, she said. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation.”

            Blake looked up from the floor. “Don’t worry about it”, he smiled. “Sit down”, he said, patting the spot on the couch beside him. She slid next to him on the couch and smiled.

            “Good morning, Alyce” Darcy said, flicking the hair out of her eyes. She picked up her keys off of the ground and began to twirl them around in her fingers. “I’m getting ready to go to work. You guys just chill…make sure the house doesn’t burn down. I’ll be back before you know it”, she said, standing up.