Boy

Ollie awoke in the darkness, trembling convulsively. The sheet was peeled back. He pressed his knees into his chest. His toes felt like rounded ice blocks and he tentatively stroked his fingers but could not warm them. The clock on the set of drawers beside his bed blinked the time into his eyes: 03:45.He was too frightened to move and pull the sheet over himself. Although the bed was barely wider than him, Ollie was sure he could feel cold breath on the back of his neck. He carefully straightened his legs the slightest amount. Then he jumped up and spun around in one action. He threw a slipper at a lump in the bed, striking it hard enough to knock the sheet flat. The slipper hit the wall behind with a dull thump, shaking the room. Ollie stood still to listen, curling his toes into the floor, fingertips digging into his thighs.

Tags short , short story , story