Together Under Our Roof

The sun shined brightly, seeping through the cracks of the window, filling the small room in warmth.

Misty’s eyes fluttered open slightly, the light penetrating her eyes. She lay still, too tired to get up. Her eyes stayed closed, the lights too bright for her. Unwilling to get out of bed, she dug herself deeper into her bed.

Suddenly, a loud moan came from under her. Startled, her eyes went wide, her body stiffening. Slowly, so that she would not create another moan, she lifted her head, hitting her head slightly on Michael’s chin.

She was held in a tight embrace, Michael’s arms wrapped around her body as she lay on him. Her weight did not seem to mean anything to him as he slept peacefully. Although she wanted to push her body away from his, she could not seem to separate herself from him.

She stared at his face, taken aback by how peaceful he looked. She could hear his heart beating loudly, echoing through her body. She shivered as each beat matched his slow breathing, which brought her head up and down as his chest heaved rhythmically. Her breathing slowed to match his, his heat wrapping itself around her. She instinctively dug her head in deeper, too entranced by his embrace.

Michael stirred, feeling Misty’s sudden warmth deepen into him. His hold on her tightened, not willing to let her go. Slowly, he awoke, unaware that Misty was awake. Thinking that she was asleep, he looked down at her, watching her peaceful expression. She was very tiny, his arms wrapping around her like a large blanket. Her hair was not in braids, flowing out beautifully down her back.

Misty felt Michael shift, but could not open her eyes, too embarrassed to. She lay there stiff, unable to move. She heard his heart start to beat faster, one of his hands rising up to her face. She tried not to flinch as Michael brushed away a strand of her hair, her heart racing as she tried to stay calm.

Michael could not stop his hands from moving. His hands moved slowly, pushing her hair away from her face, stroking her cheeks before placing his hands back on her back.

Michael knew that it was time for her to wake up but he could not seem to wake her up. Reluctantly, he shook her lightly, urging her to wake up.

Slowly, Misty pretended to be waking up, opening her eyes. When her eyes met Michael’s she jumped up and pushed herself away from Michael. She immediately regretted the feeling of losing the comforting heat from Michael.

Michael sat upright, his face flushed when he realized that it was not normal for a girl to wake up in a man’s arms after knowing him a few days. He chuckled before looking at Misty’s blushing face. She looked beautiful even in the morning.

Then Michael realized why she was so beautiful. Misty did not have her glasses on and her hair was undone. He could not help but stare at her glowing face.

“So – sorry about that,” Misty stuttered, pulling her arms around her body. Michael looked away, covering a smile from Misty.

“Good morning,” he greeted, getting up from his spot on the bed.

“Morning,” Misty returned quietly.

“I think you should get ready for school,” Michael said to break the long silence.

“I almost forgot! I’m going to be late,” Misty gasped, pulling out her uniform from her closet. She ran out of the room, avoiding Michael as she passed him.

Michael followed her out, closing the door behind him. He went to the kitchen as Misty dashed to the bathroom.

When Misty came out of the bathroom, ready for school, Michael sat at the table, waiting for her with a box of cereal and milk before him. Hesitantly, Misty sat at the table, pulling the box towards her as Michael set a bowl before her. She poured out a large amount of cereal before passing it over to Michael.

They ate in silence.

“Thank you,” Misty blurted out suddenly. Michael looked up in surprise.

“Don’t even think of it,” Michael assured Misty.

“Michael?” Misty started.

“Yes Misty?” Michael urged politely and patiently. Misty fiddled with her fingers, unable to bring her question up. Michael sat patiently, waiting for her question silently.

“Um – how did you get in bed with me? I remember you were on the floor, not – under me,” Misty stuttered under embarrassment. Michael went pale and froze. Misty reluctantly looked up; waiting for his answer. Michael was reluctant to answer. He did not know if he should tell Misty about her nightmare. He was not sure he was supposed to see it.

“I am so sorry!” Michael exclaimed nervously. “You see, I woke up – I woke up because – um,” Michael stuttered. Misty sat waiting, urging Michael to continue. “I woke up because I kind of heard you – um – I kind of heard you screaming, so I tried to wake you up,” Michael continued cautiously, unsure if he should go on. He looked up to Misty’s eyes, which had widened in fear and her face had gone white.

Misty started to tremble, her body going numb.

“Misty?” Michael became worried. Misty had gone frighteningly still and she was not looking good. “Misty?” he tried again. Misty did not answer.

He got up from his seat slowly, moving around the table until he was sitting next to Misty, crouching on the floor looking up to her scared face. He lightly placed a hand on her trembling knee, concern washing over his every nerve.

“Misty, please,” Michael whispered, worried that her state was a connection to the reason for her traumatic nightmares. Misty shivered uncontrollably.

“Did – did I do anything?” Misty asked in a trembling voice. Michael felt relieved that she started to speak but was unsure if he should answer her.

“While you were screaming, you cried out and fought something,” Michael said carefully, watching Misty’s face as it changed to one of horror.

“I’m sorry,” Misty whispered. Michael saw that she had said it more to herself than to him. He stood up and pulled her close to him, a tear straying from her eyes as her head hit his stomach.

Michael said nothing. Instead, he stood with her close to him, stroking her hair as she silently wiped away her stray tears.

Michael crouched over and wiped away her tears with his thumbs, holding her head in his hands gently. Without a word, Michael stood back and smiled at her.

Misty looked at Michael as his presence got further away.

“I’ll be going to school now,” Misty said awkwardly after a moment of silence. Grabbing her bag and jacket, she rushed out of the door.

♀♂

At school, Misty was still not at any peace.

“We meet again.”

Misty had once again, gotten in the way of Claudia and was not in a very preferable position. Claudia had gotten a hold of Misty in the bathroom where Misty had accidentally sprayed Claudia with water as she was washing her hands.

Claudia was frowning, a look of disgust twisting her beautiful face as she looked down at the wet stain on her shirt. Misty coward away from Claudia, quickly apologizing multiple times, fear washing over her as she heard Claudia’s heels clicking on the tile floor.

The clicking echoed loudly through the bathroom stalls, matching Misty’s pounding heart as she grew weary of the girls behind Claudia glared at her with piercing eyes.

The girls surrounded Misty, cornering her against a wall.

“What do you plan to do about my shirt? How am I to go outside like this? It’s an embarrassment!” Claudia exclaim, shoving Misty’s shoulder angrily.

Misty was silent. She had ducked her head down and was staring at her feet.

“Fix it!” the girls had started to chant. Misty still did not move. This angered Claudia. She pointed an accusing finger at Misty’s chest and let out a low chuckle.

“I know how to make it less embarrassing,” Claudia taunted. With a haughty chuckle, Claudia lowered her finger from Misty’s chest. “Girls, I think Missy here needs a bath, don’t you think?”

All of the girls nodded in unison, wide grins forming on their faces. Misty grimaced and trembled as the girls moved closer, Claudia laughing loudly in the background.

Misty pushed the hands that went for her away, fighting the girls off as they closed in on her. Her fighting became useless as the hands became too much to handle and she was soon in the grasp of the group of hands.

The hands dragged her as she helplessly fought the unlucky girls who held her. Although she scratched, kicked and elbowed them, they did not let go. She screamed and shouted, hoping for someone to stop them but no one came for her.

They dragged her to one of the stalls, where one of the girls stood waiting.

“No, stop!” Misty screeched. Misty panicked, frantic to get away from the girl. Her kicking and screaming got more violent. The girls struggled to get her any closer to the stall but they slowly moved forward with Misty.

Claudia stood behind them, cackling loudly as she watching the girls grab bunches of Misty’s hair.

They yanked at her hair, causing her to yelp out at the pain. One of the girls grabbed a large clump of hair and pulled her head with a strong heave and dunked Misty’s head into the toilet. One of the other girls took a plunger and forced Misty’s face deeper into the water while another flushed the water.

All of the girls laughed and stood by to watch as Misty drowned in toilet water and gagged on her own hair.

Misty flailed her arms around, trying to look for air. The water clogged her mouth, blocking the air from her lungs. She could feel her mind going blank, her vision going blurry. She tried to reach for the hands that held her head down but her hands could not move. Misty tried to force her way out of the dark water but could not find the strength to do so.

Suddenly, Misty was able to lift her head. When she did, she breathed in fresh air and choked on water that blocked out the air.

The girls left laughing, leaving Misty at the toilet, sputtering out water and gasping for air. Tears mixed in with the dirty toilet water as she gagged on the water in her lungs. Misty tried to breathe but the water would not let her.

Misty called out for help but no one answered her call. Her voice came out coarse, water logged. No one could hear such a small voice.

Misty coughed hard, determined to get the water out of her lungs. Nothing came out. She coughed again, and again. Nothing came out and Misty was suffocating on the water. She was about to go blank and the darkness was starting to blanket her. Out of pure desperation, Misty continued to gag, almost punching her chest and stomach to get the water out.

For what seemed like hours, Misty crouched on the wet bathroom floor, forcing the water out of her lungs anyway she knew possible. She coughed, hacked, gagged, and punched. The water was still stopping her breathing and the darkness was starting to fog her eye sight.

In one last desperate attempt, Misty stuck a finger down her throat and forced herself to gag. Although none of the water came out from her gagging, she started to cough profusely and caused some of the water to come out.

One more time, Misty stuck her fingers in deep. Vomit came out along with the rest of the water. Misty fell to the floor, tired and sick. She wiped her mouth and rose to her feet reluctantly. Her head felt light and she staggered when she was finally on her feet.

When she finally caught her balance, Misty staggered out of the bathroom and trudged down the hallway out of the school. She felt too sick to be in school and she trudged all the way home.