Just Neighbours | Solby

Part 13

< Sam's POV >

I don't know what happened earlier. I thought I'd gotten over my fear of sunsets. Obviously not. I was fucking petrified. I don't even know why I'm scared of them, my parents said it's something to do with something that happened when I was younger. I don't remember it though. All I remember is being scared of sunsets for as long as I can remember. It's stupid, I know, but I can't help what I'm scared of I suppose. I should've told Colby. I didn't know he was gonna take me to watch the sunset. Apparently trauma therapy is meant to help, but I can't bring myself to do anything. It scares me too much.
"You ok?" Colby asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Mhm," I mumbled, him kissing my head softly.
"It's ok to be afraid of things, ya know. Even if it's sunsets. Everyone has fears," he explained, his strong hands around me.
"I know.. I just think it's stupid to be scared of sunsets. And I feel bad because you had no idea, and then I freaked out and I don't know why, and then-" he cut me off.
"It's ok. You're afraid of something, no big deal. I understand why you didn't want to tell me. I wouldn't have judged you at all, but there's always that fear, ya know? I get you. I'm scared of the sea" he chuckled lightly.
"That's a normal fear though. Like, have you ever heard of someone afraid of sunsets? It's stupid," I shook my head.
"Everyone has fears, and yours just happens to be sunsets. It's ok," he kissed my forehead again, his arms around me, a blanket over me. The sofa was surprisingly comfy, and with Colby, it made it even more comfy. Slowly but surely I drifted off to sleep, a vivid, petrifying dream filling my vision.

"Where the fuck are you Samuel?" A strong male voice sounded outside the room. I threw myself into the closet, my own bedroom not seeming safe anymore. I scrambled through the clothes, looking for the secret door at the back. I found it, and just as I opened it, I heard the bedroom door open. I gulped in terror, sweat and tears dripping down my face. I closed the door quietly and crawled through the small, white tunnel, quickly arriving at the room at the end. My mom had made this for me when she was alive. My dad didn't know about it. She told me to only come here when I was in danger. And right now I was. I opened another small door, leading me to the room. I closed it gently and looked at the familiar room, a blue beanbag in one corner, a pile of books in another, blankets over the floor, and last but not least, the window next to the beanbag. I sobbed quietly, pressing a blanket to my face to muffle my sobs. Seconds went by and I heard the voice again.
"Quit playing, Samuel. Get your ass out here or I'll fucking kill you!" He yelled. I watched out of the window as the sun went down, the colours of the sunset striking terror through me.
"I'll wait in here forever, Samuel. I'll wait until you show yourself," he growled. I sat silently, my tear stained eyes tracing the window. I looked in the reflection and saw a younger version of me looking back, a terrified, younger version of me. I looked about 13. That was when my dad beat me for using makeup. I head footsteps and my bedroom door open and close. I wasn't sure if he'd left or not. I decided to just go for it. I smashed the window open with a kick and I crawled through it, shards of glass scratching me through my thin blue T-shirt. I scrambled to my feet as I heard yelling from the back of the house. I ran round to the front of the house, sprinting down the road as fast as I could. I had no idea where I was going. I ran and I ran and I ran for as long as I could, blood seeping through my shirt. I stopped to catch my breath, tears still streaming. The sunset was going down. I asked a random woman in a park where the nearest police station was, and she just said I was insane. I had nowhere to go, and the sun was going down quickly.
"Sam. Sam! Sam!"

Colby's voice snapped me awake. I gasped and opened my eyes, sweat littering my body.
"Sam, oh my god, are you ok? You were crying and sweating tons, and you kept whimpering in your sleep," his eyes were wide with concern.
"I-I think I know why I'm s-so afraid of sunsets," I mumbled, Colby opening his arms. I threw myself into them, just wanting to feel safe.
"Why, baby?" He asked, his voice gentle.
"It was w-when I was around t-thirteen, I think, a-and my d-d-dad would beat m-me for using m-m-makeup," I paused, gulping. He was listening intently, looking at me with a caring look.
"A-And he was trying to.. I'm n-not sure, he was looking for me. I hid in my closet, I had a secret room at the back that my mom made for me when I was younger. My mom d-died a couple years before all of this happened. My dad was shouting when he looked for me. He didn't know there was a secret room because my mom didn't tell him, and he sat in my room until I came out. I didn't, I just waited. I waited and I waited and I waited. He finally left my room. I kicked the window at the end of the room and crawled out, which cut my stomach a bit. I heard him shouting from the back yard and I started running, and I didn't stop running for ages. When I stopped for breath, that was when the sun started setting, and I had nowhere to go, I was all alone and I had to stay on the streets that night," I continued, memories of the actual event, not just the dream, flooding back to me. "I asked a few people where the nearest police station was, and I got ignored mostly. One person beat me up. I stayed on a bench in a park that night. I'm stupid, I know. I should've stayed at a friends, but that didn't cross my mind once. I had to just sit there on a bench in silence, watching the sunset whilst thinking about my dad finding me. After that, I ended up in foster care because a lady found me asleep on the bench, and because I looked younger than my age she took me to the police station and my dad got arrested. A couple years later, he was in a prison riot and died." I explained.
"Jesus, that's bad. I'm sorry that ever happened, you don't deserve any of that, you deserve to be loved. I love you," Colby spoke, kissing my face gently.

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I'm so sorry for not uploading for a few days, I've been so busy!! This one is really long