"Betty? Betty! Wake up!" I hear Jerome say. I open my eyes with a gasp. Mitch and Jerome are on my bedside. Jerome is shaking my shoulder.
"What happened? Why are you guys up?" I ask. They have concerned expressions. Mitch's even has a little bit of fear.
"You were having a nightmare, Betty. You were screaming stuff like 'Leave me alone'. What happened?" He asks. I shiver as my dream flashes through my mind.
"Guys, if you want, you can send me back." I say sadly. They won't want me after I tell them about Kelly. Jerome looks confused.
"Why would we want to send you back?" He asks.
"Because I'm about to tell you what I've never told anyone else before." I begin. And then I tell the story.
"When I was nine, my parents both died in a car crash. They were going through a divorce, and they were arguing about who would get custody of me. But then they ran into another car and were killed instantly. I never stopped thinking that it was my fault, and at their funeral, I heard a whisper in the back of my mind saying 'You should have died with them.' As I grew older, the whisper grew louder, turning into what I call Kelly. She haunted my dreams at night, to the point where I was afraid to go to sleep.
"She's back, guys. And she's more powerful." I finish, tears streaming down my face. They know now. They obviously are going to send me back to the orphanage.
But instead of telling me to pack my things, Mitch and Jerome look at me and hug me tightly.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." Mitch says. I notice that he's crying too. Jerome is just silent and sad, like a lone wolf.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. It's mine. It's my fault that Mom and Dad died in the first place. I don't deserve amazing dads like you guys." I say, hugging them back.
Mitch looks at me.
"Betty, please never say anything like that again. You're the most amazing kid we've ever met. It's not your fault at all, you understand?" He says firmly. I nod shakily.
"Okay Mitch." I reply.
"Now if you can't sleep, don't try. Okay? I don't like the fact that you're not sleeping, of course, but I don't want this Kelly...creature bothering you. Okay?" Jerome says. I nod.
"Yes, Dad." I reply, using the foreign term. Jerome chuckles.
"Well, if you're alright now, we're gonna go back to bed. Okay?" He says. I nod and hug him really quickly.
"Okay. Sorry for waking you!" I said as he took Mitch's hand and led him back to their bedroom. Mitch blushed fiercely. I realized that with or without Kelly, I was happy here.
I grabbed my fake Betty and let myself fall into a dreamless sleep, smiling a little bit.
Well then. That happened. Actually, there's not much to be said about this chapter. It was pretty stupid. But hey, I've got some fun stuff planned!
MultiGlitter, Out!