Aline was staring blankly at the ceiling, hoping it would collapse on her. She heard the man stomping up the stairs yelling and swearing. “ALINE!” he shouted. She braced herself for what was about to come. The man unlocked the door and flung it open with a bang, leaving a loud ringing noise in her ears. He snatched her from the small bed in the corner of the room and shoved her down the stairs. Aline was used to this type of treatment. Everytime he got drunk or put himself in a bad mood, he would rip her from her room, or as she calls “cell”, and send her off to do some meaningless and cruel task in the house. Doing dishes with a toothbrush or cleaning floors with a sponge, he found it amusing. He enjoyed taunting her. The only thing that kept her sane was the thought of her baby brother Ross. She dreamed of seeing him again. Aline remembered the last time she saw his lovely face. She was chasing him around a huge meadow in a nearby park, a park they went to often. They played for hours until he fell asleep in the grass. As she admired him, she went over to pick him up and everything went black. The next thing she knew, she was here.
Aline was pulled out of her trance when he banged his coffee mug down. Aline looked around and noticed she standing in a dingy office. She looked at the man confused on why she was here; he had never let her in here before. He looked amused. “Wonder why you’re here?” he said with a smile. Aline just gave him a slight nod, choosing to ignore that immidating smile sweaped across his face. “Well,” he continued, “I’ve grown tired of you. This same old routine has started to bore me. So, I’ve decided to rid of you.” Aline didn’t exactly know how to take that, but her insides were flipping. Free she thought. Free of this horrible place. Free of that horrid man. Ross flashed before her eyes and a small smile touched the side of her lips. The man saw her smile and let out a laugh. “Oh no, you don’t t think I’m going to let you just leave? No, you could turn me in, tell someone. To many risks. I have plans for you, don’t you worry.” And with that, he took her by the arm and brought her back upstairs to her bleak little room. When the door clicked shut, Aline fell to her knees and buried her head in her hands. She could feel the wetness from her eyes dripping down her cheeks. Nothing felt real. Time stood still.
Many hours had dragged by until Aline lifted herself from the floor and headed to the small brown bathroom attached to her room. She turned the silver knob on the sink and rinsed her face off with cold water. Aline looked at herself in the mirror. Not just a glance, but really looked at herself. Her red cheeks stood out against her ghostly pale face; her eyes were swollen and puffy from crying; the bags under her eyes were prominent from the lack of sleep. “No. I. Don’t. Want. To. Die. Here.” In that moment, her decision was made. Aline smashed her fist into the mirror and shards of glass went flying everywhere. Aline could here the man sprinting up the stairs, yelling. She grabbed the biggest shard of glass she could and hid behind the bedroom door. Moments later he barged in. “ALINE! WHAT THE HELL!” he shouted. He glanced around the room, not seeing her, headed for the bathroom. This was her chance, and she took it.
Bolting from the room, Aline flung herself down the stairs. She could hear the screaming in a fury, chasing after her. Aline nearly made it to the front door when a hand caught the back of her shirt. Aline let out a screech as he flung her on the ground, her head bouncing off the wood floor with a thud. Aline’s head was spinning. When the wave of dizziness passed, she looked up to see the man holding a silver object in his hand. A knife. The man started for her as she tried to crawl away but it was nose use. He grabbed her the the collar of her shirt and held the knife to her throat. “Did you think that little stunt was actually going to work.” He growled through his teeth. The anger in eyes was overwhelming. “I’ve got plans for you dear, oh I’ve got-” but her never finished his sentence. At that moment, Aline struck the glass shard in his throat. He yelped in pain and stumbled over, blood gushing from his neck. Aline watched him, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from this horrific sight. The man stumbled to his knees, still gripping at his neck, hoping to stop the bleeding. Aline continued to stare at him, until he took his last breathe and fell to the floor; then she ran. She flew out of that house and ran as if no one could stop her. She was covered in blood and her legs rippled with pain but she didn’t care. Aline rammed through people, breathing in the fresh air. Memories flooded through her mind. Her mother holding her, her friends in the schoolyard, her baby brother Ross. Ross. Aline could feel the memory of him reaching out to her, consuming her. The world around her started spiral. Aline couldn’t catch her breathe, her heart raced and skipped. The next thing she knew, everything went black.