The Step Brother

Chapter Three: Nightmare Come to Life

NOTE:  Sorry for the long wait for this chapter!  I hope you all enjoy it

Warning:  There will be cursing and uncomfortable adult situations in this chapter and the rest of the book, so please read with caution.  I do NOT recommend this book for young readers.

With all of that said, please enjoy the chapter!  Thanks!

Chapter Three: Nightmare Come to Life

The room was dark and hot, the only light the small, ancient night light she'd had as a child.  The light was and flickering, not strong enough to fight the darkness of the room, or the darkness brewing inside of her mind.

The images twisting inside of her head were cruel and terrifying, and brought tears to her eyes and whimpers to her lips.  It was the same night nightmare she'd had every night for the past two years.  It was a memory of that night.

Sweat beaded at her forehead, the tears streamed down her face, her heart raced and a scream built up in her throat.

She finally woke up, but not before witnessing the climax of the nightmare, the single event that changed her whole life, the single event that changed her forever.

Her eyes slowly slipped open as the tears subsided.  She swallowed down the terrified scream that was caught in her throat, and wiped away the tears with the edge of her blanket.  Her heart still pounded, as it always did after that dream.  The cold fear still pumped through her veins, the veil of sadness never lifted.

She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, but she couldn't close her eyes again.  She couldn't have that nightmare again.  If she did, she didn't know if she would ever wake up.

She stared up at the ceiling hidden in the darkness, the night stretching on into oblivion.  She didn't know how much time was slipping past her, it felt like hours, days even, as the images of her nightmare fluttered through her mind.  She had never felt so alone.

She was beyond the point of exhaustion as the night ever so slowly started to turn to dawn.  Her eyes were heavy, begging for the relief of sleep to take her, but she forced them open.  Tired.  She was so tired.  She slowly let her eyes slip shut.

She heard the creak of a door.  Her eyes shot open.  Someone was coming in.  It was him.

She saw his shadow stretching out across the floor of her room,  of her safe haven.  It was so large, crawling across the empty space like a monster reaching out to gobble her up in the night.  Her heart was beating rapidly, so fast she felt like it would burst from her chest.  Her breathing stopped all together, she couldn't take in a breath, she just couldn't breathe.  The shadow came closer, eating up the distance between her and the monster that had come to star in her every nightmare.  She could make out his arms now, his shadow coming to spread itself across her walls, trapping her in the eternal darkness of his embrace.

She could hear the gentle thuds of his bare feet as he padded across the floor, creeping into her fortress of solitude and protection.  She could hear him breathing, could make out the gentle smile that spread across his face as he gazed down at her.

Close your eyes.  Just close your eyes. She repeated the mantra inside her head, trying desperately to follow through, only she couldn't.  They were struck open with a sickening terror, as she watched his slow, terrifying approach.

Shadows of darkness slid over his angular face, morphing his handsome features into a face of nightmares.  He ventured closer, and closer, and closer until he was at the side of her bed, towering over her.  He was so strong, so large, so powerful.  She knew he could do whatever he wanted to her . . . he already had.  She was a defenseless pawn in his hands, and she knew that he could force her to bend to his will.  He was stronger than her, both physically and mentally; he could crush her in any manner of ways.  He had already proven so.