Do You Dare (Truth And Dare Duet 1)

I waited and waited…and waited for Nala to find me.

It must have been a long time because my knees were starting to hurt from staying in the same position for too long.

I crawled from under my hiding spot and went to the door.

My heart froze when the door didn’t budge.

I pulled harder.

It didn’t open.

“Mommy,” I called out, but then I realized…

My parents weren’t home. Daddy said he had a business meeting, and they would be home late. They were always busy, always leaving the house in the morning before I woke up and coming home later, after I’d gone to bed. That was why Nala was here to keep me company. She was Mrs. Kanavaugh’s daughter, our maid.

I pulled at the door even harder.

It wouldn’t open.

No, no, no.

“Nala! Nala, I’m here. In the basement. Nala, come find me!”

I slapped the door, punched and kicked and screamed. My throat started to feel dry, and tears slid down my cheeks. I didn’t like crying. I had to be strong, like daddy. He never cried.

But I couldn’t… stop… the…tears…

“Daddy,” I yelled, feeling myself go cold.

Scared… I was so scared and cold. Why was I so cold? My teeth rattled, and I shivered, feeling more tears slide down my cheeks. My face was wet as I cried more.

I didn’t like this.

Why couldn’t I open the door?

Why? Why?

I pulled and pulled, but the door was too heavy for me, and it wouldn’t open.

“Mommy, please! Mommy! Daddy!” I screamed.

Why couldn’t anyone hear me?

Maybe… maybe… they’d eventually realize I was missing, and they’d come find me later. Mommy knew of this hiding spot; she’d know where to find me.

I sank to the ground, bringing my knees to my chest.

Mommy and Daddy would find me, I knew they would.

“When they come home, they’ll search for me,” I murmured.

I had to be strong. Strong like Ironman. I had to be strong like Daddy.

I didn’t know when I had fallen asleep or for how long, but when I opened my eyes again, it was dark.

So dark, I couldn’t see anything.

The lights, what happened to them?

Oh no.

I couldn’t see…

I couldn’t breathe…

“Mommy!” I scrambled up, searching for an escape.

I punched the door, but my hands were too small, and they started hurting.

But I didn’t stop.

I punched and screamed louder. “Mommy! I’m here. Daddy!”

It was so dark. I didn’t like it; I didn’t like the darkness. I never did. It scared me, that was why mommy always left my night light on.

“Help! Help me! I’m in the closet… help… me…”

I couldn’t breathe…

I couldn’t breathe….

“I can’t… help…. I can’t… breathe… mommy…”

My heart was beating too fast.

I couldn’t see anything.

It was dark, so so dark.

My body shuddered, and I stumbled on the floor, next to the door, still scratching and punching.

“Can’t… breathe… daddy… please… please… come find… me! Please…”

I cried.

I didn’t want to; I had to be strong, but I couldn’t stop.

I cried harder.

“I’m… scared…”

My hand went numb until I couldn’t feel it anymore. “Don’t… leave me here… mommy. Help,” I whispered when I could no longer scream.

Everything hurt.

My head. My throat. My hand. My body.

Everything.

And it was so dark. There was a monster in the dark, like in the movies. I could feel it watching me, and my skin crawled.

The monster kept watching me; I couldn’t see it, but it was there.

I still couldn’t breathe.

“Help…”

Mommy and Daddy had promised they’d always find me wherever I hid. They said they could feel me because I was their baby, and they’d always know where I was.

They… lied.

They didn’t find me.

“Don’t… leave… me alone,” I begged, but I could barely hear the words.

“Please.”

My body swayed sideways, and I fell to the ground, my head touching the cold tiles of the closet. I curled into a small ball, trying to chase the cold away.

Come find me, mommy.

Don’t leave me, daddy.

“Please… I’ll be… a good boy. I… will… never ask… for another toy… or chocolate. I will…never cry again… I promise. I promise… I will… be good, a good boy… promise, mommy. Please, daddy… please…”

They lied.

They didn’t find me.

“Help me.”

They left me with the monster in the dark.

“Please.”

They forgot me.

“Mommy… daddy…”

I jerked awake, gasping and breathless. My body was so cold; I was numb and shaking like a fucking leaf during a storm. The bedsheet was soaked with my sweat, and I swallowed past the heavy lump in my throat.

It was just a nightmare.

Lies.

How could it be just a nightmare if it followed me when I was awake?

My heart pounded in my chest, and there was dull pain.

The world spun, and I wanted to vomit as my stomach churned with nausea. The pain in my head flashed hard and heavy.

Breathe. Fucking breathe. Goddamn it.

Slamming my fist into the mattress, I let out a snarl. Hate. Anger. Self-loathing. Pain, so much fucking pain clashed together, and my head swam with all the emotions. Fuck this, FUCK!