Silent Scars

CHAPTER 28

The nightmare:

The room was dark, the kind of suffocating blackness that pressed against her chest and made it hard to breathe. Ariana stood barefoot on a cold, damp floor, her heart pounding as the familiar sound of heavy footsteps echoed somewhere behind her.

She tried to run, but her legs felt sluggish, as if the air around her had thickened into an invisible wall. Panic set in, and she stumbled forward, her hands outstretched to feel her way through the void.

Then came the voice. Low, menacing, and dripping with venom.

“You think you can hide from me, honey?”

Her breath hitched, and her whole body trembled.

That word. It slithered into her ears like poison, wrapping around her throat and squeezing.

She froze, her mind screaming at her to move, to escape, but her body refused to obey.

Suddenly, the darkness shifted. A faint light illuminated the space in front of her, revealing a long, narrow hallway with walls that seemed to close in the farther she went. At the end of the hallway stood a shadowy figure, a tall, imposing man whose face she couldn’t see but whose presence she felt deep in her bones.

Her stepfather.

He didn’t move, but his eyes, piercing, cruel, and unforgiving, burned into her. She could feel them watching her, stripping her of every ounce of strength she thought she had.

“You know the rules, don’t you?”

He said, his voice echoing unnaturally.

“No eye contact. No talking. No mistakes.”

Ariana flinched as the walls began to shift and crack, the sound deafening. They morphed into the cold, gray walls of her childhood home, and she was no longer in the hallway.

She was in the living room, standing in the corner where she had spent countless hours of her life, her face pressed against the wall, her hands trembling at her sides.

“Look at me!”

The voice thundered, sending a shockwave of terror through her body.

“No.”

She whispered, though no sound escaped her lips.

The air grew colder, and she could feel him behind her now, his shadow looming over her. The weight of his presence crushed her, made her feel small, powerless, trapped.

Suddenly, a hand gripped her shoulder, fingers digging into her skin like claws. She gasped, spinning around, only to find herself face-to-face with her reflection in a cracked mirror.

Her own eyes stared back at her, wide with fear, but there was something else there too, something dark, something broken. The mirror shattered, and she fell backward into nothingness, the shards slicing at her skin as she plummeted.

She landed hard on her knees, back in the dark room, her arms bandaged and bloody. The voices grew louder, overlapping, accusing her, mocking her.

“She’s lying.”

“She’s not one of us.”

“She doesn’t belong here.”

Ariana pressed her hands over her ears, her eyes shut tight as tears streamed down her face.

“Stop it!!!”
.
.
.
.

She woke with a start, her body drenched in sweat, her hands trembling as she clutched the blanket around her. The darkness of the room felt oppressive.

Curling into herself, she hugged her knees to her chest, willing her racing heart to slow. But the echo of the nightmare lingered, a shadow she couldn’t shake.

These nightmares were the only thing that accompanied her.

She glanced at the clock, the numbers glowing dimly in the dark 2:45 AM. She knew she couldn’t sleep now. She pushed herself up from the bed, her limbs heavy and stiff, and wandered to the bathroom.

She turned the cold water on, letting it cascade over her. The chill was a sharp contrast to the heat of the nightmare still burning in her mind. When the water hit her ribs, it stung like fire, but it made her feel something else too.

Alive.

It reminded her that she was still here, still breathing.

She stood under the cold spray for what felt like an eternity, lost in the sensation. When she finally stepped out of the shower, her skin was red and raw, but she hadn’t realized how much time had passed. It wasn’t until she looked at the clock again that she saw it was 6:45 AM. The hours had slipped away unnoticed. She quickly changed into the same clothes she had been wearing before she didn’t have anything else and began drying her hair.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.

“I’m coming in.”

She knew who it was, and the familiar voice made her heart skip a beat. Luca. 

She quickly turned her head, but not quickly enough to hide the way her gaze dropped to the floor. Her hands clenched nervously. 

“Breakfast.” Luca said gently. 

Ariana didn’t want to see him. Not after the way things had gone with Domain. She didn’t want to face anyone, not with the storm of emotions swirling inside her. She wanted to stay in her room, hidden from everything.

From them. From the world.

But then Luca extended his hand toward her.

For a moment, Ariana hesitated. Her eyes flickered toward the outstretched hand, and without even realizing it, her own hand reached up to meet his. It was almost automatic, a response she couldn’t control. Her fingers wrapped around his, trembling slightly, but not from fear. She felt something else. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time, hope, maybe.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯?

She thought to herself. But as she let him lead her out of the room, she realized she didn’t need to have the answer yet. For the first time in a long while, Ariana allowed herself to just feel, to let someone in.