2.18.18
edit 8.25.20
tw; panic attack, mention of a type of prison sentence
1,342 words
my boys were at work. i was alone, and helpless, but that didn't bother me. i felt like i was bouncing on pink-yellow lemonade-covered jellyfish, like dory in finding nemo.
i've never been more correct with an innocent simile.
i had my music blasting in the kitchen. i decided that today would be a productive day and got to cleaning the house. i had just finished the kitchen and moved on to the front room when there was a knock at the door.
i ran to pause my music before i hurried to answer the door. the man on the other side was so tall that i stumbled back a few steps in intimidation. he looked like he was permanently angry, too, and i could smell it reeking off him. i assessed what his eyes looked like and sure enough, his pupils were dilated.
"u-um...hi?" i greeted him with key-lime.
he peeked into my home over my shoulder. i squinted at this, but let him talk. "is michael knight here? i need to talk to him."
i shook my head. "n-not since de-decem-cember...w-why?"
"he hasn't come to work since then, d'ya know where he is?"
i bit my lip and shuffled my feet. "in j-jail..."
the guy's eyebrows shot up. "shit, really? what he do?"
birch wood. he didn't seem to notice it, nor did he seem to notice my wince. "b-bad-bad stuff... wasn't-wasn't...g-good."
he seemed to finally look at me, and i mean really look at me. dear reader, i don't think you've ever seen what i saw behind his eyes, like he blamed me for that monster being in jail. he seemed like he knew all, but all my worries were washed away when he cocked his head to the side and offered a sad smile.
"huh, really? i always thought he was a great guy. after all, he kept goin' on and on about how great his son was."
i shook my head and took a tiny step, and closed the door a millimetre. "n-no. w-what has he-he said 'bout-'bout me?"
the guy scratched his head. "uh-well, your daddy's grumbled one day at work way back in december-'round the time he stopped comin' to work-about how he hoped his son was gonna be home soon. i just assumed you were missin' or somethin', he said his wife was worried 'bout ya 'n everythin'."
i was shaking so, so badly, but i couldn't let this man see it. i shook my head. "ma-mama's been-been d-dead for eight-eight years...he-he l-lied, 'm s-sorry..."
he nodded slowly. "oh. well, sorry to bother ya then, son." i nearly jumped out of my skin as he waved and walked down my driveway.
not safe. not good. i can't breathe, was the air always this thin? i think i slammed my front door shut; it made a bursting red-black sound that made me cry out and cower behind my arms from it. somewhere inside me i know that it only sounded once, but i was too focused on the fact that it was repeating and repeating itself, and red-black continuously exploded in my eyes. the front door seemed to be getting closer to me with each thud.
the cleaning chemicals that i've been using made my head swim, and i couldn't figure out if i was really seeing ghosts and goblins. they were all coloured blue-violet-black and key-lime, and i hated it.
a particularly loud bang made me yelp and trip over my own feet when i tried to run away backwards. i scrambled up the stairs, falling a few times, and basically crawled to my room. the ghosts and goblins alike cackled at me and reached at me. i didn't want to go all the way to my room and instead went to geoff's.
i dove into his bed and under his blankets. i tucked the edges under myself and curled into a ball, my head tucked under my arms. go away, go away, go away, i pleaded to the blue-violet-black. i tried to even out my breathing, but that just made me lose more control over the air.
another physical red-black thud sounded throughout the house. i whimpered and retreated until my back hit the wall. i gasped and whined at the sudden blue-violet-black that caused.
i heard a ghost call out my name, and i bit down on my bottom lip harshly to hopefully stop my breathing from being audible. i heard three distinct ghost voices speaking downstairs, and they all sounded concerned and orange-paisley.
"go away!" i screamed, and instantly clamped my hands over my mouth. now they'll surely find me, i was a goner, i couldn't believe myself, and i couldn't believe how foolish i was to-
a hand grabbed my shoulder. i screamed again and recoiled from the touch, dragging the blanket with me. for a second, i didn't feel anything under me, but suddenly i hit a hard surface that tinged my vision with blue-violet-black.
"sapphire!" a ghost cried out.
i shook my head and a million 'no's piled from my mouth, where i saw a pile of them on the floor next to me. i pushed the palm of my hands on my eyes. a hand grabbed my arm again, and my protests got louder and more shrill.
"awsten, it's me, daffodil, calm down." the same ghost said.
rust was in my mouth. i coughed on it and tried to get it off with the back of my arm.
arms were picking me up now. i shrieked and tried to wiggle out of the firm hold on me. it was no use though, so i went limp and allowed the ghosts and goblins to take me, they won, and i lost, no hope for-
the blanket was moved from my face. the first thing i saw were piercing blue eyes, even if they a piece of a sour snow-sky.
i cried out with relief and wrapped my arms around geoff's neck. he scared away the ghosts and goblins, i couldn't believe it, he saved me from death row. i buried my face in the crook of his neck. he reached up to rub my own.
"hey, it's okay, we're here now. what happened?" i shook my head and tried to pull myself closer to him. i felt him sigh and he wrapped his arms around me to lift me up on his bed. he grabbed my wrist and looked at my hand sadly. "where's the rubber band?"
i furrowed my eyebrows and looked at my wrist. the rubber band was gone, and new and pink scratched littered both my hands. i frowned. birch wood, i signed with one hand.
"you used it at first?" he asked, to which i nodded. "so...where did it go, then?" i shrugged.
"geoff!" grace called out. geoff and i both turned to the door. grace was standing there, holding a broken rubber band. "this was by the front door," she said.
geoff sighed again and pressed circles into the back of my hand. "okay, thanks, grace. we'll get him a new one."
i rubbed sorry into his arm. he shook his head and hugged me tightly. "it's not your fault. what happened though?" he asked again. i shook my head again, too. i didn't want to talk about it, and i didn't want to think about it.
what's grace doing here? i signed.
geoff had disappointment on his features for a second. "oh-well, um. she's...yeah, she's moving in." i raised my eyebrows up with surprise. "i know, i know it's sudden, and now's obviously not the time to break it to you. her parents were gonna make her move again for her dad's job though, and she wanted to stay, so her parents let her move in with us. i know we should have told you first, and-"
i shook my head and cut him off. "i-it's okay."
geoff gave me a sad half smile. "you sure?"
i nodded. "y-yeah. i ad-adore her. good for ot-otto."
he kissed my cheek. "that she is."