Formidable // Sally Face (2)

S e v e n

"Let's go eat," Sal tells Violet, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "You'll feel better."

Violet can't seem to rub the sleep from her eyes, no matter how hard she tries to. She wants nothing more than to fall into the warmth of Sal's embrace and go back to sleep. But her stomach aches for something to eat and she'd feel terrible keeping him holed up in her bedroom all morning. So, she reaches for his hand and slips her fingers between his, allowing him to guide her toward the door.

Sal reaches forward with his free hand and opens it, stepping to the side. "Ladies first."

She giggles at this gesture and makes her way into the living room, her blue-haired friend just behind her. And as soon as she removes her eyes from him and looks forward, her world falls apart.

Because her father is hanging from the kitchen chandelier. By his neck.

The table and chairs had been shoved against the wall with one chair laying beneath his dangling feet. It was evident that he'd been hanging there for hours, given his grey skin. His lifeless eyes seemed to pierce Violet's soul.

She inhales sharply, but doesn't make a sound. Her eyes travel to where her father's shadow was cast against the wall. Except, it wasn't his shadow. It was the all-too-familiar dark silouhette with blaring red eyes glowering back at her.

Was she screaming? She didn't know. Time seemed to have stopped. She couldn't hear her own desperate wails or Sal's voice urging her to leave the apartment. She wanted that demon to pay for what it had done.

Violet pushed off to charge forward. Yet, her father and the demon grew further away from her. Try as she might, she couldn't resist the force pulling her back, whatever it was. Maybe it was Sal, or maybe she was so out of sorts that she'd lost control of her own body.

Her father's limp form grew smaller and smaller until it was no more. Violet outstretched a hand, desperately clawing at thin air to reach him once again. But it was of no use.

"Dad!" She cries out. "DAD!"

> > >

Violet shot up in bed, her breaths rapid and uneven. She could feel her bounding pulse all the way through her fingertips. Gizmo perked up at the foot of the bed, giving her a concerned meow.

"I'm okay," she whispered, more to herself than the cat.

Careful not to wake Sal, she slipped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. The feeling of the cold tiles on her bare feet sent shivers up her spine. She flicked on the lights, flinching at the sudden flood of brightness in her eyes.

Although this nightmare had practically become a routine for her, it certainly wasn't getting any easier. How could she possibly begin to heal from her father's death if she was re-living it nearly every night? Furthermore, why was the Red-Eyed Demon haunting her in her sleep? Sal said that the demon had been taken care of and wouldn't bother her anymore well before her father ended his own life. She didn't even recall it being present at the scene. In fact, it only appeared in her dream.

In an attempt to avoid an overwhelming stream of thoughts and questions, Violet leaned over the sink and splashed cold water onto her face. The unpleasant sensation quickly brought her mind to a halt. She thought of this as a reset of some sort. As if she were washing the thoughts away. It worked...sometimes. Other times, she'd wind up pacing the apartment, lost in her own head.

Tonight, she felt that her mind had settled down enough to let her get some extra shut-eye.

"Hey, kiddo," came Henry's soft voice as she stepped back into the living room. "You okay?"