Where My Demons Hide

Prologue

It hurt. My body hurt and I watched as blood slid down my limbs and dripped onto the muddy floor of the forest. It was dark outside, so I couldn't see the severity of my wounds. But from how much blood I was losing, I could tell my cuts were bad.

Stupid dad. My eyes teared up at the memory of what happened. I accidentally dropped a plate back at home and it shattered. Dad saw and because he was drunk, rage consumed him. He then grabbed the shards of the plate and threw them at me. Luckily, I used my limbs to block the shards, but I still ended up with deep cuts. I ran off then, knowing I couldn't be around the man I despised.

Sighing, I slid closer to the river. The river was clean and safe, so I grabbed some water and splashed it onto my wounds, hoping to clean them. I shut my eyes tight as the water made my wounds sting. I'd been through worse - this was nothing compared to what Dad had done in the past, but pain was pain.

After I cleaned my wounds, I forced myself to stand up. Looking around the dark forest, where nothing but shadows loomed before me, I took a deep breath in before I trailed towards my favourite location. With Dad still drunk and mad, there was no way I could go home. I had to wait until he was sober - until he became decent dad.

Following the dirt path, I soon reached my favourite part of the forest. Despite what just occurred, I smiled as I stood in front of the field of red roses. No one knew about them and I had no idea how they got there, but that was what I loved most about them. They were my little mysterious secret and without a second thought, I followed the dirt path to the centre of the roses.

I created the path as a way to feel like one with the roses that towered high above me, and I thanked myself for doing so as I made it to the centre - a small rectangular bare patch of grass I usually lay on, admiring my surroundings. I laid down now and wondered how long it would take for Dad to sober up. Two hours sounded reasonable knowing him, so I lay on the ground, staring at the stars.   

    But I found my energy sapping out of me. My body began to feel numb and my eyelids grew heavy. And before I knew it, sleep consumed me.

*****

    I woke up and groaned as the hot sun beat down on me. Sitting up, I wondered where I was and froze once I pealed my eyes open. I was in the forest and it was morning. Dad was going to kill me.

    I began to get up but suddenly, I realized something was on me. Looking at my body, I saw a leather jacket was covering me like a blanket. Frowning, I wondered if I brought one with me when I came into the forest.

    "Since when were girls allowed to stay outside when it's dark?" someone asked, causing me to jump.

     I whipped my head to the owner and there was a boy around thirteen - my age. He was tall and skinny, lanky basically, and he was staring at me with his incredibly green eyes. His black hair was falling across his forehead and he seemed annoyed as he stared at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?" I said, confused by the situation I was in.

"You're a girl, right?" he asked, looking me up and down. "What are you doing sleeping in a forest?"

I stared at him, knowing I couldn't answer that question. No one knew about Dad's abusiveness and I had to keep it that way. Otherwise, Dad would literally kill me.

"I don't know," I lied. "Guess I'm a sleepwalker."

"Damn." He raised an eyebrow, his suspicion evident. "That's a long sleepwalk from town."

I shrugged, not knowing what else to say. Looking away, I knew I had to go home. Dad was at work, so it was better to go now to avoid his wrath.