Shadows of my past

The rain poured outside, drenching me to the bones, the wind was so harsh on my skin as I ran . I didn’t dare look back. My legs burned I didn’t stop, not knowing what the future held for me or where I was going to . But one thing for sure I knew I had escaped .

I wandered in the woods for a while, the wet ground soft beneath my feet. I found a large tree and decided to rest curling up against it trunk. Eventually exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep. Waking up few hours later, to voices from far distance

“I think that’s her” one of the voice echoes fear surged through me as my heart skipped countless amount of times, I can’t be caught. I ran again this time.. faster than before until their voice faded and I couldn’t hear them anymore.

Had I really done that?

I didn’t want to think about it.

I remembered vividly well how way the air felt the night everything changed. Thick, heavy, filled with secrets.

My father passed away when I was six. A tragic accident they said and my mum remarried a year later.

“A woman can’t be lonely Chloe, you will always need a companion” my mum’s voice echoed in my head . Her husband my step father, Mr John has been nothing but a blessing to my mum. She never saw him the way I did. The way his eyes lingered for too long and his presence made my skin crawl.

I support my mother’s happiness Infact I love seeing her glow and beam with joy anytime John is around. At first, I thought I was imagining everything, I mean the strange glances, his eyes following me around and the way he stood at the door way watching my every move. I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something was off . But I kept my distance , not knowing what to make of it.

One evening, I was walking past the living room when I noticed John’s wallet lying carelessly on the couch. My curiosity got the better of me. Without thinking, I picked it up. Flipping it open, I saw his ID. His name didn’t match the one he’d been using all along it was different. His last name was the same as ours, but the first name was unfamiliar.

I froze

I had to know more

I spent hours in front of my computer, my mind racing. I searched for him, for the name on the ID, and eventually, I found pictures. Pictures of my late father and John together. They were smiling in old family photos, but there was something wrong in their eyes.

It hit me like a cold wave. John wasn’t just a stranger. He wasn’t just some man my mother had fallen in love with. He was family.

John was my father’s brother the brother no one ever knew about. The brother who had been hidden away for years in a mental hospital . He looked so different now. I couldn’t even recognize him he had brown hair, blue eyes and had his face done. Unlike the pictures he had blonde hair and green eyes.

I dug deeper. John had been in rehab for eight long years. The fear it was all true. He wasn’t just sick; he was dangerous. And now, he was free.

I tried to tell my mother, to warn her, but she brushed it off. She waved me away, her eyes clouded with the blind love she had for him. “Chloe, you’re just being paranoid John can’t be family the pictures you showed me are two different people my mum said.

But I knew better. I could see the madness in his eyes, the same insanity that ran through his veins.

TO BE CONTINUED.