Truth of Dark Pasts by Serena Wood (free children's online books .TXT) 📖

I wake up to the familiar sensation of Chloe nibbling on my neck. I crack my eyes open, dreading the morning routine just like every morning before. “Happy birthday, baby.” she smiles as soon as I open my eyes fully and look over at her. “B-birthday?” had we really been here that long? Have we seriously spent almost the whole summer trapped in this house like this?

“Yes, today’s the 24th of July. How could you forget your own birthday, silly?” how could anyone remember anything like that when they spend their days being raped and held captive in an abandoned house?

“I don’t know, I guess I just lost track of time.” I plaster on that fake smile like every day before and it seems to keep her happy. “Well, now that you know it is your birthday, I had a few things planned for today. I already made you your favorite breakfast and you get to eat in bed today. How’s that sound?” She gives me that expecting look, the one that always says to play along or else.

“That sounds great.” her smile somehow manages to widen at my words and she gets up, hurrying to get the food after giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. At least on my birthday I get to skip the morning 'sex'. Most other people would love to have it the other way around but the idea of sex has honestly become a dreaded task, much like you would expect it to be when it’s forced. If I ever get out of this mess alive, I doubt sex will ever be the same. Unless it’s with Ellie. If we somehow manage to heal after this hell we’re being dragged through.

Chloe comes back with a tray of food in hand. The plate containing scrambled eggs with cheese and ham in it and two slices of bacon on the side. It’s creepy how she knows exactly what I would want for a birthday breakfast, down to how much orange juice I need in my cup. If it were Ellie, I probably wouldn’t find it concerning at all. But since it’s Chloe, it only worries me because I never told her such details and unlike Ellie, she hasn’t been in my life long enough to know things like that. But somehow she does.

“Here you go, one delicious breakfast at your service.” She sets the tray of food in my lap and I start eating as soon as I can, knowing it would seem weird to her if I didn’t eat like the River she knows would eat. She sits at my side and waits patiently for me to finish my meal. I find myself eating slower than I usually do, too lost in thought to stay in character. All I can think about is what my birthday means.

“Is everything okay, River? Did I overcook something?” that dreadfully sweet voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I snap back into character.

“No, it’s amazing. I was just… thinking.” I hadn’t meant to voice that last sentence, but I’ve become accustomed to saying what’s on my mind or deal with her jealous thoughts. I just have to approach everything carefully.

“About what, sweetie? It’s your birthday, aren’t you in a good mood?” I find myself nodding as soon as she asks, making sure to keep in character.

“It’s just… Ellie’s birthday is four days after mine.” I voice my thoughts quietly, hoping it doesn’t upset her to hear about the one person she doesn’t even consider a person anymore.

“Oh, of course. I can get her a small cake I suppose when the time comes, maybe some kind of dog toy.”

“You mean you actually want to celebrate her birthday?” I stop eating to look up at her with surprise. It feels like a trap.

“If it makes you happy, baby. Consider it a late birthday present. But today we’re going to focus on you, okay? We’ll do whatever you want.” I know without her having to say it that ‘whatever I want’ has strict limits to it, I still won’t be going outside anytime soon. But I don’t care, as long as she’s being nice to Ellie too.

“Okay.” I smile back at her, forcing myself to kiss her cheek. I’ll stay in character even more today if it means I’m getting Ellie quite literally out of the dog house. She accepts the kiss with surprise, her smile widening again.

“Finish your breakfast, birthday girl. I’ll be back in a little bit.” she pats my knee and leaves as quickly as the words are spoken. I eat my meal cautiously after that, listening for some sign of her somewhere else in the house. More specifically, I listen in worry to make sure she’s not in the basement. But to my relief, I can hear her rummaging around in the closet at the end of the hall. So I finish my meal in peace, content that she’s not out to get Ellie today.

A few minutes after I’m done, she comes back with my clothes for the day bundled up in her hands. I get up and set the tray on the dresser at the end of the bed before turning to her and waiting for her to lead the way to the bathroom like she does every morning. She stops at the door and lets me walk in alone, something she hasn’t done before.

“You can take a shower by yourself this morning, can’t you? I have a small birthday idea that I need to get ready for you.” I agree to that a little too quickly for her liking and I can only hope it doesn’t upset her. She hands me my clothes and walks away with that smile thankfully still in place. I shut the door and take a shower on my own for the first time in months.

A nock hits the door lightly as I get out. “Are you almost done?” Chloe’s voice rings out on the other side as I towel myself off. “Yeah, just let me get dressed.” I make sure to keep my voice extra cheery and it seems to do good, she goes silent after that.

I make sure not to take too long getting ready and open the door to see her waiting patiently on the other side. She grabs my arm and tugs me energetically down the hall and to the living room.

When we get there, Ellie is sitting obediently on the couch; looking very much like the puppy Chloe treats her as. But she looks different, she’s not wearing torn or unwanted clothes that Chloe had passed down to her. She’s  wearing good clean clothes for once, similar to the ones Chloe gets me. Not only that, but she looks like she got a proper bath. Whenever she starts to get too dirty, Chloe usually just takes her out back, making sure no one knows we’re here, and hoses the poor, naked girl down in freezing water. But today she looks like she’s gotten an actual bath and her hair has been brushed. It even looks like Chloe has taken a few inches off of the girl’s overgrowing locks. Today she looks like her normal self again.

“I was thinking when you told me about Ellie’s birthday and I knew deep down that this is how you would want her to celebrate both of your birthdays. So what do you think?” I hear Chloe talking faintly as I move to stand over Ellie. She makes sure to stay in her spot on the couch and looks up at me. I play with her hair for a second and she nudges my unoccupied hand playfully. She’s back to looking like the trained girl I’ve known for the past two months and I wonder briefly if she even remembers what happened last night.

“River? I hope I didn’t upset you with any past memories, I just thought you would like to see her like this from now on.” I turn to face Chloe at last, falling back into that fake smile. But this time there’s a vague sense of realness behind it and before I know it, I find myself hugging her.

“Thank you.” is all I can manage to mutter, a small part of me is actually thankful deep down. For bringing the old Ellie back, even if it’s not completely her. It’s all I could really ask for on a birthday like this.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I have to go to work now, I’m trusting you two to behave today. Since it’s your birthday I won’t tie you, but you have to promise to still obey the rules. Okay?” she pulls away from the hug to look at me sternly. “Of course.” I reply almost instantly, just today, I won’t think about escape. As long as I can be with Ellie like this, I won’t go anywhere.

“That’s good. I’ll be back around noon, I have a cake to pick up for you after work. Have a good birthday, baby.” She kisses my forehead and waits patiently for the reply I know she’ll demand of me. “I will, thank you again.” I force myself to kiss her on the lips this time, making sure I’m as believable as I can be. Her smile widens to an uncomfortable looking state and she leaves us alone after that. I wait for the door to shut and wait a couple more minutes before moving from my current spot to look out the window. I’ve noticed that she never keeps her car here, she always walks to where ever she has it parked a long distance away from here. I wait until her figure falls out of my line of vision before turning back to Ellie.

She turns to watch me as I settle into the seat beside her and she brightens up when our eyes finally meet. She makes this attempt at a smile but with her cut and bruised lips, it’s slanted slightly. Something washes over me at seeing it and I can’t tell if it’s happiness at seeing her smile or pain at seeing her so broken looking. I move my left hand to caress her cheek, making sure my right hand holds onto hers for dear life. She leans into my touch and I swipe my thumb across her cheek on reflex.

I move to kiss her forehead before I realize that I should be trying to talk to her. After all, today may be my only chance to do so for god knows how long. “How are you feeling?” for some reason, my concern for her well being is the first thing that slips from my mouth. Her smile turns into one of the many expressions she’s made up over our time here, I’ve learned to read into her silence well. That’s the expression that tells me she’s okay. I let out a small sigh of relief at knowing she’s not in any pain. But it’s not the answer I was looking for, I was hoping to hear her voice again.

“You know you can talk to me now, El. She’s not here, it’s okay.” I lock eyes with her and wait, desperately hoping to hear her again. She breaks the gaze, staring down at her hands. She shakes her head slightly, disagreeing with me. “She’s not going to