Innocence Betrayed

Chapter 4

Recap: "Clea, are you alright?" His tone had taken over the worry now. He could feel her grasp loosening as the part of his shirt which she had clutched loosed. "Clea." He said desperately as her hand slipped from his back and fell limply to her side.

He drew her back. "Clea." He shook her lightly but her head lolled on to her side. She had fallen unconscious in his arms.

 Chapter 4

The room was dimly lit when Clea opened her eyes. The lamps on her bedside table were lit to minimum as they provided the only source of light. Clea looked around herself, the room seemed undisturbed, its majority of the part shadowed in darkness. She could make out the faint outline of the tables and chairs but couldn’t distinguish their colours.

She attempted to get up, putting all her weight on her elbows, just to recognize her surroundings but her hands did not support her weight as she fell back on the pillows. Her breath was slightly elevated as she tried to calm herself. She couldn’t recognize where she was. She looked around for any sign or thing that could tell her where she was but her mind seemed to close down. She did not recognize anything around her.

A small movement in the far corner of the room caught her eye. She narrowed her eyes in that direction wishing she could see in the dark. She could make out the heavy form of a black couch huddled against the wall. A figure lay slumped on it, but she couldn’t see who it was. The faint outline of the man was all that she could see.

She closed her eyes in terror. She didn’t know where she was, she didn’t why she felt so heavy and why her body wasn’t supporting her anymore. She tried to think of anything, anything she could remember from the day but she couldn’t. No memory came to her that could have told her as to what had happened. She didn’t know where she was, she didn’t know who the man was and suddenly she felt like she didn’t know who she was either.

She tried desperately, thinking over things again and again but she couldn’t. She was panicking as she found herself getting nowhere. A soft whimper left her as she tried to remember things. The figure on the couch moved at the sound of her whimper and his movement caught Clea’s attention. Her heart beat faster as the figure slowly got up and moved in her direction.

She clutched the bed sheet tightly into her tiny fists and closed her eyes. A tear fell from her right eye as she tried to drown out the horror that she felt. She knew she was vulnerable and helpless and that whoever he was, was going to hurt her badly.

Her nails dug into the white sheet as she heard the man’s approaching footsteps. A flash…and she got very still. She could see a small child, huddled against a corner of a dark room; a heavy man loomed over her, a leather belt in his hands. He lifted the belt and swung it hard over the girl’s small shoulder.

Clea gave out a loud cry of horror and hurt.

“Clea…hey sweetheart, it’s okay. Everything’s okay. I’m here now. Shush….calm down.” She heard a distant voice say to her. She felt someone’s hands running through her hair, attempting to calm her. She could feel the heavy breaths of the man who was doing it to her. But Clea refused to open her eyes; she was still captivated by the small girl in her dream.

The man struck again and the girl cried out and so did Clea. She could hear the man’s voice again. “Clea, please open your eyes. Don’t be scared. I’m here, nothing is happening to you. I won’t allow whatever it is to hurt you. I promise you. Please open your eyes.” She could clearly hear the worry in his voice and she wanted to open them and see who the man was that cared for her.

All her life, Clea was an ignorant child; no one cared what happened to her, no one cared about her. She wanted to open her eyes and thank the man for caring about her, to tell him how much it meant to her but she couldn’t. She was being held in her dreams against her won will; she was kidnapped from the present and tied to the past horrible memories.