Chapter 3 Part 1

Chloe woke with tears in her eyes, her heart racing and her breathing laboured. Her hair was matted to her scalp and her clothes clung to her body, drenched in sweat. Her body was still shacking from fear as she tired calming herself, taking long deep breaths.

It was the third nightmare she'd had that night. It was a miracle she'd managed to fall back asleep after the first, let alone the second. She didn't want to take the chance of falling asleep again just to be woken with fear.

Her heart wouldn't let up the rapid beating as she felt a panic attack coming on. When the tears started falling, she sat up, bring her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth to try calm herself.

The panic attack started taking her breath, making it hard to breath as her lungs contracted in her chest, her head getting light from the lack of oxygen, all the while trying to keep quiet to not wake her father as she gasped for air.

After what felt like forever, she started calming down, her breathing coming back to normal and the tears finally stopping. She just sat there for a while before falling back on her bed and just staring at her white celling, processing the dreams she'd had.

It was still dark outside as she could only see the outline of the furniture in the room. She reached across for the old beaten up blue night stand her father purchased when they had moved in, searching for her old barbie watch she'd gotten from him when she was five.

When she eventually found it between all the the things that sat on the top of the small table, she pressed the button on the side, making it light up and telling her it was four in the morning. Groaning, she placed the watch back down and rolled over to face her window, watching the shadows dance outside. She just laid there for a while, tossing and turning in her bed, trying to get comfortable.

After an hour of laying there and letting her imagination play in her head, she stood up, heading for her small bathroom while stumbling over thing on the floor in the dark. Turning the light on, she went inside.

Her bathroom was a mess, empty bottles of body wash, shampoo and other products lay on the floor. She knew she had to clean it eventually but she never had the energy, emotionally or physically. So she just let it be as she did her bedroom.

Taking her clothes off, she hot ready to jump into the shower. She turned the facet, turning the shower on and waiting for the water to warm up before jumping in. That was one thing she enjoyed most, a hot shower, the feeling of being clean, the warmth and the comfort it brought.

She just stood under the scolding water, letting it relax her tense muscles and wash away the memories of the dreadful nightmares. Once she was done washing herself, she shut off the water and climbed out, garbing the green towel off the floor and rapping it around herself.

As she took a step forward, she almost fell, stepping on one of the many empty bottles. Cursing under her breath, she kicked it away, going to the sink and rincing her face with the cold water. Looking up to the mirror, she saw how puffy her face still was from the crying, her eyes had bags under them and her skin red as a tomato from the shower.

She made her way out to her bedroom, rummaging through her cupboard to find clean underwear and a bra before putting them on. She turned toward her purple bed, clothes, clean and dirty lay on the floor surrounding it. Going over to search for some clothes to wear.

“Shit,” she cursed at herself, realizing she didnt have any clean sweatpants, she hadnt done washing in a while. Looking through the clothes on the floor one more time. She ran over to her closet, throwing out everything, hoping she had a pair hiding in there.

She came up empty handed and she started panicking, she knew non of her other pants would fit her anymore with the amount of weight shed lost. She didnt want to wear her dirty sweats again.

Running a hand through her wet hair, and grabbed a pair of tights, knowing it would be the closest to fitting her. They sat nicely around her waist but bunched up around her knees and ankles. This was as good as it was going to get, she thought to herself as she searched for one of her black long sleeves.

She found one laying on the floor, smelling it to make sure it didnt smell before putting it on. She didnt even bother going to look in the mirror, knowing shed hate the reflection looking back at her and would criticize herself for the remainder of the day.

She grabbed a random hoodie she found on her bed, she put it on, loving how it hid her body and shielded her from any eyes. Going over to her bathroom again, she brushed her hair and teeth before going down to make breakfast.

She started with the coffee first, needing the energy as her eyes burned with the lack of sleep. Once her coffee was done, she went to sit by the table, facing the window above the sink, taking in the beautiful trees right outside the house.

The sun was starting to rise, lighting the outside with a beautiful orange hue in the sky, making the trees glow under the rays. The house on the other side had warm light glowwing through the windows, looking like a true home.

She just sat by the table for a bit, enjoying the rising sun as she sipped on her coffee. Her father wouldnt be awake for the next few hours as he wasnt working today. So she just relaxed, not rushing like she usually did.

When her coffee was done, she went over to the sink, rolling up her sleeves and carefully removing the broken glass inside and throwing it into an empty box she found before throwing it into the trash.

She washed a few cups and plates, catching the sight of the dark blue bruise around her wrist. She sighed, it definitly wasnt the first time and she knew it wouldnt be the last until she was out of school and out the house.

Once she was done doing a few dishes, she started preparing breakfast before going back upstairs and grabbing her things. She started the walk to school, knowing no one would be there this early but deciding she didnt want to take the chance of dealing with her father if he woke up.