Elle lay deep in her bed, pulling the covers up to her neck, hugging her small frame. She lay still, paralyzed with fear, hoping for this awful night to be over. A sliver of moonlight crept through her window blinds illuminating her dark bedroom. Above her, Fall Out Boy posters covered the walls, a signature of another phase that she was going through. An array of stuffed animals smiled at her from on top of her dresser: teddy bears, monkeys, giraffes, and a whole zoo of colorful toys. These were years of birthday presents from her father. These stuffed animals which usually brought her comfort now just stared back at her with black, beady, dead eyes. It was a warm summer night, but the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped below freezing. The shadows on the walls danced mockingly, laughing at the fear in Elle’s eyes. 

She closed her eyes tight, trying to shut out her room and just disappear. All Elle ever wanted was to escape, and with her eyes shut and the voices outside muffled for a second, she had. She was sitting on the beach, her hands buried in the sand, the cool saltwater lapping at her feet. This was her favorite place in the whole world. Her eyes closed, she felt at peace as the warm sun high in the sky embraced her body. The sound of glass crashing against the hardwood floors outside her bedroom door erupted through the house and brought Elle out of her beautiful dream, and back to reality. Her eyes flew open and once again she was reminded of her immobilizing fear. The high pitched shrieks of terror rang in Elle’s ears. 

As if in a trance, Elle slowly peeled back her covers, and made her way out of her bed. She stood up and took a deliberate step forward, trying not to make any noise. As she made it to the door, she put her hand on the knob, wanting to pull it open and attack the monster that was outside. She looked back at her bed, the safe haven that she had just left. It was begging her to get back in and ignore all the unpleasantness that was happening outside. She didn’t listen. Carefully she turned the knob and cracked the door open an inch, letting the light from the kitchen into her room. On the floor, she saw scattered shards of glass, remnants from a vase that she had given her mother; she had made it herself. Pillows and other furniture were also strewn around the house in disarray, evidence of the ongoing struggle between the monster and its victim. She peered through the opening hoping to get a good look of the beast, suddenly feeling a burst of courage. Something within told her that she could fight the monster and this time she might finally be able to defeat it. 

At first, she couldn’t see it, and then there he was all at once, and the small amount of courage that she had possessed a second ago dissipated from her body. He had a large lumbering figure, his eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils looked like large puddles of darkness; his whole body was an orange-red color, and his veins created bulges coming out of his forehead and neck. He had finally shed his all too familiar skin. The same skin that told Elle every morning that he loved her. The same skin that bought Elle a new stuffed animal every year. Now he stood before Elle in a different skin, one that enjoyed terrorizing the frail woman trying to fend him off. As the monster sneered at his prey cowering in the corner, he showcased two rows of teeth covered with rot and decay. The smell of it almost caused Elle to gag. He raised his sharp claws, digging them into the tiny woman, whose frame resembled Elle’s, drawing blood. Elle gasped as the small droplets of blood trickled down her mother’s face and neck. The sound caused both her mother and father to look up at her standing in the doorway of her bedroom, tears rolling down her eyes.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Her father roared. Once again, Elle was paralyzed and could not move. 

“It’s okay sweetie, everything’s going to be okay. Just go back to bed.” Her mother said with a trembling voice, but she could not move as much as she wanted to.

“Are you fucking deaf?” Her father screeched, starting to make his way towards her with heavy footsteps. With that, Elle was broken out of her trance. She quickly flew into her room, slamming the door behind her, locking it with a click. Her heart was beating fast in her chest, her ears were ringing, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She made her way to her safe haven, once again pulling the covers up around her. Tears were streaming down her face, unable to stop as she tried to go to sleep. 

“Go to sleep Elle, just go to sleep, this is just a nightmare that you have to wake up from.” She knew everything would again be okay by tomorrow morning. Everything was always okay in the morning.

 Elle was pleasantly woken up by the sunlight pouring in through her window. It was morning, meaning she had been able to finally fall asleep. She got out of bed, her face still heavy from the dried tears from the night before. Quickly she got ready for school and made her way to the kitchen. The broken vase had been cleaned up, and the furniture was lined up perfectly like something out of a home catalog. Her dad was sitting at the breakfast table, newspaper in hand. Her mom was at the stove, making eggs for breakfast. As Elle came into the room, her dad looked up from the paper, smiling at Elle. “Good morning, darling. How did you sleep?” “I slept great, daddy,” she said as she went to kiss him on the cheek. Elle looked to her mother, searching her face for signs of the violence that had happened the night before. However, there was nothing to be found. It was as if she had taken an eraser and erased the bruises and scratches that had covered her face the night before. Her mother gave her a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Eat your breakfast quickly or you’re going to be late for school,” she said. The hiss of the approaching school bus caused Elle to promptly grab her bag and head for the front door. 

“Have a great day Elle. I love you,” said the monster from behind his newspaper.

“Love you too daddy.”