You Will Be Okay

LeeAnn Simmons, 10th Grade, BCECHS

 

The glass of the shattered mirror surrounded the bathroom floor, and the faint noise of those drops of water from the faucets filled the room’s small walls. A young girl sat under the sink with her hands tangled around her hair, her breathing hitched and uneven with tears threatening her eyes. She rocked herself back and forth along the bathroom floor, thoughts swirling in her mind with shaking eyes.

Everything felt surreal.

Nothing felt right at the moment after what she saw looking back at her in that mirror. She buried her face into her knees as the noise filled her ears. Every little noise; the heartbeats, faint breathing, noises of footsteps that drew closer to her area.

Footsteps..?

The girl flinched at the familiar-sounding heartbeat that she heard, it was faster than normal and beat at a concerning rhythm. It caused the girl to huddle herself closer under the sink as the door slammed open to show a man with widened eyes. The girl covered her ears while tugging at her hair more, the noise causing her to yelp and whine.

“Kid-” The man called out, but soon noticed the broken mirror and glass that surrounded the floor and then the girl under the sink. His eyes were laced with confusion as he crouched down near the girl’s height from the floor, tilting his head to the side a little.

“Hey, kiddo…You alright?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

The girl shook her head violently while pulling her legs closer to her chest and gripping tighter along the sides of her head. The man narrowed his eyes along the floor, stepping over the glass and brushing the shards to the side by his shoes, making his way to the girl.

The man crouched down to the girl’s height, using the sink to anchor himself with his free arm resting along his knee. The girl lifted her head a little, meeting those gentle and soft eyes, a comforting feeling washing over her body.

The girl slightly moved her hands from her ears, her eyes shifting around wildly as the man gave a small smile.

“Can I sit?” He asked, the girl narrowed her eyes at the man and back to the floor, moving herself a little for the man to sit next to her under the sink, being wary of his height and the sink.

The man glanced at the floor, the glass reflecting off from the light. His gaze trailed towards the girl beside him, who stared outwards along the bathroom floor. It was the first he’s seen a scene like this happen before, but it wasn’t something he’d expected from her honestly.

“Happened again?” The girl nodded at the words, keeping quiet from the scene before her with a shaky breath leaving her mouth. The man stared down at the girl, moving a hand up and laying it along the girl’s head, causing her to flinch for a second but settle into his warm touch.

“Ya’ ain’t got nothing to worry about kid, they can’t get ya’ from this house.” The man consulted, rubbing his fingers along her hair and intertwining them between strokes. “You’ll be okay under this roof.”

The girl lifted her head partly to meet the man’s gaze, her face puffy and red with tears threatening to the pool from her eyes again. She scooted closer to the man, resting her body against his as his arm fell against her small body, holding her close to his own.

“You’ll be okay…” He repeated, lowering his head and resting it against the girl’s head, closing his eyes while comforting the girl through the scene of the bathroom.