It’s a hot summer night, my parents are going away for the weekend; which means I’m staying overnight at my aunt and uncle’s house. Daddy will drop me off right before dinner.
I beg and beg mommy to stay home, not to go. She just brushes me out of the way, like a bothersome fly, continues packing me some Strawberry Shortcake jammies and a pair of sky blue, corduroy overalls for tomorrow.
I stuff Bonnie the Bunny into my bag and my favorite book, Charlotte's Web. Some of the words are too big for me to read, but when I’m with Cecil she always helps me sound them out.
When mommy grabs my Care Bear sleeping bag, my tummy starts to hurt. Seeing it rolled up sitting next to my overnight bag scares me.
“Mommy,” I say, “Why do I need my sleeping bag?”
She shrugs her shoulders, “Your uncle wanted to take you and your cousins camping next to the river tonight, won’t that be fun?”
I don’t like camping with my uncle and cousins. My uncle has an old truck with a camper that fits right in the back of it.
Whenever he takes us camping, he starts a fire for roasting hot dogs and s’mores. The smoke from the fire always burnes my eyes and throat. I would squeeze them tightly closed and rub them with my fist.
When I opened my eyes, my uncle is standing in front of me, blocking the firelight, making his face dark and shadowy.
He tells me he has something to show me in the camper. “A new book you might like,” he says.
A shudder goes through my body, I shake my head no. “I, I……. want to stttay...hhhere.” I stutter.
My uncle takes my hand, walks me slowly to the truck, his smile scares me.
My cousins watch me silently, glad, I think, it’s me and not them.
I hear the camper door close with a click. My uncle sets me on the bed, puts his hands around my ankles.
Outside of the camper I hear Chase calling me.
Wait, who's Chase?
“Mom, mom! I need you!” The door suddenly bursts open, Chase is standing in the doorway, his eyes full of fear, tears streaming down his face. “Mom, help me.”
I kick my uncle away, shove his hands off of me. I’m reaching for Chase, about to touch his hand, when the tears falling from his eyes turn to blood.
I wake up drenched in sweat, the sheets wrapped around my arms feel like a vise.
I’m breathing too fast, too shallow. I roll on to my stomach, pull my knees up and try to slow my breathing, in……….out………….in………out.
Wow, I haven’t had a nightmare for a few weeks now. Never have I had one where my kids appear right before my uncle does.
Actually, my kids have never been in my nightmares before tonight, I’ll put it that way.
Since I’ve been going regularly to group therapy with Megan, my nightmares have tapered way off. I think it’s because I’m confronting my demons.
Or my demon. I only have one. My uncle.
I shiver a little as the ceiling fan rotates slowly, sending a soft breeze over my clammy skin. I hate those damn camper shells. Those small, stuffy airless shells.
When I worked at the campground as a teen and young adult, every time I saw a truck with a shell, I would feel lightheaded, nauseous.
I press my face to the pillow, tears silently falling. I know it was time to roll up the maps, put the kitchen back to rights. I’ll never stop searching for Chase, not really. None of us will.
YOU ARE READING
The Truth About Life
Teen FictionChase and Audrey's lives are turned upside down by their parents' divorce. Chase turns to drugs, Audrey feels like there's no one to turn to, until a new boy moves in next door, showing her life is still full of goodness, if we only look up. Olivia...
