RIVER

10. Meet My Beast.

"Oh no, no,no, Baby girl. You can't sleep just yet."  The man comes closer and I don't move. You stay still when he's in the room.

"Are you going to give me sharpie?" I ask him, trying to make the puppy face I always used with mommy.

"Yes!Yes , I will but only if you're nice."

"I can be nice!" 

"Yeah?" he sits on the bed and I make room for him.

"Yes!" I shout excitedly, moving my head up and down fast.

"You're so obedient, Baby girl. And I have a gift for you. See this," he shows me a gun like the one I used to take those men away. "I'll let you play with it If you do something for me."

"No." I pout.

"No? But you like to play with guns, Baby girl."

"I don't like the noise they make." I frown, covering my ears with my hands. Guns are too loud and they hurt my ears. Mommy never let me near any gun. I broke her rule once, but never again.

"What did I told you about disagreeing with me?"  The man's face turns ugly as he tries to reach for my arm. I hide it behind my back but he pulls me closer.

"You're hurting me, please let go." I know he doesn't like me when I cry, but he makes it impossible not to. Now I understand mommy when she used to shout at daddy for being impossible. I try to take his fingers off my arm, but he's strong like daddy. I could never beat daddy in a wrestling match.

"Genevieve?"

"You're going to do what I say, do you understand?"

I nod quietly.

"Good, get up. We're going to play."

"Genevieve!"

"What are we playing?"

"We're playing in my room today, ok?"

"Are we building a fort?"

"Genevieve, get up!"

"No, not today. Today we're playing hide and seek, remember?"

"Ok." I couldn't say no. He won't give me sharpie if I say no. And I need sharpie. My body burns if I don't have it. "Will I get sharpie?"

"Yes, Yes you will."

"No!" my voice comes out broken and barely understandable. I push whoever is trying to grab me. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Genevieve, what the fuck?"

"I won't. I won't." My eyes frantically look for the door. I need to get out. But the door is not where I remember it to be. "What!?" Where's the door?  No!  "Where is it!"

A hand gently falls on my right shoulder. "Breathe. It was just a dream."

My head snaps in that direction and I see honey. Pools of honey. I can see clearly. No.

"Genevieve. You're ok. Breathe."

There's light. The demons are coming. Turn off the light. Turn off the light.

"It's me. Alonso? Can you see me?"

"Turn off the lights!" a guttural scream leaves my body. I need darkness, the demons can't come.

"What is going on?" the sound of Gidea's voice breaks thought the room.

"She had a nightmare, I think."