Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 20

Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 20

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Annabelle...

"I can't believe that-that, that creep followed me here!" I seethed and threw my hands up in frustration.

"Annabelle, calm down." Melanie said quietly.

She was sitting on her bed, while I paced around her room like a nut. "I can't! How can I calm down when I know he's lurking around here?" I trailed off and started ranting to myself. "He's probably waiting for the right moment to snatch me up, so he can do all those horrible things to me. Years and years of pain and abuse-"

"Annabean."

"and he just has to keep coming back."

"Annabelle, I-"

"Why can't he just leave me alone? He really had to follow us all the way out here? He probably wants to knock me into a coma again, or even kill me this time. He-"

"ANNABELLE!"

I finally snapped out of my meltdown and faced my friend. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Annabelle, you need to sit down and listen. Okay?" She sounded stressed, so I nodded and sat down in front of her. "Annabean, what exactly do you know, or think you know, about him?" 

"He hurt me. He's the one who did this to me." I said, simultaneously pointing to my head and lifting my shirt to show her my still bruised and healing torso.

"You're wrong, Annabelle." She sighed.

I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head. "No. No. It was definitely him. He abused me for years. He-he raped me!" Tears started welling up in my eyes.

"Annabelle." She sighed. "How are you so sure?" 

"I-I'm sure. I'm positive." My voice shook. "I-at least I think..." I suddenly felt unsure as the past started to fog my brain.

"It wasn't him, Annabelle. I promise you." She said softly. The sincere look in her eyes made my head hurt, as I started to question everything I knew.

"But, but how could it not be him? I know his face. I see it every time I have a nightmare." I collapsed backwards on her bed. "His face was the last one I saw, or can remember. That has to mean he was the one who put me into a coma. Right?" I felt like my mind was caving in on me.

"Maybe his face is the last one you remember seeing before you woke up, but that doesn't mean he did this to you. In fact, I can promise you he didn't." She sounded desperate for me to believe her.

All of a sudden, I sat up and burst into tears. She was quick to pull me into her arms and start rocking me. "What is wrong with me?" I sobbed. "How am I supposed to remember my life if my brain keeps lying to me and showing me false things." I looked up at her with vulnerable eyes. "All I feel when I see him is scared. How am I supposed to feel anything other than that, when all my brain is doing to me, is making me believe he's bad?"

"You just need to give it a chance to turn itself around."

I tucked my face into her shoulder and mumbled. "I hate this. I hate myself."

"Hey, don't say that. You just need to give yourself time."

"If he didn't do all those things to me like you said, then who did?" I felt her tense up.