Till Death Do You Part

Chapter Two ~ What Was A Nightmare

Chapter Two ~ What Was A Nightmare

Ever since that poor woman was murdered, I've been on edge.

I'm beyond paranoid.

I head straight home from work and school. I can't even go to bed without locking my bedroom door and closing the shades to my windows. I'm going insane.

Mom asks me if I want to talk about what happened every now and then, but I always turn her offer down. I'd like to talk with her, but I'm afraid that she'll start crying again. I can't stand it when she cries. Besides, she has other stuff to worry about, like getting a job. Well, preparing for job interviews.

Everything will go back to normal soon... I hope.

My friends, Marisa and Tyler, have offered to walk home with me a bunch of times, all of which I have accepted. They haven't pressured me into talking about what happened, which isn't really helping.  We just talk about whatever and fill each other in on stuff that isn't important.

I can only blame myself. It's my fault. They don't know a thing about that night because I never told them what happened. I decided to bottle everything up and act like nothing happened. But something did happen that I'll never forget.

Work is a different story. The girls at work have gotten worse. They whisper while working now. One of my colleagues supposedly saw me the night of the murder with police officers and started to spread rumors around. I don't even bother listening anymore. They're all hypocrites.

One night, after arriving home from work, I finished up my homework, ate leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner, took a shower, and got ready for bed. Mom was asleep on the couch so I kept very quiet. Entering my bedroom, I noticed how unorganized and messy it was. Clothes and junk lying all over the floor, I decided to clean my room. I grabbed a plastic garbage bag from underneath the bathroom sink and stuffed everything in it.

After placing the garbage bag next to the kitchen trash bin I heard a voice. For a second, I thought it was mom murmuring in her sleep. She's probably having one of those dreams again, where she thinks she's awake. She's been having a lot of those lately.

As I made my way to my room, I heard the voice again.

"Bed..." It echoed softly. I covered my mouth from screaming, stopping in place. Now I was frightened. I quietly ran to the front door to double check that it was locked. It was.

Inhaling as much air as possible, I took a deep breathe in and exhaled to calm myself. It's nothing. There's no one here but you and mom, Cara. No one.

It's just my imagination playing games with me. Very stupid, scary games.

I ran to my room and locked the door behind me. Leaning back against the door, I prayed to God for help. I'm not much of a religious person, but when in need of help, I pray.

"God, please watch over my mother and I. Protect us and give me the strength to not be afraid, to face my fears and learn to let go. Also, I would like to pray for the woman I saw get murdered. May she rest in peace. Amen."

I did the sign of the cross and went straight to bed. I forgot to wash up, but that wasn't as important as staying safe. No way was I leaving my room. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Falling asleep was quick that night. For the past week, I hadn't been able to fall asleep until past midnight. Tired from the day, I fell asleep within five minutes of hiding underneath my sheets. Ever since I was a little girl I've hid underneath the bed sheets thinking nothing could hurt me if nothing could see me. It's my hiding place.