Barbie woke up screaming. Again. Sweat ran down her face and her breathing was heavy.
Another nightmare about that day.
She slowed her breathing and slid out from under her bright pink covers. Her toes tangled in the shaggy carpet beneath her feet and she stood shakily, still reeling from the nightmare.
She made her way to her bathroom, her feet padding on the chilled marble floor, making echoing noises in the large empty room.
She opened the bathroom door and flicked on the light. She winced at the brightness, but walked over to the sink and twisted the knob, making cool, clean water flow freely from the tap.
She splashed her face and sat down on the toilet.
Memories of that day flickered through her mind.
A smiling face.
A cloth held over her mouth and nose, reeking of alcohol.
Metal handcuffs chafing her wrists behind her back.
The spray of their blood on her face.
Her sister's screams.
Her parent's funeral.
It was a ransom kidnapping. But then her parents found them in a warehouse, that's when things got heated.
Two of the five kidnappers are dead, the other three in prison. Her mother would be, but she and her father are pushing up daisies.
Barbie had to accept all different kinds of jobs just so she and her sisters could maintain their lifestyle. She lost everything and had to pull herself together so her sisters wouldn't feel it.
After the hell they'd been through, they deserved the dream house they lived in now more than ever.