Connected By a String

Chapter 3

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" I yelled. I just got home from my friends house, when I was supposed to be home. I was late after my curfew. The house was eerily quiet, like some horror movie come to life. I would soon figure out that it will be. I set down my bag, and started looking. First the living room, down the hall, their rooms, where are they? Are they out? I might not be in trouble. The only place I didn't check is the kitchen. The light was on. Weird. I walked to the door, and peeked inside. I almost puked. There they were. On the ground. Their lifeless bodies soaked in blood. I fell to my knees. "Mommy? Daddy?" I turned them over. I started screaming. Where were their eyes? "Mommy?! Daddy?! Please wake up, PLEASE!" They didn't. They never did. I was old enough to know that they were dead. "Why why why! Why did I stay out late? Why did I go to her house?! Why are they dead!? I started sobbing. Crying. Screaming. An immeasurable amount of time passes.

Mommy and Daddy stood up.

"Why did you stay out late?" They chorused. Was this a nightmare? Please let it be.

"You could have saved us, Olivia." Mommy said.

"Why didn't you save us?" Daddy said.

And suddenly the door flung open. I looked there for a quick second. I was still screaming. When I looked back, they were on the floor again, lifeless. Unseeing to a careless world.

Figures walk in. They're dragging me away. No, NO, NO! Mom! Dad! Please wake up! Why, why, why?!

WHY?

"-livia!"

Why you?!

"-ake up! Olivia!"

TAKE ME INSTEAD!

"Olivia! Wake up!"

A breathy scream (kinda) tore from my throat. I woke up in a dark room that I couldn't recognize. It seemed familiar, but my mind was too foggy with terror that it didn't matter. All I could think about was that night. That horrible, horrible night. In the back of my mind, I could faintly tell that I was screaming, or what could be compared to it anyway. It was more of a silent cry for help. I was also thrashing, like trying to get out of an invisible chokehold. Maybe with a gag on. With a quick scan to see if I was still in that horrible room with my parents lifeless bodies, I noticed that I wasn't alone.

Before I could react, or try to defend myself, two warm arms wrapped themselves around me and started rocking me, back and fourth.

"Shhhhhh, it's okay. It's okay Olivia, your safe. You are 15 years old. My name is Maria Watson, you are a sophomore in high school. It is September 14, about... 3:38 in the morning. You are on my couch, in the living room, and you are safe. You are safe. You are safe." Her words repeated like a mantra in my ear. Things like "You are safe" and "I'm right here". Actually pretty comforting.

But, her attempts were fulitle. I still had tunnel vision and adreniline pumping in my vains that wouldn't stop. I was hyperventalating, and couldn't breath. As a last resort, she tried to exaggerate her breathing.

"See me Olivia? It's Maria Watson. See me?" she inquires slowly. I slowly nod, while I'm shaking like a leaf.

"Then you can see that I'm breathing. Can you repeat this for me? Here-" She puts my hand on her chest, right below her diaphram. "Copy my breathing. In and out, sweetheart. There you go. You're doing great" she praised.

Rattling breaths shake through my frame. We repeat this process for a while before my breaths have somewhat evened out. Not normal levels, but close enough. While I'm still calming down, she grabs me in a hug and pulls me impossibly close. Maria smells like vanilla and pumpkin. Like the smell you would associate with fall and winter, but she smells like that all year round.