Kristal Anderson
I found myself tossing and turning unable to stop my thoughts from consuming my mind.
So many thoughts. So much information. So many emotions to process.
I know that your mother would have wanted me to do everything in my power to keep you safe and that's exactly what I'm going to do. But now I'm gonna do things differently; prepare to see a new side of me, Kristal.
The goosebumps that took hold of my body when those words left her mouth hadn't left me since. There was something so menacing about her tone, for the first time ever I felt scared of Aunt Jenna.
That sounded like a threat. A threat that made me see her in a different light, in that very moment those words left her mouth I saw a glimpse of a woman who'd be capable of doing what Uncle Greg had accused her of. A woman capable of lying to me, of maintaining contact with my mother's murderer.
No.
I had to shake my head to rid myself of that thought.
That made no sense; Aunt Jenna had been protecting me all this time, taking care of me. My father was the bad guy in this situation. All of this happened because of my father, he killed her. He was lying there beside her dead body with a gun in his hand, I saw it with my own two eyes.
He was the bad guy in this situation.
Not Aunt Jenna.
That's what she wants you to believe.
There it was, that voice inside my head that wouldn't leave me be. That voice that wouldn't allow me to stick with the narrative that hurt less.
I sat up, it was clear that sleep wasn't coming anytime soon. My hand instinctively went up to my seashell pendant; a habit I had gotten whenever my thoughts grew too loud. My mind wandered off to the only constant in my life. Aiden.
I had texted him after my talk with Aunt Jenna to tell him how it went, I told him the truth; it went about as bad as I thought it would. Excluding the little threat she shot my way. I couldn't worry him because knowing Aiden, he wouldn't think twice before coming to confront her about it.
Plus maybe it wasn't even a threat and I misinterpreting everything.
That was definitely a threat.
The sound of my ringtone filled the room making me jump a little, for a second I was fully convinced that the heavens had sent down a punishment for the thoughts I was having. It took a moment for my brain to start working again and identify the source of the noise as my phone ringing.
I reached towards my nightstand and took hold of my phone bringing it to view.
Aiden.
It was like our minds were connected somehow; the moment I thought of him, he called.
3.28 A.M. the time read. I was convinced he'd be asleep by now.
"Hey Darlin, sorry if I woke you up," His voice filled my ear the moment I answered and brought it up to meet my ear.
"You didn't don't worry, I've been tossing and turning all night, can't sleep,"
"I haven't been able to get any sleep either, I can't stop thinking about you," I could feel the heaviness in his voice when he said those words, he wasn't thinking about me in a romantic sense, he was thinking about me as in the fucked up situation I was living through.
"Gosh, didn't know I was such a heartthrob," I said regardless, bringing to lighten the mood. I couldn't allow my situation to cloud our relationship with that agonizing heaviness.
That made him chuckle, "Well now you know so stop being so breathtaking,"
I was blushing like a teenage girl who received a compliment from her crush, "No can't do, Darlin,"
"How cruel of you, condemning me to a lifetime of sleepless nights,"
"And you have no one to blame but yourself; these are the consequences of choosing a smoke show for a girlfriend," A laugh rolled off of him, the sound so contagious that a laugh found its way out of me as well.
"God, I love y-" Those words slipped out through a pit of laughter but he caught himself before he finished the sentence, his laughter coming to an abrupt halt.
My laughter died down soon after I took in what he was about to say, "What?" Was he about to say what I think he was about to say?
"I. . ." He dragged out that one-letter word like he was considering his next words, "think we should change subjects. How are you feeling?"
I forced my heart to slow and the butterflies in my stomach to die down as I swallowed back my curiosity deciding not to push. "Good. Well, as good as I can be,"
"Kris I've been thinking and something seriously isn't adding up, I just can't shake the feeling that you're in danger,"
Prepare to see a new side of me, Kristal.
As if on clue, her words were what I heard. A silent confirmation of what he was feeling.
"Aiden I-"
"I don't want to fight and I didn't mean that in a disrespectful way, I know how much she means to you. All I want is for you to promise me that if you ever feel unsafe you'll call me, text me, throw a shoe at my window if you have to and I'll come for you in a heartbeat,"
If he had told me to make such a promise a mere week ago, I would have looked at him crazy and told him that I would never feel unsafe with my Aunt, that she was a great woman.
But now. . . I was filled with doubts. It felt like everything and anything was possible.
My heart tightened at the realization that the woman who I thought was my guardian angel no longer made me feel safe. I nodded though he couldn't see, "I promise,"
I could practically hear him breathing easier, "Thank you. God, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you, Kristal," My heart sank and the worst part was that I couldn't calm his worries, I couldn't bring myself to reassure him that nothing was going to happen to me. I couldn't even reassure myself of that.
I had to swallow back my tears as an overwhelming sadness filled me. I leaned back laying down on my back again staring up at the ceiling, I tried to control my breathing before saying, "I'm so tired of this Aiden, of being so scared all the time," I took a deep breath shutting my eyes, "I just want to close my eyes and be transported somewhere, anywhere, far far away from here, with you. Somewhere where no one will ever find us,"
"Don't tempt me Darlin cause I will book two one-way tickets to a desolate island for us to run off to,"
I let out a small chuckle, "I wish I were brave enough to do something so crazy,"
"I can be brave enough for the both of us," I opened my eyes, staring up at the ceiling suddenly considering it. The thought of leaving all this mess behind and starting over somewhere tropical with the man of my dreams suddenly didn't seem so outrageous. I found myself smiling at the images playing in my mind; Aiden and I at a tropical beach. He took my silence as a confirmation, "So... what I'm hearing is that I should book the tickets,"
I laughed snapping out of the trance I had fallen into, like a fairytale spell breaking and reality hitting me all at once, "No Aiden! We can't just run away, that'd be insane," Running away would put distance between me and my situation, not solve it, the uncertainty and the fear would follow me everywhere. "You know what? I think we're both in desperate need of sleep; we're talking out of our asses,"
"Fine, I'll put running away in the backburner for now," I could practically see the place on his face, "do you need me to stay on the phone until you fall asleep?"
"Doing what?" I couldn't help but giggle.
"I don't know, singing you a lullaby or something, I just don't wanna hang up," I didn't want him to hang up either, I had already gotten so used to sleeping in the same bed as him whenever I snuck out.
"You know what? Yeah go ahead, sing me a lullaby Darlin," I said calling him bluff, but Aiden being Aiden he wanted to prove me wrong.
So he began his rendition of the lullaby Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I was fighting for my life trying to keep my laughter at a low volume while listening to a grown man completely butcher the lyrics of a lullaby. He gave up completely by the third verse and switched tactics.
And by that I mean he was spewing a bunch of shower thoughts like a podcast as a way to help me sleep and I'm ashamed to admit that it worked. For the first time that night, I was able to quiet my thoughts and forget about my situation long enough for the state of slumber to overtake me.
The peacefulness didn't last long though; I was awakened by the loud sound of drilling. I shot up into a sitting position completely disoriented, my heart beating out of my chest as my brain jumped straight into the worst-case scenario; my father snuck in and he was shooting everything.
After my eyes regained focus and I took in my surroundings, I realized that I was still alone in my room. The sound of the drill was coming from outside.
But it sounded too close to be coming from one of the neighbor's houses, this couldn't be good. My anxiety spiked again.
I practically jumped out of my bed and rushed to my window, pulling the curtains open without another thought. I came face to face with a man and my heart stopped, my life flashing right before my very eyes. My first thought in my half-asleep state was; intruder.
But as I took in other details I realized that I was wrong, he was up on a ladder in a uniform, a drill in his hand as he installed black window bars right against my window. He was no intruder, Aunt Jenna hired him. She was ensuring that sneaking out from my window was no longer an option.
My heart sank to the balls of my feet, I never felt so trapped between these four walls.
Prepare to see a new side of me, Kristal.
This was what she meant, she was going to trap me in this house if that's what it took to protect me.
The man stared at me, I stared back before pulling the curtains shut again. My first thought wasn't to confront her about it, it was Aiden. I needed to speak with him, tell him about what was happening right before my eyes. In that moment, the last thing I felt was safe.
I rushed to my bed in search of my phone, nothing.
I looked under the pillows. Nothing.
Under the sheets. Nothing.
Under my bed. Still nothing.
I began to panic, it felt like I was going crazy and I found myself questioning where I had put it last even though I knew that I had fallen asleep with my phone in my hand so it couldn't be anywhere else.
I ran a hand through my hair my eyes scanning the entirety of my room in search of it. That's when I noticed something else.
My laptop which I always kept at my desk was also missing.
This was no coincidence.
Aunt Jenna had taken it.
Well someone's finally showing their true colors...                                     Thanks for coming along my loves!
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