A/N: Just a warning for you all, some parts of this story are going to be pretty intense. Some parts of it are going to make you cry and some are going to make you want to punch the wall so hard you'd break your knuckles. Just a heads up :) I hope you like it! It's different than anything I've ever written, so I hope it's good xD
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
I crouch in a room that seemed so full of air a moment ago but now seems to have none. My chest rises and falls but it feels like there is no air coming into my lungs and going out through her mouth. I bite my lip hard, trying to keep the tears at bay. My small hand grips the doorknob so tightly that her knuckles are white and have gone numb. The door is already locked but I don't take chances in letting the Monster come in. He can see me through the door with his x-ray vision and can smell the fear running through my veins. I can hear his heart pounding in my head.
The tiles on the bathroom floor are colder than snow. My knees hurt from crouching for so long but I have no other choice. If I move, if I make a single sound, if I even stand up to let the circulation back into my legs, he'll hear it. The Monster hears everything.
Fat seeds of warm blood drip onto the tile floor from when I cut my finger with the shard of the mirror that was on the countertop. I didn't even know it was bleeding until something warm was running down my hand. It was a deep cut, but I could take care of it later. There were worse things.
My eyes travel to the sharp shard of the mirror that is now on the floor. Quietly as I can, I switch hands from gripping the doorknob and pick up the shard of glass with my still white fingers. Not that there's much in there to see: short, grass green hair that's ratted and tangled, too tiny of a nose but too big of eyes, and a chewed up horror of a mouth. Definitely not a pretty sight, but do I care? No. I stopped caring about things a long time ago.
I press my ear against the door; was he not coming after me? No, he was, that I know. The Monster likes to play tricks and pretend to not be coming so that when I finally come out of my hiding place he can pounce. But this time he's not coming. I hear the front door slam and then silence.
I have to literally tear my hand away from the doorknob to get the circulation back into my fingers. The Monster isn't in the house anymore. He's gone. Not for forever, but for a little while. I still don't open the door; I don't even unlock it. I fully sit down on the tile floor, with my finger still bleeding, and I bury my face in my knees. The floodgates open but I do not let a drop of water fall out of my eyes until I convince myself that he's gone. Only then do my eyes let hot sheets of rain fall down my cheeks. Since he is not here I let myself cry full-force, whimpering and sniffling and letting myself scream occasionally.
I'm a bird in a cage, chained and bound to the shackles of fear. There's no way out and the world I once knew is not coming back. Happiness doesn't exist anymore, and neither does love or courage. I've lost my balance on a tightrope and lost my mind trying to get it back.
After what seems like hours I pick myself up, wincing as blood rushes back into my legs. I unlock the door, sneak out, and quietly go back to my bedroom, although I know he's not there. He'll be back; he always will be. Because no matter how far I run, he catches up to me. No matter how loud I scream, no one listens. No matter how much I try to escape, I fall into his traps and snares and the Monster stands back and laughs at my tears.
I close my door and put a chair in front of it, along with other heavy items. I test out the barricade and it works. He can't get the door open far. I lay down on my bed and let the hot tears burn down my cheeks. I close my eyes but I can't block it out.
Fear holds me prisoner and nothing can set me free.
