Shadow

~Chapter 2~

"Matilda!" I hear my name being called from downstairs. I've been laying in bed with no sleep all night, staring up at the roof.

"Coming!" I yell back, removing the sheets from my body, diving into the sudden coldness of my room. I could hear Shadow giggling to himself, over by the window sill.

"Could you just leave me alone, Shadow? Just for one day?" I beg silently, digging through my wardrobe for suitable clothes to wear.

"Now why would I do that, my dear Tilly? It's so much fun seeing you like this. I'm sure Freya will be very pleased with your progress," his raspy, cold voice replied. He almost makes me shiver from fear.

"Listen. I'm trying to prove that I'm sane enough that she won't have to visit me so often. No one but me knows that you actually are real, why can't you show everyone you're alive? Your driving me crazy," I exclaim.

"It wouldn't be fun if we played that way. You know that," Shadow laughs. I must look crazy, talking to someone, no something, that actually doesn't exist.

"Why do you say it is always a game? Games are supposed fun, this is not a game," I say, exiting the room and making my way to the bathroom.

I try not to talk to Shadow, but it's so hard. His idea of a game is me embarrassing myself. It's cruel and unfair.

"Tilly, come on now. You secretly like my games," he teased from outside the bathroom door. Can I ever get a break? I open my mouth to speak, but I'm suddenly interrupted my my mothers loud voice.

"Matilda! Hurry up now!" My mum calls for me again, this time more harsh. I quickly get dressed, brush my hair and brush my teeth before going downstairs. I prepare myself for the lecture I'm bound to get.

"Okay, okay. I'm ready, Mum," I state, walking into the kitchen where I find her pouring two cups of coffee. Dad is sitting at the dining table, reading his newspaper. It's the same every morning.

She looks over me, looking at what I'm wearing. She does this every time Freya is due to come here. By the look on her face, she seems to approve.

I pretend not to notice my Mum and Dad's lingering gaze as I make myself toast with jam. "So, Freya's coming over soon..." my father starts. "And your mother and I were wondering if we could sit with you two for a bit. We have something to discuss among the four of us."

I didn't say anything at first. I didn't know what to say. Mum and Dad never sit with my therapist and I, It would be so uncomfortable if they ever did. "Why? I'm sure you can just tell me now."

I took a bite out of my toast, realising that I'm really not that hungry after all. "No, we want Freya to be there."

"Oh, looks like they don't trust themselves near you," Shadow whispers in my ear, making me more tense. Just ignore him, ignore the Shadow. It's easy, I tell myself mentally.

"Okay," I say quietly, giving up. I know that I won't win against my parents. They have so much against me...

Suddenly I hear a knock at the door and I look up at the clock on the wall. It's ten o'clock, meaning Freya has arrived. My mother goes to answer it since I'm not allowed near the door, or anything with a window. 'We can't have people seeing you,' my parents would say.

"Time for our next little game to begin..." Shadow whispered in my ear, I can't physically see him, but I can imagine his crusty lips close up to my ear. I gulped slightly, and he seems to notice since he laughed quietly.

I put my plate in the sink just before my mother and therapist walked in.

Freya is naturally tall. If you met her, that would be one of the first things you would notice about her. Even though she's tall, she still insists on wearing heels. She has short jet black hair, cut so it reaches just above her shoulders, and has light grey eyes. The one thing that I envy most about her is her skin. It's so tan compared to mine, she obviously spends a lot of time in the sun where else I don't.