Always in My Heart

Pale morning light filtered through the boarded windows, as the young girl watched her father slip through the door out of their small apartment. Her mother quickly pushed the dresser before the door again. Keeping out anything that would harm them.

“How long will he be gone this time?”

Although the question was barely more than a whisper, the girl still cringed at how loud it seemed in the ominous quiet of the building. Her mother glanced toward her as she stood listening intently at the door. After a moment, her mother backed away from the door, coming to stand beside her.

“Two days at most, Eve,” she murmured to her, placing a hand on her daughter’s unruly hair. “Should we have breakfast?”

She watched as her mother plastered a warm smile on her face that didn’t reach her eyes. Eve knew her mother was worried but doing her best to hide it. Ash brown hair bounced in front of her eyes as she nodded her head in response to her mother’s question. A genuine smile was flashed in Eve’s direction, before her mother headed into the kitchen.

Eve silently crept over to the balcony door on the other side of the living room. The glass of the sliding doors had been covered with boards, blocking most of the light from coming in. But through the gaps between the boards, she could see what lay outside her small world. Through the small gap, she could see the vibrant greens of the tree leaves being softly rustled by a passing breeze. The top edge of a rusty rail that was slowly being covered by creeping vines lined the bottom of what she could see, and beyond that she could just make out an abandoned car in the street below. Beside the car she could just make out something moving on the ground.

Curious, she pressed her face closer to the boards. Squinting her eyes, she could just make out a humanoid figure crouched near it. It seemed to be looking under the car. Thin arms braced its slim body on the ground as it craned its neck to peer beneath the car, before it bolted into a crouched position. Shaggy brown hair covered its features, as it twisted its head slowly from side to side. Eve held in a gasp as it snapped its head in her direction, its face no longer hidden. She could make out dark veins’ stark against its pale skin and dark stained lips, parting over jagged teeth. But its eyes were what held her riveted to the window. Its eyes seemed to glow in the shade by the car, as the sun rose higher over the horizon.

“Eve,” her mother called softly from the kitchen, making her jolt from the window.

Casting one last look at the gap, Eve pushed away from the sliding door and scurried into the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, she saw that her mother stood before the table holding a can of fruit. Her mother’s chestnut brown hair was swept up out of her face in a messy bun, allowing Eve to see as her mother worried at her bottom lip. Dark circles swept beneath what had once been eyes once so full of life and joy, but now held this deep exhaustion that never left no matter how much she slept.

“I’m afraid we don’t have many choices for breakfast today,” her mother sighed as she held up the can gripped in her slim fingers. “We’ve got peaches, green beans, and beets. Which would you like?”

Eve grimaced at the mention of beets. “Peaches.”

A smirk graced her mother’s face, as she slid the can down the table towards her daughter along with the can opener. “Good choice,” she chuckled, dragging a different can towards herself.

They both passed the rest of the day in companionable silence, finding separate activities to try and distract themselves from worrying about her father. And as night drew closer, they both gathered into the room they all slept in. Eve curled in close beside her mother, worry hanging over them both as she settled in for the night. Her mother leaned back against the wall, a sigh slipping past her lips as she started running her fingers through Eve’s hair. Eve glanced up through heavy lids towards her mother, silently watching as her mother grasped the heart shaped locker around her neck. The gold of the locket glinted in the last of the dying sunlight, as her eyes grew too heavy to hold open any longer.

A thud resounds through the apartment, dragging Eve out of her sleep. Sitting up from where she’d fallen asleep, Eve rubs her eyes as she glances around the still dark room. Nothing appears out of the ordinary as she looks over at her mother’s sleeping form on the ground beside her. Eve huffs softly as she moves to lay down again just as another thud comes from the living room. Sliding out from under her blankets, Eve silently creeps out of the bedroom and into the stifling dark of the hallway. Keeping her steps as silent as she can, Eve moves through the apartment towards the source of the noise.

As she enters the living room, she can make out the shape of the dresser positioned before the front door. She holds her breath as a thump comes from the other side of the door causing the dresser to shake before it. Uncertainty grips her as she stands in the doorway of the living room. She should get her mother, but what if its her dad and he needs help. A low moan reaches her ears from the other side of the door, snapping her out of her mental tug of war and spurring her into motion. In a few quick steps, she reaches the dresser and scurries on top of it.

Taking a deep breath, Eve reaches a trembling hand forward and grips the edge of the tape covering the peep hole. The tape comes away loudly in the silence, making her heart race and her stomach perform somersaults as she braces herself with her other hand against the door. Leaning forward, she peers into the small hole in the door.

At first, she couldn’t see anything through the peep hole but slowly whatever is covering the other side moves away. And she is finally able to distinguish that what had been blocking her view had been someone’s dark hair. The person appears to take an unsteady step back and she can see who it is. It’s her father. A sob threatens to escape her throat as she takes in his appearance. His skin has taken on a sickly pallor and blackish veins can be seen creeping out from a vicious bite on the right side of his neck. Deep gouges ripped into the sides of his face, ravaged her father’s once handsome face. Gray eyes once full of humor and warmth, no longer held anything in them other than predatory hunger.

A snarl leaves her father’s lips as he slams a fist against the other side of the door, and a startled yelp escapes her lips before she can clamp her hands against her mouth. Eve hears a predatory growl, a sound no human should be able to make from the other side of the door before a heavy blow from the door jars her from her perch atop the dresser. The blow sends her careening down to the floor, throwing her arms out before her to catch herself as the dresser rocks behind her. She lands with a thud, her wrists protesting in pain, as her mother rushes out from the bedroom.

“Eve!” her mother cries out, kneeling beside her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. But dad—,” Eve’s breathe hitches, as a sob wrenches from her mouth.

Her mother’s eyes harden as she grabs Eve’s shoulders. “Shhh. I know it’s hard, but you must get up. We have to leave now.”

The dresser shudders as another blow ricochets off the door. Eve nods as rises to her feet, her eyes straying towards the door as tears roll down her cheeks. Her mother casts a look towards the door as well, before gripping her hand and leading her towards the balcony door. Releasing her hand, she rushes away from Eve towards a corner of the room where three backpacks sit. Grabbing two of them, she hurries back towards her daughter, and hands one of them to Eve before stooping to wrench out the rod holding the balcony door shut. Her mother grasps the edge of the sliding door and pulls, slowly prying open the door.

With the door open her mother shoves her feet into her shoes beside the door. Eve jams her feet into her worn tennis shoes as well, where her parents had always insisted that she keep them incase of emergencies. Hurrying out the door after her mother, Eve puts her arms through the straps as the cool night air hits. How she wished she could just revel in the feel of the air against her heated skin.

“Eve, help me with this,” her mother groaned, as she tugged at the door.

Rushing to her mother’s side, Eve grasped the door with both her hands and yanked with all her might. The door groaned as they both pulled with all they had. It was nearly shut as the dresser before the front door fell with a thunderous crash. Her mother gave one last mighty yank on the door, sealing it shut as what had once been her father barreled through the front door. A thud reverberated through the sliding door as her mother reached up and unclasped the locket from around her neck.

“I want you to remember your father always loved you,” her mother said, grabbing Eve’s hand and placing the locket onto her palm. “Now when you get down onto the ground, I want you to run, and don’t you dare look back. Do you understand me?” Eve opened her mouth in protest, but her mother shushed her. “Don’t you dare argue with me right now. Just do as I told you.”

Eve nodded her head in confirmation as silent tears rolled down her face and the sound of boards splintering behind them filled the air.

Her mother’s hand brushed against her check as she whispered, “You look so much like him. I love you so much. Now go.”

Her mother pushed her off towards the rail, as she turned the door behind them. Eve hurriedly clambered over the railing, the metal rough against her fingers. She gripped the metal tightly as she lowered herself over the edge. With her feet dangling a couple feet above the ground, she cast one last look at her mother to see her holding a gun she had retrieved from her backpack before dropping to the ground below. She landed in a crouch on her feet before rushing to do as her mother had told her.

Eve ran as fast as she could, tears streaming down her face, as a gunshot went off behind her.

***

Eve jolted awake to see her companions talking quietly amongst themselves around a slowly dying fire, no one none the wiser to her to slowly fading distress. Gripping the heart shaped locket around her neck, she let out a heavy sigh, letting go of the last remnants of the memory that had infiltrated her dreams. It had been five years since then, and she had fought tooth and nail to survive.

A branch snapping nearby had everyone going on alert. Eve grabbed the gun from beside her, before pulling herself up into a standing position, gun at the ready.

“Get ready,” Eve commanded, as low growl came through the trees from their left.