Anthony lay in bed, praying for sleep.
If he went to sleep quickly enough he might not wake up until dawn. He might sleep through his visitor. He didn't want to see her, he just wanted to sleep.
The door opened. A girls voice whispered into the darkness, "Found you."
Anthony whimpered, feeling an insane urge to throw the blankets over his head. He covered his eyes, a distant memory from childhood, where the monsters wouldn't exist if you didn't see them. Tiny feet shuffled along the floor, as the girl moved to the bed.
The blanket was raised just a little, just enough for a small body to climb under them.
"No," Anthony moaned. "Please just go away," he said, tears running down his face.
A small, cold hand gently wiped the tears away. "But Daddy," the little girl said, "you always want me to sleep with you."
He jerked away from the hand. Curling into a ball, he wrapped the blanket around him clutching it like a baby. His daughter crawled on top of him. The blanket was leeched of warmth.
Anthony tried not to scream or move. If he didn't react she would leave him alone. If he didn't do anything she'd go away. She wasn't real. He prayed silently that she'd go away, just this once.
"Daddy, don't you want to play games anymore?" she whispered in his ear. "You always had so much fun."
I can't hear her, he thought. She wasn't real. She was only a part of his mind playing tricks on him. There was no one in the apartment with him. He had left everyone a thousand miles away. No one knew where he lived, no one knew he existed anymore. This wasn't real.
A finger tapped his nose, through the blanket. "Daddy, please play with me. You used to always make me play with you, even when I didn't want to. So now you have to play with me," she said.
He felt her hands reach under the blanket. Even though he was laying on them he had missed one small part of the blanket. It left a gap just enough for a childs' hand to reach under. Nails gently caressed his back.
"Daddy aren't you listening to me," she asked sounding hurt. "Oh, are we playing hide and seek? I like that game. Do you remember what happened the last time we played, Daddy," she asked.
Anthony spasmed as her fingers ran over his skin. He tried to cover his ears, he didn't want to hear her voice anymore.
"I hid so well. You were so angry when you couldn't find me. But don't worry Daddy no matter how well you try to hide, I'll always make sure to find you. Just like you found me," she told him in a comforting voice.
She pulled on the blankets just enough to get her arms through, and hugged Anthony, her small arms clutching his back.
Anthony shivered and cried as the icy grip of his daughter froze his insides. He begged God to forgive him, as he laid there, wishing for peace.