She looked around her room, fear coursing through her veins. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. Her mind began concocting any scary thing a four year old could think of, and then some. Everything in her room seemed to be in motion, steadily creeping towards her tiny figure on the bed. Eyes lit every corner, grins spreading slowly across dark faces in suspenseful melancholy. She closed her eyes tightly to block the visions.
Cordelia could hear her mother's light laughter descending from her bedroom. She's still awake.
Without a second thought, she flung the covers from her body, and hit the floor running.
She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She knocked softly, "Mommy?" She kept her voice low, noting the abrupt silence on the other side.
"You shouldn't be up, Delia. Go to your room," she called back flippantly.
Cordelia turned towards her doorway, the shadows still weaving tales of terror. She let out a small whine. "I don't wanna go back in there."
Fiona let out an aggravated sigh. Cordelia leaned against the door frame, relieved to hear rustling on the other side.
The door flung open suddenly, startling an already jumpy Cordelia, revealing Fiona in an oversized white button-up t-shirt.
"Well what is it?" Fiona exclaimed not even bothering to hide the exasperation or feign any sense of motherly concern.
"I-I saw...the shadows…," the tiny voice cried out small and shaking.
"There's nothing in your room, Cordelia. Go back to bed."
Her bottom lip quivered and she shook her head. "Can't I sleep with you?"
Movement inside the room caught the little girl's attention. Another figure was rising from her mother's bed. She craned her neck to see who it was.
Noting her intrigue, Fiona placed her hands on the little girl's shoulders, pushing her back out into the hallway to obscure her view. "Absolutely not. To your room. You're old enough to know there's nothing in there."
"I don't wanna!" Cordelia was reacting out of fear. Even at such a young age she knew better than to even think of disobeying her mother, but right now was different. Her mother didn't understand; she hadn't seen the figures that clearly had it out for her.
"Go!"
Cordelia dropped to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "I can't!"
"I think I'm gonna go, now Fee."
Cordelia looked up to see a shirtless man standing above her. She'd never seen him before.
"No, don't go, baby. I'm just about to take her back to her room," Fiona pleaded.
"Nah, don't worry about it. She's clearly upset and wants her mother. I'll come back another time." He eased his hands on either side of her face and kissed her gently.
"Keep my shirt. That's how you know I'll be back. It's my favorite one," he said with a wink.
Fiona looked angry, clearly not won over by his charm. "Fine."
She sidestepped to avoid touching him again as he eased out of the door. He took a few steps and then bent down to be eye-level with Cordelia. The little girl frowned at him, hiccupping and trying to catch her breath.
"Your mommy will keep you safe. Hang in there, princess."
Fiona rolled her eyes as he ruffled her hair and stood to leave.
She didn't bother to walk him out, only scooped up Cordelia and began walking to her room.
"You made a real show of yourself, didn't you?"
Cordelia, slightly gasping for breath from crying, lay her head in the crook of Fiona's neck. The familiar smell of alcohol and perfume allowed her a sense of familiarity; she felt sleepy all of a sudden and began to drift off.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, flailing and sobbing like an infant." Fiona was muttering in anger to herself more than anything as Cordelia drifted off to sleep in her arms. The child's head was just about to loll to the side when Fiona roughly deposited her into her own bed. Cordelia gasped at the sudden loss of security and stared at her mother, eyes wide with fear.
"You will be in so much more trouble if you even think of pulling another stunt like that when I have company over. Do you hear me?"
Cordelia began to cry again. Fiona rolled her eyes and turned to leave the room.
"No mommy, please don't leave."
Fiona cringed at the word, almost resenting her for using it at all.
"Do not get up," she countered as she shut the door and locked it.
At the click of the lock turning, Cordelia lost it. Her sobs were louder than anything Fiona had ever heard from the small child. She ignored them and retired to her room for the evening to lament on the lost fun and the pity of her responsibilities.
Cordelia, on the other hand, couldn't recover so quickly. The sound of her sobs seemed to drift into every darkened corner of the house. She was terrified and crying harder than she ever had in her entire life.
Fiona could hear the choked, gasping sobs plainly. She shoved her head underneath the pillow to drown out the sound, but it didn't seem to work. She rolled over, facing the pillow and caught a slight tinge of men's cologne. Her mind began dreaming of the fun she could have been having. Anger began to build within her. Her mind was still swimming from the alcohol she had previously consumed and she felt a little off balance. Her whole life felt that way. She shouldn't have to deal with a wailing child. This shouldn't be her life.
Without a second thought, Fiona stood and charged down the hallway to Cordelia's room. With a flick of her wrist, the door flung open. "What in God's name is wrong with you?" she demanded.
She didn't wait for the child to answer, crossing the room in three steps. Cordelia's tiny body was shaking in an effort to stop crying, each breath grabbing at her diaphragm and lurching her forward.
Fiona placed both hands on her daughter's shoulders and was instantly disgusted. Tears and mucus glistened from the child's red, swollen face. "What's wrong with you? Are you just gonna sit there like you can't talk? Why are you still crying?" Her voice seemed to lift into another octave as she screamed out her frustration.
Despite her efforts to stop, Cordelia began to cry again. Fiona's grip tightened and she shook her slightly. "Shut up, shut up!" she released her shoulders and flung her closet doors open. "There's nothing in your room, Cordelia. Nothing at all!" She began removing every article of clothing and toy and book from inside, flinging them about the room haphazardly.
Every flick of her wrist sent another one of Cordelia's beloved things hurtling from their home. Cordelia felt even more unsettled than before. She watched as her dolls and stuffed animals, anything that had ever given her a sense of peace and security, being slammed into the walls.
Fiona turned to Cordelia, the closet bare, and stuck her finger in her face. "I'm going back to my room. Don't let me hear you make a single peep, or you won't like what happens next."
She slammed the door, the noise sounding like a gun shot. The little girl placed her head in her pillow to quiet her sobs, the shadowy figures long forgotten. Never again would she let them scare her. They would be a welcome sight compared to the woman who gave her life.