Saving Garnet

Mayne

Sean grabbed Garnet, pulling her behind him and standing in front of her protectively as Garnet tried not to cry, hands over her mouth. Her worst fear was coming true right now.

Garnet's mother was screaming.

Her father pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, hands shaking, and the lights went out.

Sean backed up until he and Garnet were on the couch, then pushed her down onto it and guarded her with his body. His hand held hers tightly.

She tried to keep from whimpering as she watched her dad's phone screen.

He dialed '91' and the phone fell to the ground.

She fought back a scream, panic and fear building up in her until she felt like she would explode with it.

This was the worst kind of torture. 

"Garnet? I have your mother here. My knife is to her throat. Come out right now and I won't hurt her."

"Garnet, don't do-"

Her mother screamed, cut off in the middle of her sentence.

Tears rolled down Garnet's face and Sean clamped his hand over her mouth to help her hold back her scream.

"She's annoying me. I'm going to count to ten, and you're going to come here or I'll kill her, then your precious bodyguard, then I'll find you."

The tears came harder down as she pushed Sean out of the way so abruptly that he fell to the ground and stood, preparing to run.

But Sean, damn him, grabbed her ankle and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Pain radiated up her elbow and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

She tried to kick, but Sean climbed on top of her, holding her down. She was shaking now, crying too hard to hold back.

"...Seven...six..."

Her heartbeat kicked into high gear. She couldn't let her mother get hurt. She couldn't. Not when she could help it.

She said a silent apology to Sean.

"I'm right here!" she yelled, sobbing now. "Just don't hurt her, please."

"That's a good girl."

She heard a thud, heard her mother whimpering.

"Mom?" she cried, desperately reaching out a hand.

Her eyes were just starting to adjust to the dark. Instead of her mother's hand, she found her father's phone. She grabbed it and Sean slowly, quietly, moved off of her, having seen what she had done.

She slowly, quietly started scooting backwards, holding her breath so she wouldn't make noise. Footsteps came her way and she saw a pair of black, shiny boots turned away from her.

"Now where are you?" Mayne asked.

She was quiet, not daring to even breathe. He hadn't turned around yet.

"I said where are you!"

She  saw his dark form leap through the air, mistaking Sean for Garnet in the darkness.

Though it went against her every instinct and she had to force herself, she scrambled behind the couch in the confusion and unlocked the phone, pointing the screen down. She tried not to cry out. Sean could handle himself...she hoped.

She choked back a sob, trying to see the phone screen clearly through her tears. She prayed that the sound of the struggle would mask her whispers.