Pain;Living

13

The morning after Patrick had walked her home, she didn't want to get out of bed at all.
Like always she waited for her father's pounding on the door to stop before getting ready for school.

It was Friday which meant he would be home early that night, so no sneaking off with Patrick.

She threw on an old solid army green tank top that fit her well. Deciding on wearing shorts that day since it was getting warmer as the summer got closer.

Iris grabbed her bag and descended down the stairs and out the door. Once she'd locked it and turned around she saw the familiar blue car in the front of her house.

"Need a ride babe?" Patrick shouted from the sunroof.

Iris giggled and made her way to the car, sliding inside between the two boys in the back.

"Morning," she spoke to them all.
They all responded back with non-enthusiastic good-mornings.

Patrick turned her face towards his with a finger and planted a long kiss on her lips.

"Get a room," Victor pretend gagged while Henry wolf-whistled jokingly.

"You guys are so annoying."

Patrick rolled his eyes and pulled her closer. His hand lingered on her leg, while his thumb traced over the hickeys on her inner thighs.

"We should do that again," he whispered in her ear quietly.

"For sure," he placed a kiss on her lips again but this time shorter.

Once they arrived at school everyone slid out of the car and walked to the back to smoke.

"Anyone got a light? Left mine at home," Iris asked them.

Belch threw her an old blue Bic lighter, which she used and pocketed. The remainder of the time behind the school was silent as they smoked their cigarettes.

"I should get to class now," she kissed Patrick bye and waved to the rest of them.

Once inside she walked to her class and took her seat. The class started off boring and Iris felt her eyes go droopy. The first period had always made her fall asleep no matter the subject.

She let her eyes drifted closed and her head propped less securely on her hand. She fell into a light sleep.

But in her slumber, there was a presence and it was not a good one. While she was asleep her mind filled with images: a dream.
The unnerving feeling flooded her mind. The setting of her dream was her in the sewers, she heard voices. She followed them, it was a dream what's the worse that could happen?

Iris rounded a corner and she saw them, surrounding him. The fear etched on his face was something she'd never seen before.

The group of corpses turned towards the raven-haired girl, eyes locked on her. They all ran with their arms reaching out to grab her. Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself away from her desk with a scream.
"Miss Milan, what's the matter?" The teacher so out of character asked.

"Uhm-I, I thought I saw a spider!"

"Or was it a nightmare, you wouldn't get those if you stayed awake in class."

She sighed and turned her eyes to her shoes, "I'm sorry."

"You should be sorry for ruining our family."

The words came out slow, they made her freeze. She looked up slowly at the man standing where her teacher once stood, her father.

"Daddy?"

"Don't call me that whore!" His voice boomed off the walls. There was so much force to it she could nearly feel his spit on her face.  The color drained from her face and she was left looking cadaverous. This couldn't be real, it was a dream!
"It wasn't my fault!" Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes but she blinked them away. The memories of that day flooded back to her. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face. She felt dirty, her body hurt everywhere. It was like she was suffocating in this nearly empty room.

The students sat with wide eyes, pointing and laughing hysterically. They shouted names at her.

"Maybe if you didn't dress like a slut, he never would've done it."

Iris shook her head, "you're wrong it wasn't my fault!" Her hands gripped the desk tightly.
He walked towards her slowly, "I'm never wrong."
The closer he got, the more Iris shook. She was terrified of him, whether it was a dream or not. She froze the moment he got to her. The students laughing ceased. Silence filled the entire room, it was quieter than quiet.
Iris's eyes stayed focused on the wooden desk, afraid to meet her father's eyes.

His hand slammed onto the desk except, it wasn't his hand. It was slightly larger and was wearing a white glove. Her eyes snapped up and instead of meeting her father's eyes, she gazed into bright yellow ones.
A scream escaped her throat, and she pushed out of her chair. "Hello, Iris, " Its bubbly voice spoke.

She didn't respond, she was frozen in fear. Only when it began moving towards her again did she begin backing away.
It spoke, taunting her. One of the students kicked their foot out, making Iris slam to the ground. She cried out in pain.
The clown started to crawl towards her with its mouth opened wide.

"This isn't real, " she repeated over and over again. It's a dream, she thought.

Tears streamed down her face and she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the worse.

Her eyes shot open suddenly and she looked around the room. She was sat at her desk, the teacher staring back at her.

"Sleep is meant for your bedroom Miss Milan, not my class."

All she could do was nod, still full of fear. It felt too real to be a dream. Her mind went back to Patrick in the sewer. Why was he in the sewer?