▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 ━︎━︎ 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 a channel she was content with and naturally it was the cartoon channel, her daughters' favorite cartoon playing on the screen. She glanced at the door before looking at the alarm clock on the bedside table, furrowing her brows when she realized Allison had been gone for way too long. She let out a huff before putting on her shoes and grabbing the key card to the hotel, stuffing it in her back pocket, before heading down to the ground floor.

She glanced around, looking for her sister but not spotting her anywhere. She made her way outside, glancing around but not spotting her. That's when her eyes narrowed, walking over to the grassy area beside the hotel building, the ground wet from where it had rained. A curse fell from her lips when she spotted familiar paw prints. She ran back into the hotel, going to the room and grabbing her car keys before running back outside and starting the car.

Her sister was an idiot. There was no question about where she was going. Olivia glanced up at the night sky, her eyes focusing on the full moon that was shining brightly. She parked her car away from the house, climbing out and checking the bullets in her gun before putting it in the waistband of her pants. She walked up to the fence, her eye scanning for any alarms or a trip wire but when she found none she jumped it, her feet landing softly on the grass on the other side of the fence.

She paused, staring at the house, a feeling of nausea consuming her stomach. She could tell this was going to go badly, it was simply inevitable. She walked up to the house and stopped when she saw the door was slightly open. She gave it a soft nudge, letting it open wider and letting her squeeze through. The house was dark causing Olivia's eyes to glow blue to help her see better. She walked through the house and a frown slowly began to pull on her lips. It was familiar, too familiar.

When the first floor was empty, she made her way up the steps, being careful of each step she took. Like it was an instinct, she stepped on the far left of the third step, stepping directly in the middle of the fourth and fifth before moving to the right on the sixth. She made it to the top of the steps, pausing and turning when she realized what she'd done. A memory resurfaced, consuming her entire being.

She was five years old, it was past midnight but she was starving and needed a midnight snack. Olivia quietly opened her bedroom door, peeking her head out and glancing both ways down the hall before continuing forwards. She made it to the stairs and began slowly creeping down them. She'd made it to the sixth step from the bottom, her foot landing on it only for a loud creak to echo throughout the quiet house. She paused, waiting for movement, but when none came she kept going. Each step creaked until she made it to the last two, not a noise being heard.

She walked to the kitchen and stood on her tiptoes, peeking over the counter and smiling when she spotted a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She pressed herself as close to the counter as possible before reaching out her arm. Her short fingers ghosted over the edge of the cookies and she bit her lip in concentration, pushing her body further. When her hands finally grasped the cookie she took into her hands, her feet going flat on the floor as she took a bite.

      The lights turned on and she froze. With her mouth covered in crumbs, part of the cookie still in her mouth, she slowly turned to see her sister standing there. Allison rubbed her eyes. "Olivia, what are you doing up?"

     Olivia slowly pulled the cookie away from her mouth. "I was hungry."

     Allison sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Come on. You need to go to sleep." She held out her hand and Olivia glanced at her cookie. Allison softly chuckled. "You can bring the cookie." Olivia beamed, racing over to her sister and taking her hand. They walked towards the stairs and Allison stopped. "The stairs creak, you have to step on them a certain way. Do exactly what I do." Olivia nodded, copying her sisters every footstep. The first two stairs were fine, the third you had to move to left as close to the railing as she could get, then she had to manuever so that she stepped in the middle of the fourth and fifth, when she got to the sixth she had to get as close to the wall as she could. She almost lost her footing, pressing her body against the wall to keep her upright and looking up at Allison with wide eyes.

     Allison sent her an encouraging smile before continuing up the steps. When she made it to the top, Allison turned, holding her hand out for her sister who eagerly grasped it, letting her lead her into her room. "Finish your cookie first." Allison softly said. "You don't want crumbs in your bed."

     Olivia listened and when she was done she wiped her mouth and clamored onto the bed. Allison placed the covers over her, tucking her in. Olivia stared at her sister with a small frown. "Sissy?"

     Allison leaned back once she was done with the covers. "Yeah, Livvy?"

     "Why are your eyes so dark?"

     Allison paused, her face flashing with fear before she quickly covered it up. She forced a smile on her face. "I just haven't been sleeping well, that's all. Nothing to worry about. Get some rest." She stood up and walked to the door, pausing and looking at her sister. She shot her a soft smile before turning off the lights.

The memory was gone as fast as it had come. She hadn't realized all the signs. She was only five years old, but now she cursed herself for never noticing. The pain in her sisters eyes that night, the pure terror that washed over her face when Olivia had asked her such a simple question. Tears pooled in her eyes and she swallowed thickly, wiping them away. She swallowed and turned, continuing her search. She entered the first room, hand on her gun as a precaution. She found herself stopping dead in her tracks.

Her eyes were playing her, that's all it was. Her hand began to shake as she reached for the light switch, flipping it on and containing the gasp that almost spewed from her lips. It was her bedroom. The last version of it she'd had before she'd managed to escape. It had grey painted walls, a bed in the middle of the room with black covers and pillow cases. There was a grey dresser pressed against one wall, a black carpet in the middle of the floor. But that wasn't what grabbed her attention.

She walked over to the bedside table, her eyes focused on the picture. Her hands were still shaking as she picked it up, running her thumb over it. It was a picture of her and Allison when they were kids, before Allison had been taken away. The same photo she'd held on to, the one that she'd kept as a lifeline when she had still been home.

     "I kept it the same. Just the way you had it before you left."

     Olivia's shoulder's grew tense as she slowly placed the photo down. "Except this isn't where we lived. So, why the hell do you have an exact replica of my old room?" In one swift move she grabbed her gun and turned, pointing it at the monster before her. She placed her finger on the trigger, cocking her head slightly. "Hey, Dad."