It’s so dark in my room. I miss my old room in our old house, where me and mommy and my dad lived together. Henry’s house is big and scary, even during the day. I hate it here, but mommy says I shouldn’t say that.
Suddenly the room is very bright, and then it goes dark again. I cover my ears because I know there’ll be thunder soon. My dad said that was only because light travels faster than sound even though they both happen at the same time. That doesn’t stop it from being scary.
I don’t hear anything, so I remove my hands from my ears. Then the thunder comes, and it’s so scary because it’s loud and I can hear it inside my head. I close my eyes, and the noise doesn’t stop. The room is shaking like an earthquake.
I scream and run outside, down the long dark hallway to the big room where mommy and Henry sleep together now. I open the door and run inside.
Mommy is alone on the bed, so I climb up on her side.
“Mommy?”
“Sweetheart.” Her voice is sleepy. It sounds like back in our real house, when I used to climb into the bed with her and my dad. She doesn’t call me sweetheart anymore now, not when Henry is around.
“I’m scared.”
She sits up and hugs me. “It’s just a storm baby, an itty bitty storm.”
I hug her back tightly. “I want it to stop.”
“It will, soon.”
I don’t feel so scared anymore. I close my eyes and imagine that we’re back at home, and my Dad is still alive. She’ll sing something funny, and I’ll laugh with my dad and then fall asleep on their bed.
“Sing something Mommy.”
She looks towards the bathroom, and then she closes her eyes. She almost starts to sing, but then the door to the bathroom opens, and Henry comes into the room wearing a robe.
He stops when he sees me. Immediately I start to feel scared again.
“What’s he doing here?” He asks my mom.
“There’s a storm. Henry.”
He doesn’t say anything, but he’s looking at my mom and he looks a little mad. She sighs and gets up from the bed. “Come on David.” She says, walking ahead of me, out of the room.
I follow her, turning to look at Henry before I leave the room. Another flash of lightning comes from the window behind him, and it makes him look scary, like a monster. I scream and run out of the door, bumping into my mommy’s legs.
She doesn’t look at me until we reach my room. She puts me back to bed, her face looking sad. She didn’t used to look sad when my dad was alive.
“Don’t go back mommy.” I tell her.
“Go to sleep.’ She whispers.
There’s another flash of lightning and before long the thunder comes again.
“Don’t go mummy.” I beg.
“David.” She sighs and gets up. “It’s only a storm.”
But it’s scary. I want to cry, even though I’m trying my best not to. “Don’t go.” I say, but she continues to walk towards the door.
“Don’t leave me.”
“David.”
“Don’t leave me.”
Arms tighten around me, my nose fills with the sweet scent that’s all her. I pull her closer, filling my senses with her.