I lay face down on the carpet.
I opened my mouth.
And I screamed.
I blinked.
The door flew open and Daddy charged toward me. I was tucked in the corner of my room, my hands slammed against my earlobes.
I blinked.
Mama followed in after him, and he flew around, screaming at her, telling her to leave.
Blink.
Mama cried and tried to get near me, but Calvin and Cheryl held her back.
Blink.
Daddy bent down, staring me in the eyes, checking if I was okay. “Maggie?” he whispered. He choked on air. “Maggie.”
Blink.
He combed through my hair, lifted me up.
“Let me near her,” Mama begged.
Daddy laid me in my bed and then ushered Mama out of the room.
Blink.
I could feel him. It felt so real. He was choking me again. He was taking my air. He was back. It was real. It was real…
Blink.
Daddy left the room to go scream at Mama. All they did was scream. Calvin and Cheryl came into my room.
Blink.
The two climbed into bed with me and wrapped their arms around me. They held me tight as I shook in their grips.
Blink.
Cheryl kept telling me I was fine, and Calvin kept agreeing as I cried into my sheets, shaking, feeling broken, confused. Scared. So scared.
Shh…
Shh…
Why did Mama do that? Why did she drag me? Why did the devil do that? Why did he kill that woman? Why did he try to kill me?
Blink.
I shut my eyes. I didn’t want to feel. I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want to blink anymore. I kept my eyes closed. I didn’t want to see, but I still saw. I saw him. I felt him. I tasted him. I saw Mama, too. I saw her. I felt her. I loved her.
I hated her.
Why did she hurt me?