Living Hell (1)

"It's quiet. Maybe he won't come tonight?" The young girl whispers against her sister's ear as she's held tightly against the older girl's chest. "Why does he come to your room anyway?"

The older girl doesn't respond right away, listening hard to the silence for the smallest of sounds of movement. After a full minute of dead silence, she decides it's safe to reply. "No…he always comes. He's never missed a night since Mom died. You've just always gone to bed beforehand."

"Really?" The girl falls quiet in thought. "How come he's never visited me at night?" When her sister doesn't reply, she asks more insistently. "Sis, why doesn't he come to my room too?"

The older girl stays quiet for a while longer, but then finally says, "Because I offered him enough for the both of us." She can see the girl's puzzled face and confusion. "It's for the best if you don't understand." She falls silent again. After another minute, she turns to the younger girl and says, "Okay, I think the coast is clear. Hurry to your room now and get into bed right away." She sighs audibly. "You shouldn't have come to my room tonight. I've told you that many times."

"I'm sorry Sis. I-, I just wanted to sleep with you tonight. Last night, I had a really scary dream."

"Seriously? You've never been one to have nightmares. What frightened you to this extent?"

"I woke up because I heard my door open and footsteps. Someone who sounded like daddy called my name, but I didn't respond. Something told me I should keep acting like I was sleeping. They stood over me for a while just watching. I saw his reflection in the mirror, but he looked like a monster, not like daddy. Before he left the room, in daddy's voice, he quietly said, 'Sleep well sweet girl. Tomorrow, everything will change.' The monster's eyes were glowing red, and his smile was so unsettling. It felt like I was in danger. It was just a scary dream, right?"

"What?!" The older girl immediately grows anxious. "No, that can't be. He swore to me he'd-." She whispers this under her breath, not wanting to alarm the girl, but she's immediately terrified. "Yes…that had to be just a scary dream. I'm sorry you had to experience it, but I'll protect you."

The silence is suddenly broken by the sound of approaching footsteps, the heavy patters growing louder with every step. The girls remain silent and the older girl's mild panic progresses to high anxiety. She grabs her sister and jumps out of the bed as quietly as she can, but with urgency.

"Sis? What are you doing? What's wrong?!" The young girl is alarmed by her elder sister's actions. She snatches open the closest door and pushes her inside. "What are you doing Sis?" She squeezes her in the tightest corner and uses anything she can to cover her and stifle her sounds.

"Hush! Don't say another word. Hide in here and don't make a sound. Don't breathe too hard and don't move an inch. Above all, DO NOT come out, no matter what you may hear or see."

"Sis, why-?" She closes the door before the girl can say anything more and jumps into the bed, just as the door creaks open. In the doorway, a tall, burly man can be seen with a curious grin.

"Now then…I wonder where that precious sister of yours could be? Might you know, baby girl?"

"What do you mean daddy? She's in her room as always, isn't she? She's probably sleeping." She speaks calmly and without any hesitation. She even looks him in the eyes, respectfully.

He walks inside the room, scanning as he does. "Hmm…that's odd. You see, I was just in her room and her bed was empty. So, if she wasn't there, and she isn't anywhere else in the house, that only leaves one place she could be. Yet, it seems she's not here either. Isn't that strange?"

She tenses as he moves closer, but she maintains her composure. "Oh, then maybe she went to Kelly's house? You know her friend down the road? She'd been saying she wanted to have a sleepover there for a while, so maybe she decided to go and forgot to tell you? Yeah, I'm sure that's it. Though of course, she should've asked you for permission. I'll be sure to scold her-."

"Trinity!" He shouts her name with a tone of contained anger as he grabs her jaw. "You and I both know that story is bullshit and she'd never do that. You'd better try again. The truth now."

Trinity winces at his hard grip and tears threaten to fill her lavender eyes, but she doesn't allow them to fall. Instead, she calmly replies, "I'm sorry daddy, I didn't mean to lie. The truth is…I don't know where she is. When I looked in her room earlier, she was gone. I didn't want to cause trouble for you or alarm you. I also didn't want to ruin your night. I know you've been out working hard today and are exhausted. I wanted to take care of you first. So I'd planned to go searching for her tonight after we finished. I was only thinking of your desires." She insists.

The room falls silent, as the man seems to consider her explanation. Trinity doesn't dare utter another word unless prompted to by him. In the silence, a tiny tap can be heard from the closet.