A/N: This deals with touchy issues such as child molestation and sexual abuse. There's nothing graphic, but it is implied. Dedicated to my best friend! (Dedications are fun. Review me lots and you might get one!)
Cat and Mouse
"You can't keep hiding from me, you know..."
It was always 'you cannot.' She can do nothing. She is nothing. Give up the chase, because there can be no positive outcome.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" He singsonged, his tone mocking, and she pressed herself farther into the corner, a tear escaping. His footsteps drew closer and, terrified, she dove for the door - only to find her path blocked. His grin was wolfish as he slammed the door closed, blocking off the last source of light. They were enveloped in the night, and the open window offered no comfort with a moonless sky.
It was a horrible game of Cat and Mouse as, weeping, she knocked a chair down as she ran, scrabbling for a place to hide. On hands and knees, crawling underneath the table, seeking the linen closet she knew was somewhere. She could almost feel his breath on her neck, could hear his heavy breathing as her hands ran frantically over the smooth wall, searching desperately for the telltale crack of space between door and frame. She wanted only to press her hot forehead against the cool tiled floor and lie still and silent, but urgency and fear pressed her forward.
There! The handle! Sweat-slicked hands pulled on it desperately, and she wriggled through the small space she'd dared open and closed it as quietly as possible, holding her breath. Be quiet, be quiet...
Creak...
The crackle of bones as his head snapped around in the direction of the soft sound, and slowly he moved towards it, each step carefully placed. The hunter stalking its prey, eyes bright in the anticipation of the kill.
"You can't stay in there forever..."
- - -
"You can't stay in there forever!"
His voice is so angry and harsh, that she covers her ears with her small hands, cradling her head in her arms, tucking her chin and drawing her knees up into her chest. She rocks back and forth monotonously, repeating her mantra like a prayer.
"Please go away... please go away... please go away..."
- - -
Her mother had promised that she'd be happy, that she'd be safe. Despite knowing that her mother couldn't have possibly wished this on her, Luna couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal as she searched desperately for a new hiding place in the dark.
She hated the dark. As a baby, toddler, young child and even now, she had to sleep with a light near her bed. It was her phobia, her boggart, and she felt the familiar sense of claustrophobia as the heavy blanket of darkness pressed on her from all sides. Her limbs began to seize up in the fear, and her breathing became rapid. If she passed out, she knew what she'd wake up to find: the pain, the blood, and the horrible emptiness.
Creak...
Now it was he that made a mistake as his foot set lightly down on an old board; she knew which one it was, she'd ran over it many times before. He was so close. How many feet away? Her hands reached behind her and rested on a neatly folded sheet that she'd washed only hours earlier. She could unfold it, throw it on him when he opened the door and then run. Maybe, just maybe…
- - -
"Hi, Luna, I'm Marlene - your father's told me so much about you!" Marlene has brown curls so tightly wound that for a moment she fancies pulling on one of them, just to see how long they really are. Her hand reaches out for a moment, then quickly pulls back as another person comes into view.
"Oh! This is my son, Simon. He's 15, a good 6 years or so older than you, but I'm sure you two will get along wonderfully," Marlene gushes, her teeth so bright as she smiles that Luna thinks she might be a little blinded. Can someone's teeth be that white? Simon smiles down at her, too, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Luna's father winds an arm around Marlene's waist affectionately. Everyone is smiling at her. Is she supposed to smile back? Is she supposed to be happy?
Didn't Mommy tell her to be happy?
"We'll pick out the prettiest flower girl's dress for you, Luna! We're going to have a muggle wedding, they're so much more romantic."
"You'll be the prettiest one there," Simon says, his smile still in place.
She blinks up at him. "Want to play a game?"
- - -
She didn't want him to touch her again. She didn't like his games, because they hurt, and they made her feel dirty. She was grown up now, almost as old as he was when they first met, and she should be able to say no. She wasn't a child anymore.
Luna stood up and opened the door, her fear of the dark gone. Her pale eyes fairly glowed in the dark with purpose. "No," she whispered, throat dry, the one word hesitant. Had she actually said it? His eyes widened in surprise.
"Here, kitty, kitty."
- - -
"Please, Simon, I don't want to play. I don't want to play."
"But I like playing with you, Luna. I want us to be friends. Listen, we'll play a new game. It'll be fun. Its called Simon Says."
"I don't want to play."
"And afterwards we can play hide and seek. Here, I'll start. Simon says, touch my arm. Simon says, touch my ear. Simon says, touch my-"
"I don't like this game!"
"Listen to Simon, Luna, we're playing the game. Your Daddy won't be home for a little while. Simon says, touch my hip. Simon says, touch my-"
- - -
For a moment she convinced herself that she'd actually done it, and that in his shock, she'd slipped past him.
But then she knew she was still in the closet when the door began to open. Squeezing her eyes shut, she curled her body into a ball, trying to be as small as possible. Someone whispering; it was she.
"Please go away... please go away... please go away..."
"Simon! All alone in the dark?" Her father's deep baritone voice chuckles, cutting though the tenseness as light from the outside hall spills into the room.
"Luna and I were just playing hide-and-seek, Don. You know she never gets tired of her childish games." He opened the door all the way and grinned down at her. The smile never reached his eyes. "Found you!"
Daddy is here. Daddy has saved her. Why didn't Daddy save her all the other times?
Daddy, don't go. Don't go. Where are you going? All alone. Alone in the dark.
She broke down, small frame wracked with sobs, tears flowing down her pale cheeks. The door closed.
Luna doesn't like playing games.