TRAPPED

52

Léo

I was supposed to go to bed an hour ago, but instead I sneak back downstairs.

My dad is in the living room with my grandparents, uncles and older brothers. I hide behind the doorway, but they're talking so lowly that I can't hear what they're saying.

I sigh and go into the kitchen. It's empty. I grab a water from the fridge and drink half of it quickly, then go down the hall, into Celine's room.

I begin to hope this is all a dream and expect Celine to be sleeping on her bed when I walk in, however she isn't. The bed is made from before we left.

I sit down on it and set my hand on the pillow. My eyes water as guilt overwhelms me. What if she doesn't come back? What if I never get to spend time with her again? I wasted so much time pushing her away from me because of my own selfishness, and there's nothing I regret more.

I lay down, putting my head in my hands.

Celine

I drink from a hot mug of tea. It burns my tongue, and I glance at my grandmother. She's sitting beside me, knitting. My grandad went into the kitchen. There's a blanket over me, but despite that I'm still freezing.

     My grandma looks cold too. So I bring my arm back before throwing the scolding hot tea on her. She screams, throwing her yarn onto the floor. I stumble off the couch and begin to run.

     "Celine!" My grandmother roars.

     My eyes water as I grow tired again. I'm running to the front door of the small house when strong hands push me over. I squeal as I fall to the floor. Pain spreads through my body as my grandfather pulls me up, dragging me to my room kicking and screaming.

     "Get off!" I screech.

     He throws me onto the bed before tying me back to it again. I sob, and he leaves, and then I cry myself to sleep.

•

I wake up when it's dark out. I'm still tied to the bed. I turn as far as I can and look out of the window, making my back hurt in the process. My eyes water as I shuffle toward the top of the bed, peeking out of the window.

     I see the beach, but from a different angle. If I peer my eyes, I can see the house. My eyes widen. "Dad." I whisper helplessly.

The door opens then, and I inhale a nervous breath. My grandmother walks in, her eyes narrowed.

She grabs something from her pocket: another cloth. I start to cry again as she covers my mouth with it, sending me back to sleep.

Instead of falling into darkness, I dream of a Christmas where I'm not sick. Where nobody treats me like broken glass. Where everyone is happy and nice to each other and merry.

I dream that my mother is alive, and that she doesn't argue with my dad, but instead laughs and talks with him. I dream that Léo never ignored me, and that my grandparents never took me.

I dream that I'm happy. But when I wake up again, in this miserable bed, in this miserable room, I am the opposite of that.