Chapter 1
August 1964
This room was bigger than any she'd been in in quite some time. The four walls that had once made up her personal hell were nothing much. Nondescript, covered in a shade of pink so light that it was barely noticeable. There was a hole that had been punching in a fit of rage long ago that was now covered in plaster on the wall to the right of the door. The faint outline on the far wall where there had once been wooden letter blocks painted in a darker pink and spelling out her name. Kimberly. They had hung there for seventeen years and their impression wasn't leaving.
If these walls could talk they'd spin you tales of things deep, dark, and twisted. Tales of unimaginable horror that could make a hardcore criminal curl up his nose. Those vile things people couldn't think of in their worst nightmares had been her reality. The shell of what had once been Kimberly Mathews lay crumpled smack dab in the middle of the room like a rag doll someone had dropped and left. Her glazed over deep green eyes slowly looked back and forth as the memories, so vivid, came back to her.
There was a time when you felt safe in this room, Kimmy.
That memory had been nearly erased a midst all the others that were so painful. She had almost clean forgotten it. And if she could feel anything at this very moment, it would be a small hint love for her older brother. If she could muster up the energy to do anything more than breathe at this current moment, a small smirk would tug at the corners of her lips.
She was in the same spot on the floor of the small bedroom. Her knees pulled to her chest, her small body shaking slightly of fear and anxiety. Her long rusty colored hair fell around her in an almost curtain, as if shielding her into her own little room. Shouts from the hall could be heard no matter how hard she tired to block them out.
Mommy yelling at daddy. Daddy yelling at mommy. The two yelling together, trying to be louder than their spouse.
And it was all over her. It was her fault. Daddy loved her, but not anymore. Not now. Mommy seemed mad too. Mommy wouldn't want her now.
With eyes squeezed shut tight, Kimberly wished it would all just go away. The screams only got louder and angrier and Kimmy's fear only grew with it. Her parents had never fought like this. She'd never seen her mother more than mildly upset, and here she was screaming words so strong and so hateful towards her husband. The fight had started right there in front of Kimmy herself. It was all a blur in her mind. Things happened so fast.
Mommy. Yelling. Daddy. Surprise. Yelling. Yelling. Yelling. The result was Daddy hauling off and punching the wall. It made Mommy yell more; it completely horrified the small girl.
Hearing the small creek of the door opening Kimmy didn't even move to see who it was. The worst ran through her ten-year-old brain. But the sound was small and the door closed quickly, it had opened enough for another small body to pass through, no more than that.
"Kimmy." The voice gave her instant comfort even if it was filled with confusion and concern.
She managed to blink a few times before lifting her head to look at her older brother with wide fear filled eyes. He walked right over to her and knelt beside her. She didn't need to speak for Keith to understand how she was feeling. He was only a year older than her after all. Even if he didn't show it, she could see in his eyes that he was just as scared as her.
His small arm wrapped around his baby sister. That small gesture made everything seem better. The yelling seemed to fade away as if it were distant instead of just down the short hall. In that moment she felt safe and secure. She felt things really weren't that bad, and that nothing was going to happen after all.
Security and love like that was something she hadn't felt in sometime now. Despite the joy the memory brought her, there was still a twinge of pain with it. It reminded her of exactly why she was laying here right now. It reminded her of the events that had lead up to that day and the events that would then happen because of it. Her slow and painful decent to rock bottom; the very place she was flirting with right now.
As much as she hated it she couldn't stop it now. The memories flooded her mind as if the repressive dam had broke. The pain, suffereing, and haunting images danced tauntingly in her mind.
You must remember Kimmy. Because without that you wouldn't be here right now, would you?
Somewhere deep in her mind, through all the memories and the chaos of thoughts, a sadistic laugh rang clear.
