The Romanus Experiment

one.

I'm standing out in the open, the freezing night air giving me gooseflesh. And then suddenly a gunshot fires and a sharp pain lands on my body. I fall backwards in slow motion and my head slams on the hard asphalt. Then my nightmares shift and I find myself standing in the living room. Another hit is brought down upon my skull and I wince in pain. I don't cry out. I've grown so used to this, I never cry out anymore. I brace myself for another hit on my head. It comes. Tears are beginning to form in my eyes. And then I hear the clatter of the metal behind me. "Get out of my sight!" Ophelia shrieks. I slink away to my room which was in the cold attic. I bolt the door shut and run towards my bed. I lie on it, soaking the bed with my tears. My headache is getting worse so I tell myself not to cry. It's hard though. When you're being beaten up and the bruises and scars are getting enough of you. I stare up at the ceiling taking deep breaths. And then suddenly it's not the ceiling anymore. I'm lying in a sort of torture chamber and the scars and bruises seemed more increased in pain. My breathing sped up and I began to writhe around in panic. And then suddenly I take one, slow, deep breath and suddenly it's my ceiling again. I have a disorder whereas I have extreme nightmares. And not just when I'm sleeping. It happens when I'm fully awake. I just drift off from the normal world and the nightmares come. Then I snap back to reality. I think that's why Ophelia somewhat loves Nikhole and Lydia but not me. Nikhole and Lydia are my stepsisters. They're not cruel, however. They're sweethearts to me whenever Ophelia doesn't notice. Unfortunately, if you're nice to me, Ophelia will release her wrath. I look around my room. It used to be a cold, bare room and I instantly hated it. But thankfully, when Ophelia went out one day, Nikhole and Lydia helped me to do a room makeover. Now it looked wonderful. The walls were navy blue and decorated with Polaroid pictures and fairy lights were strung up all around the room. Nikhole put up canopy curtains around my bed, and Lydia put extra mattresses on the wooden board where I slept. My sisters were honestly the best. I sigh and slide further down my bed, under the blankets. Exhaustedley, my eyelids drooped and I let myself fall into a dark abyss of nightmares. It never gets old.