#72

At first, he thought it was just the sound of the wind. Amber frowned as his consciousness faintly returned. He heard the sound of sobbing. The intermittent sound of gasping for breath.

Whose sobbing was this? Had he done that in his sleep? No, he didn’t cry like that anymore. By the time that thought occurred, Amber opened his eyes. Glancing outside, it was still the pitch-black night.

Amber sat up. The sobbing, which he had thought was an auditory hallucination, continued. Amber got out of bed and stepped into the hallway. The sound was coming from Annie’s room.

Amber carefully opened the door. When he called her name, a frightened sob came from beneath the covers.

“Annie?”

“…Ryker?”

Annie, who had been sobbing under the blankets, peeked her head out. His little sister, her nose completely stuffed.

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean it’s nothing?”

Now that she was a middle school student and even had a boyfriend, Annie had more secrets these days. Still, she was a kind and uncomplicated child, so she would open up if he listened. Following what he had learned from Tennessee, Amber simply watched her quietly, and Annie eventually confessed, though her face looked as if her pride were wounded.

“…There’s something in the closet.”

Good grief. A monster in the closet.

“Annie, you’re in middle school.”

“I know. But what am I supposed to do about being scared?”

Amber had to struggle not to let out a smirk. Then again, Annie was young, and Amber knew better than anyone that fear cannot always be explained rationally.

When Amber sat down, Annie immediately lunged into his arms. He thought he caught the scent of tears.

“Ryker, open the closet and check for me.”

Wiping away her tears, Amber willingly opened the closet. As expected, it was filled only with clothes.

“It’s not because I’m a baby, it’s because I watched a horror movie.”

Stroking Annie’s warm head as she made excuses with an embarrassed face, Amber looked at the closet. As a child, Amber had never once feared the monster in the closet. It was only natural. For him, that place was a sanctuary.

He used to squeeze his body into the small space where he could barely hide, holding his breath and waiting for the sound of Huston’s footsteps to pass by. He would cry behind a small, useless wooden door until he drifted off to sleep.

To him, the closet was the final fortress. In reality, normal children wouldn’t use the closet as a final refuge; they would fear the monster inside. He realized he had lived for far too long without knowing that this was the natural way of life, and the life that should have been natural for him as well.

31 – Chapter

“Don’t be scared.”

Then Amber added,

“Nothing is going to come out, no matter what. Don’t worry.”

“What?”

Annie, who had been glancing around with frightened eyes despite having confirmed there was nothing there, looked up.

“The monster probably went into the closet because it was scared, too.”

Looking back, it seemed Huston had known all along that he had hidden there. The shoulders that trembled and wouldn’t settle no matter how much effort he put into bracing himself, the ragged sound of his breathing. There was no way he wouldn’t have known.

But when he felt that brain-squeezing terror, he must have enjoyed that moment with pleasure. He must have breathed heavily, thrilled by the idea of becoming a giant monster to a child, becoming a disaster, and casting a mountain-like shadow.

Feeling a sense of emptiness, Amber let out a small laugh. Even so, he didn’t forget to soothe Annie.

“And there’s no room for a monster to hide in your closet; it’s packed with clothes.”

That was true. Hugging the nodding Annie tightly, Amber whispered,

“Goodnight, Annie.”

“Goodnight, Ryker. Thanks for coming.”

“Don’t watch any horror movies. You watched one at Kayla’s place last time, didn’t you?”

“……It’s a secret from Mom.”

While holding the cozy embrace, Amber stared at the closet for a long time.

Sometimes it was overlooked, but there were days when it wasn’t. Huston would violently fling open the closet door, grab his arm, and throw him out. Being dragged along, Amber would scream.

‘Stop it! Please stop! It hurts! Aaaagh!’

It felt as if his arm was going to be ripped out. In fact, there were times it felt that way, and broken bones were common. The bruises never faded. When he was slapped hard across the face, he couldn’t think of anything for several seconds. As if a switch had been flipped, his consciousness sank into a blur along with a ringing in his ears.

It was a long time ago.

[Tennessee]

After sending the text, Amber lay down on the bed. It was three in the morning. Tennessee was likely asleep. However, Tennessee sent a reply shortly after.

[Yeah]

[When I was little, Mr. Huston hurt me.]

Was this a plea for sympathy? He didn’t know. He just wanted to tell him this.

[It hurt so much.]

He didn’t know how long he stared at the white background. An indicator appeared over the small speech bubble, showing that a reply was being typed. While waiting, Amber impulsively wrote something else.

[But if Mr. Huston hadn’t bullied me, I wouldn’t have tried to run away from that place. Then I wouldn’t have met you.]

That strange road trip, the sudden parting and reunion, this precious family, this moment—everything, I. You.

He closed his eyes while looking at the blinking message window. Trying to clear his heavy head, Amber eventually fell asleep.

He dreamed. In a place where he didn’t know whose fantasy it was.

Amber snapped his head up at the rough texture of wood felt at his fingertips. His breath grew short. Breath barely brushed against his chest before escaping, and the air felt tight and stiflingly hot.

A closet. It’s a closet. That closet.

“Amber.”

Huston. He’s here. What do I do? What do I do? I don’t want to be hurt. Help me. Amber covered his mouth, feeling as if he were about to burst into tears. There was no strength in his body. The sound of Huston’s shoes dominated his ears.

“Amber.”

His voice grew gradually closer.

It was then. A voice that was soft yet strong, completely different from Huston’s forced, disgusting tone.

“Amber?”

Amber gasped and turned around. He wasn’t alone in the closet. Behind him was a child around his age. No, was he the same age? Who was it?

“Tennessee?”

“Yeah.”

It was a teenage Tennessee, with black hair covering his forehead. In the dark closet, only his blue eyes shone eerily. It was strange.

Amber had never seen Tennessee as a child, yet he felt a certainty that this was what he must have looked like. Though he was a child without broad shoulders or firm muscles, he was definitely Tennessee.

“What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here. Mr. Huston will hurt both of us.”

“Shh….”

Tennessee placed his index finger against the lips of the urgently whispering Amber.

“Let’s get out.”

Huston’s voice calling for Amber had grown even closer. Huston was now passing the stairs and entering the hallway. Creak—he was flinging open the doors one by one.

“Amber? Are you there?”

If he went out now, he’d be caught. Amber shook his head violently, but Tennessee was firm.

“We have to go. Go now.”

Tennessee ruthlessly pushed Amber’s back as he shook his head. While desperately trying to stop him, Amber couldn’t be sure if Tennessee was wrong and he was right. Tennessee had never been wrong. Even if Tennessee had been an emotional coward, he had loved him.

“Where are you telling me to go?”

“Go out now and fight.”

Because Tennessee pushed him, the door of the closet where Amber had been hiding creaked open. Urgently grabbing the side, Amber pleaded,

“I don’t want to, I’m scared, Tennessee. I can’t do it. I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I said I can’t!”

Amber shouted, panting. Just then, at the sound of footsteps brushing past his ear, it felt as if his exhale dropped beneath the closet.

“Stop talking nonsense and come out.”

And Tennessee pushed Amber. Amber anxiously grabbed Tennessee’s wrist.

“What about you, Tennessee? If you don’t go, I won’t go either.”

Huston’s voice, which had reached within arm’s length, hit his earlobe.

“Tennessee, you’re going to stay here. I don’t want that, let’s go together.”

If not, I won’t go. I’d rather stay here. Amber spoke clearly. Seeing Amber’s determined expression, Tennessee nodded with a sigh. An answer of agreement returned. Without even realizing that his ragged breathing had settled, Amber carefully flung open the closet door.

“So you were here?”

And he faced Huston, who was looking at him with a grin that seemed to rip his lips to the edges.

The gaze felt as if a belly was being sliced open while alive. Through fear alone, Amber felt a distinct, sharp pain. It was while Amber stood frozen, unable to do anything. Huston’s snake-like gaze dropped straight down.

“……Eh?”

It was the same for Amber. Amber looked at Huston’s soaking abdomen with a strange expression. He couldn’t tell what he was seeing.

“Let’s go.”

Tennessee spoke while wiping the handle of a blood-stained knife. And before Amber could grasp the situation, before he could even take in the face of the collapsing Huston, Tennessee snatched his wrist.

In that moment, it felt as if wings had sprouted.