All Chapters of MISTRESS OF THE GAME: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

MARIEI don’t know how long I was out, but it had to be hours, some agonizing hours. Time felt like a distant, mocking blur. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could barely breathe. My head... my God, my head. It felt like it was swelling from the inside out, like something was trying to burst through my skull. Each second was a new wave of pain that spread from my temples to the base of my neck, building, pulsating, roaring inside me. The migraine was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It wasn’t just pain; it was punishment, like every thought I had ever had was trying to fight its way out through my forehead. My brain throbbed behind my eyes, and each throb came with a thunderclap of agony.Then my mouth. My mouth was a battlefield. The inside of my lips felt like torn leather. My gums were so swollen I couldn’t close my jaw properly. It felt like my teeth were going to pop out one by one. The metallic taste of blood lingered thick and bitter. My lips were split, one corner had d

MARIE: Stay Inside“Mommy said you should stay inside.”She said it with her serious voice, the one she uses when she’s tired or when her eyes go red. Not red like crayons. Red like when she’s been crying in the bathroom and doesn’t want me to see. But I always see. I always hear too. Walls talk when you’re quiet enough."Marie, do you hear me?" she said that morning, she was grateful knowing for my behavior knowing kids my age could be very troublesome in these circumstances. But she still demanded more from me. She bent low, her brown face close to mine. Her scarf smelled like onions and old perfume."Yes, Mommy," I said. I liked her being happy, so I tried to always make her smile."You don’t open the door for anyone. You don’t look out the window. And you don’t go outside. Promise me.""I promise." This was something I could do, it was not a difficult task.Her eyes stared into me like they wanted to make sure I was really there. Then she kissed my forehead, quick and soft, and r

MARIEDon’t Say ThatIt was hard to breathe. The air inside the wardrobe didn’t move. It felt like it was sitting on top of me, thick and heavy like a blanket made of smoke. I held Crumbs tight to my chest. His fur smelled like rice and dust. I pressed my nose into him and tried not to cry again. I’d already cried too much. I didn’t want to be loud anymore.I didn’t know how long I stayed there. Maybe an hour. Maybe the whole night. The floor of the wardrobe was hard, and the wood behind my back poked into me. Sometimes I thought I heard footsteps. Once, I thought I heard Mommy’s voice. But nobody opened the door. I got tired of staying boxed up, but to scared to cry or call for help. I did not want to make him get angry.I fell asleep at some point, I think. Or maybe I just stopped being awake. It was the kind of sleep that doesn’t feel like dreaming. Just a cold, dark pause.When the door finally opened again, it wasn’t with a bang. It creaked, soft and slow, and the light outside m

MARIE:Call Me DaddyThe first time I said it, I whispered it like a secret.He was sitting in the living room, the one with the glass tables and red chairs nobody was allowed to touch. He was reading a newspaper. Mommy said it was a good time. She said I had to try harder. She said he was testing me.So, I walked down the stairs, clutching Crumbs tight to my chest. I could feel my heart knocking like it wanted to run away.He didn’t look up when I stopped at the bottom. His eyes stayed on the paper. His mouth moved a little like he was chewing invisible gum. Mommy stood by the kitchen doorway watching me. Her hands were stiff at her sides.“Good morning,” I said.He flipped a page.My voice got smaller. “Daddy.”He stopped flipping.The silence made my skin itch. I looked at Mommy, but she didn’t say anything.Then he folded the paper. Slowly. Too slowly. He stood. I couldn’t see his eyes from where I was, just the shine of his shoes as he walked toward me.“Say that again,” he said.

MARIE:Invisible GirlI stopped crying at some point. Not because I wanted to, but because I was too tired to keep making sounds. My throat burned. My eyes itched. My nose ran until it didn’t anymore. I laid there in the box, holding Crumbs, listening to nothing.I don’t know how long I stayed inside. Maybe the sun moved across the sky. Maybe it was night. Maybe it wasn’t. But the door didn’t open again.The tiny slits in the wardrobe let in just a little bit of light. But I couldn’t see much through them, only a slice of floor, a shadow now and then. Sometimes I thought I heard footsteps, but they never came close. Sometimes I thought I heard Mommy calling, but it was just in my head. That voice never came near either.Eventually, my legs started to cramp. My arms felt stiff. I had to pee, but I didn’t say anything. I stayed still. I was too afraid to make noise.At some point, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, the light coming through the cracks was different. Cooler. Dimmer. Still