Friend in Need

**This ah...... This is a weird story. Much weirder than the stuff I usually write. It makes sense in my head, and when I read it I know exactly what I’m saying, but I know that a lot of you are going to be pretty darn confused. Feel free to badger me with e-mails/reviews asking me what I’m talking about, I really don’t mind. Keep in mind that this story involves talk about child molestation, so if you’re really skiddish about that sort of thing then I suggest you don’t read. I hope you enjoy, and if you actually DO understand this then hurrah! Job well done.**


“Are you hiding from him again?”

“Yeah. He’s mad at me.”

I hugged my knees tight as I breathed in the smell of Daddy’s coats, looking at my toes as they wiggled in the darkness. I could hear yelling coming from downstairs, his words sounding sloppy as if his lips were too fat to speak.

“Did he hurt you?”

“......... Yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

I squirmed and played with the dirty shoes laying beside me, tugging on the laces until the bow came loose. “Yeah. It wasn’t as bad as last time.”

“Tell me what he did.”

“.......... He, touched me.....”

“Where?”

“.......Between....”

“Between your legs?”

I nodded.

I heard her growl and turned to look at her, the fur on her back standing up as she sat beside me. I shushed her quietly and ran a gentle hand over her fur, knowing he could never see or hear her but afraid still.

“It’s okay. I’m okay now.”

“But he’ll do it again. I don’t want him to do it again.”


I pulled the shoe laces free and tied them in a wide loop, playing cat’s cradle and leaning sadly against her warm side. “I know.”

We sat quietly for a few minutes, daddy’s yelling becoming quiet as I made X’s with my shoe lace loop.

“Chloe? Why does he do it?”

“Touch you?”

“.....Yeah.”

I felt her head turn and I looked up, her brown eyes looking big and sad. “He used to touch your mommy like that. He touches you because he misses her.”

A loud bang came from downstairs and I clutched her fur fearfully, the laces tangling against my fingers and making my knuckles hurt. When it became quiet I breathed, looking up at Chloe and seeing her ears relax on her head.

“Why? It hurts.”

She frowned as best as she could with a dog’s mouth, her whiskers twitching impatiently. “That’s what adult’s do to show that they love each other.”

“Oh. Should I let him do it then?”

She shook her head, her chest rumbling as she growled again. “He’s a bad man. He shouldn’t think of you like he thought of your mommy. It’s wrong.”

“Oh.”

We stayed quiet for a minute, and I wondered if daddy was tired from drinking his smelly drinks yet. I rested my head against my knees and closed my eyes, my throat burning as I felt Chloe rest her head on my back.

“Tonight is Halloween isn’t it?”

“........Yeah.”

“Were you going to be a princess, like you wanted?”

“No, a ghost.”

Her mouth didn’t smile but her soul did, making my chest hurt warmly as I smiled into my knees as well.

“A ghost? Why?”

“.......I wanted to be like you.”

She lifted her head off my back and I looked up at her brown face, her eyes sparkling as her nose twitched. I smiled at her happily and giggled when she licked my cheek, wrapping my arms around her fuzzy neck and wiping my tears away in her fur.

“I was sad, the day you died Chloe.”

“......I know.”

“And I’m sad, that you can’t sleep....... because you know he’s hurting me at night......”

“It isn’t your fault.”

“I know. And I’m happy you’re here.”

“.................”

“But I’m sorry too.”

“It’s okay.”

I smiled and let go of her, picking up the shoelace loop and untying the knots.

“So what’re you going to be next Halloween?” she asked, laying down on the floor of the closet with her fuzzy chin rested on my toes.

I heard a door slam downstairs and knew that daddy left for the night. But he’d be back. He always came back to see me before he went to bed.

“I don’t know..... an angel maybe. I always wanted to be an angel for Halloween.”

“You’d be pretty with wings.”

I smiled as I untangled the last knot, picking up the shoe and carefully lacing it through the empty holes. “Yeah.......”



**This story’s inspiration came from a lot of things. One is the song “Concrete Angel” By Martina McBride, a reoccurring dream of mine involving my dog who passed away last year, and Halloween of course! Please, I would worship and adore you if you gave me your interpretation of this; I really want to know just how weird this story is coming off. Thanks for reading! **