tw: implied abuse and mentions of alcohol
The room was dark. The only sounds were coming from the booming thunder outside. In bed laid a frightened young boy. He looked to be about the age of six. Hugged tightly to his chest was a small plush dog. It looked rather old, some of the seams were a ripping or lose and the soft brown color had faded to a measly beige. The thunder struck once more causing a whimper to escape the child's lips. He took a deep breath before crawling out of bed, dog still in his arms. The young boy crept out of his room and into a short narrow hallway. There were two doors on one side and one on the other. He walked a bit forward before peering into the door that stood alone. Inside there was a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He was alone, snoring loudly. There were empty beer cans everywhere and a pack of cigarettes that had spilled out onto the floor. Once the child new the other was asleep he tip-toed his way past and made his way towards the door. He carefully slipped a pair of old beat up looking sneakers onto his little feet. He grabbed his coat from the rack quietly and slipped it on. The thunder boomed again causing him to gasp. He stood there, paralyzed with fear. His eyes beaming at the hallway he had previously been in. His heart began pounding. He listened, and there was nothing. He relaxed a bit and grabbed his stuffed animal before silently heading out the door. The child made his way down two flights of stairs before being stopped by an elderly woman.
"What are you doing up at this hour young man?" She asked him. "It's quarter past three." She spoke again. The boy didn't respond. He just looked up at her and she seemed to understand. "Well go on then, I'll make sure he doesn't know." She said before ruffling his hair and watching as he made his way down the last flight of stairs. He looked around to make sure no one was in the lobby before leaving through a back exit which led to an alleyway. He hugged his plush to his chest before walking out towards the empty sidewalk. Few cars were on the road allowing him to go out with little suspicion. The truth was he loved the rain. It was the booming thunder that came with it that he feared. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I'm not scared.." he whispered. The thunder boomed. "I'm not scared." He said, his tone shifting almost as if he was angry at the thunder for challenging him. It boomed once more, this time louder. "You don't scared me!" he cried. He waited a few moments to see if it would boom again. The only sound was the falling rain. He let out a sigh and opened his eyes. He felt at peace. He felt like everything was okay again. Unfortunately it wouldn't last long.
