That night, Sienna had the strangest dream. She found herself in the middle of the old living room, the floors clean and the room bright. The air itself seemed to have a happy mood, but that may have been the lack of her stepmother's presence. Sitting up, she looked from side to side curiously.
"How did I get down here?" she wondered aloud.
As if to answer her, a door slammed down the hall. Jumping to her feet, she ran down the hall to find it. Her feet felt heavy and her breath short, but she pushed, her lungs burning, until she reached the room on the end.
The only door shut was the bathroom door. Running to it, she tried to open it. She pushed and pulled, but it was locked. And then, on the other side, she heard the sound of water running over the side.
"MOM!" She screamed. Suddenly her voice was that of a child's. She had the voice of a confused and scared nine-year-old girl. Banging against the door with her shoulder, she felt pain sear into her side and she collapsed into a heap. "No! No!" She tried to scream, but tears flooded over her lips. Her throat felt painfully dry. "Mom…" she heard herself whisper. "Don't leave me. Not again."
Sienna could only listen as the water ran all over the floor. Steam made its way out of the cracks in the door, making her feel warm and tired. Her tears felt like fire against her cold cheeks. Closing her eyes, she felt sleep claim her.
"Honey?"
Sienna's body felt weak, but she managed to open her eyes. Wherever she was, it was bright. Too bright. Putting up a hand to shield her face, she called out.
"We're here, honey," a soothing voice said. "You're going to be fine. Open your eyes."
Sienna felt the brightness die away and found her own blue eyes staring down at her.
Her mouth formed the word, "Mom?"
The angelic face smiled at her. "Yes, honey, it's me." Gentle hands brushed her hair back and away from her face. "How do you feel? Are you sick or weak anywhere?"
"I'm fine," she said. "What happened?"
"You just had a nightmare," she said. "It's all over now. You're safe now, Sienna. I'm here."
Sienna forced herself to breathe. "But…Mom…you're dead."
Confusion filled the woman's face. "What are you talking about?"
"I heard you die," Sienna whispered. "That night…in the bathtub…you…you drowned!"
"Don't be silly, Sienna," a third voice said. As he approached, Sienna's mother smiled in only the most affectionate way she could. She hadn't smiled like that in years. Not at Sienna, not at herself, and especially not to Sienna's father—but she did. As if he were still the love of her life, she welcomed his presence. Sienna felt herself moving away. She tried to back away from both of them. Her mind screamed that they were dead. This wasn't real. "What's gotten into you? You've always been this difficult to me, but never to your mother."
"Me?" Sienna whispered. "What about you? You went off and married some complete stranger! I love Lori and Paige, but you went from one psycho wife to another! It's like you didn't learn anything! Does unstable turn you on?"
"Sienna!" her mother scolded. "Don't talk so foul in front of your father! I raised you better than that!"
"Raised me?" Sienna said in disbelief. "You were too busy getting your pill fix, while Dad was off throwing himself into work to ignore us both!"
They both retracted. There forms seemed to phase in and out, making Sienna sick to her stomach. It was wrong and blurry. Hugging herself, she forced the tears away.
"Do you really believe that?" her father asked.
Sienna took a deep breath. "You left me alone, didn't you?"
She watched their faces. They went from confusion to disbelief to anger and then, to her surprise, to guilt. Her mother reached out, but as her hands got too close, Sienna flinched away. In shock, her mother held herself close, her father wrapping his arms around her. They both saw what they had ignored.
"I never realized," said her father.
Sienna spat, "No shit, Sherlock."
"Hey, fuck off Watson," her mother snapped.
Sienna sighed and buried her head in her hands. "Now I know I'm dreaming."
"Even if you are, we want you to know that…you deserve more then you have," her father said.
Sienna's head shot up.
"He's right." Her mother locked her hand in his. "Death makes things so much clearer. You may be absolutely plain, Sienna, but you deserve more. No one's had to suffer as much as you have."
Sienna shook her head. "I can take care of myself."
"That's it, yourself?" her mother shouted. "You have Lori and Paige and your future family to think about! Life is never satisfied with just yourself! You will never have anything handed to you, being as plain as you are, so you must take it!"
"Take it?" she repeated. "Doesn't that sound selfish to you?"
"The skinny bitches get away with it," she said. "Nobody will notice if one average girl takes her happily ever after. You're right about one thing: watch out for yourself. Never let anyone else take care of you. But always take care of everyone else, too."
Sienna shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense!"
Voices began to surround her. She saw their lips move, but no words came out. It was like someone had turned their stereo on and put it all the way up, the music blaring and the words too garbled to make out.
Covering her ears, Sienna began to run. She didn't care where, or how long, or how fast. She just wanted to get the hell away. Putting her head down, she ran like the devil himself was after her.
Hey, guys! :) Nobody took me up on the "count the shit" challenge! Not cool! :) So whats up? Everybody good? It's Saturday! WHOO! Any ideas for Halloween? I'm just rambling now. I'm with a friend (the Rage of Fire) and she's updating and it takes a while.
Love you guys!
~Jalissa Chase