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End of The World

The night my life was almost over...

By Ashleigh RileyPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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Photo by samer daboul from Pexels

Trembling, I hid under a paper-thin blanket trying hard not to emit a single decibel of sound...trying hard not to move a muscle. If they knew I was here, my life would be over. Would I make it? Would they let me live? Or would they end my life as I knew it? I sure could use Harry Potter's invisibility cloak right now...then there'd be no chance they'd find me...

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and counted silently to five. 1...2...3...4...5...

As I continued to sit in wait, my life up to this point played in my mind like a montage of all my most important life's events. I remembered the time that Gianna and I went to Six Flags and won that karaoke contest...and that time that Elena and I took the 90's version of glamour shots at the mall and how everyone was so jealous of them...If they find me, I would never have another moment like this...

How can THIS be it? THIS is all I get?!

I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. One foot...another...followed by a second set... They're coming closer. A bead of sweat rolled down my neck. It's so hot under this blanket breathing in the same air I just exhaled. My leg started to cramp, but I couldn't dare move now, they were too close.

If I just sit still enough, they can't possibly find me...

I hear hushed whispers in the hall. I can't make out the words, but the tone is ominous. What can they possibly be saying? And why are they even whispering? They definitely know I'm here. I squeeze my eyes shut tighter and hold my breath, waiting.

I held my breath until my lungs were about to burst.

I inhaled and anticipated the blanket to be snatched from my body any second, but instead, I heard the door of the next room open, then close. What was happening? I heard a loud sigh, and shuffling down the stairs. Were they actually leaving? Was I going to survive this?!

I didn't move a muscle for twenty more minutes.

Just as I was about to release myself from the blanket cocoon, I hear footsteps come back up the stairs. This time, just one set. I cautiously wondered where the owner of the other set went...why hadn't they come back with their partner...one step, two step, three step...

I hear the creaking of my bedroom door opening...

The footsteps get louder, one-by-one as they inch closer and closer to me. This is it. I'm done for. Goodbye, cruel world... The blanket is ripped from my trembling body as I maintain a fetal position on my bed with my eyes closed so tight I'm seeing stars under my eyelids. As I await my inescapable doom, I hear only silence. I'm too scared to open an eye, so I try my best to keep imitating a statue.

Finally, after what felt like eons, the silence is broken...

'You are SO dramatic...' my Mom says as she stands over me, hands on her hips, shaking her head. I open my eyes and slowly meet her gaze, cautiously releasing the tension from my limbs as anger then begins to bubble under my skin.

'But MOOOOOM, I CAN'T BE GROUNDED!' I scream at the top of my lungs...'MY LIFE IS OVER! I'M GOING TO MISS KILEY'S PARTYYYY'- the 'y' of party ending with a whiny 'ugh' sound.

My Mom reminded me that perhaps I shouldn't have talked back to her earlier in the day, and left me alone in my room to stew. Before she shut the door, though, she whispered 'It's not the end of the world. Dinner's in fifteen minutes- your dad is making meatloaf.'

What does SHE know?

I sat in my room alone that Saturday, while all my friends went to Kiley's birthday party. I felt empty. I felt lonely. I felt sad. I felt...annoyed??...Why is everyone being so loud in this house right now?! I stomped angrily downstairs to suss out the source of this utter inconvenience to my life, only to find my brother and parents playing the Nintendo Wii and loudly belly laughing.

How can they be SO happy when I'm SO miserable?!

I slumped with annoyance into the room and loudly plopped myself on the couch, far away from everyone else as I crossed my arms. My Mom asked if I wanted to join and I rolled my eyes and shifted my body so I was angled away from her.

Play games with my parents? Seriously?

They played, and played, and laughed, and laughed as if I wasn't even in the room. I just watched the ridiculousness of my brother and Dad trying to out-weird each other with their air-bowling delivery. Eventually, I found that the corners of my mouth were pulling upwards as I watched and listened. At one point, I may have even accidently let a whole smile out. I don't think anyone saw it, though...

Come on, Sis! Play with us!

Okay...fine...I'd play one round to make them happy. I reluctantly grabbed the controller and the rest of the night was history. After the games, we cooked dinner together, then ended the night with a bonfire where we talked about anything and everything in between. It was somewhere around the conversation about prehistoric mammal fossils found in South America that I realized that maybe, just maybe being grounded wasn't so bad. And that spending time with my family instead of friends all the time MIGHT not be the end of the WHOLE world.

I never talked back to my Mom again after that night. And I learned to keep my dramatics at a low simmer, rather than a full on cauldron boil...And I swear I only let out a SMALL, TEENY-WEENY smile when I found out that Kiley's party was a total snore-fest. :)

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About the Creator

Ashleigh Riley

Mother of 2-Writer-Crafter-Dreamer-TV binger-Movie lover-Space nerd-dinosaur connoisseur

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