The night started off like any other, quiet and peaceful. Every house on the block was silent, except mine. In my house there was screaming and yelling, and the sounds of glasses breaking. I was where I always am in these situations, Huddled under my blankets searching for that false sense of safety that they bring us. I pulled it over my head and laid there silent, hoping it would pass like any other fight. I closed my eyes and went to my happy place, the one good place in this world. The sounds of reality began to drown out and my head was filled with pictures of my happy place. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing softly, and I was sitting on the porch of a nice wooden cabin. I was happy for the moment, genuinely happy, sitting there watching the stream flow by peacefully. I looked up at the sky and it was fading, fast. I looked around and my happy place was leaving me behind, the feelings of anxiety and fear crept back into my body, and the sounds of the night seeped through.

My Blanket has failed me; the sounds that I had tried to escape were drifting through my blanket and filling my head with fear. The monsters under my bed were nothing compared to the monsters in my head. And the monster in the living room was walking to my room. My heart started to race as I heard his hand feeling up and down the wall looking for the light switch. The click of the light switch made me flinch. The fear I had in my head spread to every part of my body and I locked up, hoping it would go away. The feeling intensified as I heard his footsteps coming closer to me and my false safety net. His hand grabbed my arm and dragged me and my safety net off my bed. A shot of pain and adrenaline shot through me when my back slammed against the floor. He ripped the blanket off me and I was alone, no more safety false or not. I opened my eyes and looked straight into his soul, it was black and cold, there was no fear, no regret, and no sorrow. My body locked up as I watched him prepare the next blow. His fist came down on my ribs and crated a horrible cracking sound. The pain was intense at first but fizzled out to a burning sensation. The next blow came unexpectedly, hitting me in the face causing my nose to bleed. Before this pain could fizzle out his fist came down on it again. This pain was unbelievable, I could feel the blood drip down the side of my face and this painful aching feeling coursed through my entire skull.

I felt him stand up, and felt the floor vibrations as he walked out. I laid there waiting for the pain to die down but it refused. I rolled over onto my side and spit out the blood that had collected in my mouth. I slowly lifted myself onto my hands and knees. I got my arms fully extended and a sharp pain shot the through my ribs. I winced and picked myself off my floor, leaving my blanket behind. There is no use in huddling under it, it can’t help me. It can’t protect me from my monsters, and it can’t make my problems disappear. I hesitate but decide to pick it up anyway, because the one thing it can do is keep me comfortable. I wince and hold my ribs as I extend my arm to grab my blanket. I curl up under it on my bed and hold myself, because I am the only person that has my back.

The next morning I woke up and crept over to the door. I peered out and saw that my monster was nowhere to be found. I let out a sigh of relief. I walked to the dining room and sighed as I sat down in the chair at the table. I need to prepare myself for the day, but all my energy is gone. I muster up the ambition and walk to the bathroom. I slowly walk toward the mirror to see how bad the damage is. When I turn to face my fears, I see that I had a dark shiner. I grabbed the cover-up on the bathroom counter and covered every inch of the bruise, every inch of the memory of last night. I covered it all, covered it till I looked almost normal. It’s time to go through another day of faking, another day of pretending that every night isn’t a battle between me and my own personal monster.