haunted

Last night, you haunted my dreams. 

Not that that’s anything new. 

You were faceless, a silhouette in the dark - but you weren’t nameless. 

I’d know your silhouette anywhere. 

Because it has haunted my dreams ever since. 

Ever since you happened. 

Ever since the scars you left on my heart - and the bruises you left on my skin. 

In this dream, you were hiding. 

Hiding in my house, waiting for the lights to turn off. 

Waiting until the darkness consumed every corner - the same way it consumes your soul. 

The depth of that darkness is what always terrified me. 

It seemed to never end. 

And as the shadows engulfed my room, you stepped from the corner where you hid. 

All I could see was your silhouette, like a ghost - but I’d know that silhouette anywhere. 

Because your ghost has haunted me all these years. 

Ever since. 

Ever since you stepped out of the shadows, while I was asleep in your bed. 

And you wrapped your hands around my throat. 

And you ripped my clothing. 

And you suffocated me until I plunged into darkness, terrified.

Terrified that I’d never stop falling. 

Terrified that I would drown. 

Terrified that I would land in the pit you had dug for me - and that I’d never be able to escape. 

And I was terrified that you’d be there when the darkness lifted. 

But you never were. 

You’d come in hours later, bright and smiling with the sun. 

A dish towel hanging from your pocket. 

Telling me to wake up and come get breakfast. 

A picture of domesticity. 

Acting like you didn’t see the bruises on my throat. 

Acting like it wasn’t your hands that made them. 

You’re a sociopath, and I’ll never regret walking away. 

Leaving you in the dark of the morning. 

Leaving while you were indisposed, when you thought I was still asleep. 

Knowing it was the only way to keep you from stopping me.

From following me. 

And even after so many years, you still haunt me. 

You still hide in the darkness. 

You still torture me until I can’t sleep with the lights off. 

Until I can’t sleep. 

Last night, you were a silhouette, stepping out of the shadows when the rest of the world was asleep. 

When I was alone. 

Just a faceless silhouette. 

But I’d know your silhouette anywhere. 

Because it has haunted my dreams ever since.