Blow.
Blow.
“You’ll pay for that, Elsa.”
* * *
I wake up with a start. Sweat trickles down my spine, sticking my PJ’s to my back. I dart my eyes to the side and shriek.
A shadow looms over my bed.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The monster from my childhood stands over my bed like a shadow.
A boogieman.
He’s finally coming for me.
Blood roars in my ears and my heartbeat catches on an irregular, sick rhythm.
Thump.
Th-thump…
Thump...
I screw my lids shut and cover my ears with both my hands. This is a dream. It’s all in my head. The boogieman isn’t real. The monster isn’t real.
No matter how much I chant that, it doesn’t stop the voices from filtering through my high-built fortress.
Murmurs.
Haunted moans.
Pained whimpers.
Heavy footsteps come closer and closer, suffocating me like a vice.
“Hush little baby, don’t you cry...”
No. I place both hands on my ears, trying to suffocate the haunting sound.
I hate that song. I hate the way she sings it with that manic humming and them monsters in her eyes.
“...everything is going to be alright…”
NO!
“Mama’s gonna buy you a little toy… and if that toy doesn’t work, Mama will bring you another one...”
No, no, no...
“You’ll never escape me, Elsa.”
“You’re my masterpiece, Elsa.”
“Elsa.”