Chapter Text
*Welcome to your 'Personal Lock Down'...*
*Edited July 11, 2017*
*9 Years Ago...*
*Narrator Pov.*
Colors...
Colors decorated all over the what used to be plain, white paper. From blue, to black, to pink, to green, to orange... All the colors that were in (Name)'s little coloring box were their own little place on her paper, as if she wanted each and every color to have a spot of their own.
Eight year old (Name) sat on the ground coloring as her 17 year old babysitter sat on the couch, reading a book. (Name) was a very curious girl at the time so she would always peek over the older one's shoulder and try her best to read along, but though she could never seem to read the big words like; Traumatized or physically.
(Name) always had a problem with reading because she didn't go to school. When she did she was expelled within the first month. She hated that there was a person always watching her every move and making sure she was good. It didn't matter how many people were set to show her how to properly act, she couldn't seem to get the concept down. Even for an eight year old girl, she was pretty intimidating. She was never good at working with others, especially with those who gave her attitude. She always ended up in fights and because of her bad behavior streak, the blame was always placed onto her.
Finally, after what seemed to be the 6th school, (Name) was put in online schooling. Although that never really helped either. She needed to be physically shown how to do things. She couldn't do them online and no one was usually around to take her in for tutoring. All that anyone ever told her was that if she actually payed attention, she would figure it out. The only problem was that her parents always seemed to be busy and the sitter never gave a damn about the online learning and thought that (Name) should get out into the world and learn from real life experiences. (Name) was never used to affection or positive attention. No one was ever really there to listen to her when she had a problem or give her the emotional support she needed.
(Name)'s babysitter, Anna, looked over at the clock, noticing it was already passed nine at night.
"Hmmm." (Name) looked at her as she stood up and stretched. "Your parents should already be here. They're over an hour late!" She complained as she set her book down and walked to the kitchen. This worried (Name) a bit. Her parents were hard workers and never have they ever been late. They're always picky about time. Heck, she even remembers when they would scold her and dress her in the car so they wouldn't be late for a family gathering or birthday party.
Anna came back in the room with a soda in her hand. She took a sip of the liquid as she took a seat back on the living room couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table. A grin made its way to (Name)'s face as she quickly stood up and raced over to her watcher, leaving her art in the past. (Name) jumped on the couch and got into a good enough position where she could prop her feet up on the table herself and placed her hands on her stomach, making Anna laugh.
"That a girl!" Anna and (Name) fist bumped each other before Anna turned on a movie. Anna was the closest thing (Name) had to a role model, even if they weren't that close. They just pranked some neighbors and had a few laughs but they never really got too far in each other's lives. Anna had become a sister in (Name)'s eyes, someone (Name) could be like and be proud to be like. Half way into the movie, the house phone went off and Anna sighed intently before pausing the movie and getting up to grab it.
(Name) could hear mumbling from the other side of the phone but she could hear Anna fine.
"Hello...?"
"What...?"
"You must be mistaken-..."
"Yes, this is the (Last Name) household..." (Name)'s curiosity peeked at the mention of her last name.
"Oh dear lord, please be wrong...." Could it be that someone is trying to sell something to them again? Or is it that mother had another client trying to sue?
"No...." (Name) sighed softly as she stretched out her legs before standing up, heading over to where she had left her drawing, listening to Anna as she mindlessly began to doodle on a fresh piece of paper.
"D-Do you have their Identification cards?"
"This can't be happening...."
"Yes, they have a daughter, I'm the baby sitter...."
"The only family that I know she has left is her Uncle Tom...." Hmmm? An Uncle Tom?
It wasn't often, but (Name) had heard of her parents speaking of a Tom every now and then, whether it was by complaint or dealing with mail, but she hadn't ever met the man himself. It only made her feel more puzzled to know that Anna knew who the man was.
Was he someone who was giving her parents trouble and somehow Anna got involved? Is this a dangerous man trying to hurt my family?
"Okay...."
"When are you coming....?"
"Okay...."
"No...."
"I-I can tell her...."
"Thank you...."
"See you soon."
(Name) sat quietly, looking off to the side and waiting for Anna to come back to the living room. She heard the phone being hung up, but not a sound after that. It was strangely quiet and that made the eight year old feel uneasy. Eventually, (Name)'s nerves got the better of her and she calmly stood up. Her gaze was set on the kitchen path way, the shadow of her sitter perfectly outlined.
She took one step at a time, being careful not to make a sound. It was like if she made a simple mistake, something bad would happen. (Name) wasn't sure what that meant but she was too worried at the moment to wonder. Maybe something bad already happened?
Peering around the corner, (Name) found Anna leaning against the counter with her face in her hands. Her legs were barely shaking as she tried to stay standing. The phone in which she was talking into was placed face down on the counter away from Anna, almost as if she slid it away from her.
This was the first time (Name) had ever seen someone like this. She was raised in a house with two strong parents who fought for their work and anything else. Weakness wasn't something that was common in this household. Fearing that whoever was on the other line had upset Anna, (Name) took a step into the kitchen, calling out to her baby sitter.
"Anna?" It was a clear yet gentle call but it still made the older girl jump and spin around. (Name)'s eyes widened a little at the sudden movement which didn't go unseen by her sitter.
"(Name), I thought you were still in the living room. I'm sorry, you startled me." With a small chuckle Anna smoothed back her hair, giving the child a small smile.
"Who was that on the phone? What did they say to you?" (Name) approached Anna calmly and took her hands into her own. "You can tell me. I'll protect you." Anna gave a wry smile before crouching down to the child's height, holding her hands between them tightly.
"You are such a strong girl, (Name)." A tear ran down Anna's cheek and fell onto their hands, the sensation warm and somewhat comforting. "Which is why I need you to be strong right now. Can you do that for me?"
With a small nod, (Name) asked innocently; "Do I need to beat someone up?" An airy laugh escaped Anna's throat as she shook her head lightly. "Then what do I need to be strong for?" A small part of the girl felt relief when she was told that she didn't have to get into anything physical but the tension in not knowing why she needed to be strong made her feel uneasy.
"You need to be able to fight for your right to live, your right to be happy. You have to keep that powerful determination that you have glowing right here." Anna poked (Name)'s chest, right where her heart would be. The child looked down at the finger that firmly yet kindly poked her ribs, tilting her head. She understood what Anna meant but all she could think of in response to that was that it was all futile.
What was she supposed to be determined to do? Did Anna mean the determination to fail and disappoint? Mentally she didn't think too high of herself. All (Name) could do was stare at the woman's hands as she felt her heart weigh heavily in her chest. Eventually, realizing that (Name) wasn't going to respond, Anna continued.
"(Name), we all have our own weaknesses, we have our own strengths, and unfortunately, all of us are bound to misunderstand as well as be misunderstood." Hearing these words, the child picked up her head, looking into Anna's eyes in awe, making the woman smile sadly. "At the end of the day, we're looking for something to hold onto, a reason to keep living, to keep fighting, and you need to find that one thing that will make you smile like no other, cry like no other, and feel like no other. You have to be strong enough to want to live and fight for that reason." After taking in the new information, the child nodded obediently.
"Where do I find it?" A small laugh leaked from Anna's lips as the girl asked seriously.
"More than likely, it will find you. You just have to keep an open mind and remember that everyone is just like you, they have a story to tell." Nodding in acknowledgement, the girl asked one more question.
"What story will I tell?" Suddenly Anna's face fell, sorrow overcoming her expression and before she new it, she was holding (Name) tightly. Her thin but strong arms were wrapped around the child's tiny frame in a matter of seconds, pulling her closely to her chest as she cradled her head in her right palm. (Name) couldn't process in her mind quick enough what was going on, all she knew was that she was being held while her sitter trembled lightly.
Then Anna spoke with a shaky breath; "You'll tell the story of the girl who lost everything."