Eighteen Going on Dead

Chapter Nineteen: Cornered Predator

"Questioning the suspect." Agent Columbia mistakenly said.

"Suspect!"

Sheriff Watson stormed into the room as well, "Zaire... Gabriel is in the waiting room." It was a dismissal, an order for me to run to safety.

"If you interfere with the investigation..."

"Interrogating a victim is apart of your investigation?" Aunt Joyce spoke up, admitting to herself that I too was a victim even if my life weren't exactly in the line of death. "How about you investigate the actual clues you have than pinpointing it on a innocent child?"

"She's barely a child. You called the FBI for a really deputy, we're doing our job so why don't you do yours."

Aunt Joyce stepped dangerously close to Agent Carter, finger snapped up into fist as she were ready to throw the punch. Luckily the sheriff stepped in between by grabbing Aunt Joyce wrist and pulling her back. "Take Zaire our of here, go to my house."

I was happy to leave, dashing out of there to only encounter Gabriel standing in the middle of the front area, hands stuffed in his jean pockets while scoffing his leather boots on the tile floor. "Gabriel." I wrapped my arms around him so fast and tight, I sobbed into his buff chest. "I'm so sorry."

His large hands rubbed up and down my spine, a comforting notion that made me relax even more. "It's okay, Zaire. I'm here now, everything will be alright."

***

"It's not much." Gabriel said while fluffing the pillows on his bed. "It's not as comfortable than yours. But..."

"Gabriel, it doesn't matter. I'm grateful for you and your father for letting us stay here for a while, at least until they fix the window." I slipped under the thick covers and scoot over to the other side of the queen size bed for Gabriel to lay down as well. "Just for a little while, until they come back."

He did not hesitate in taking off his thin jacket and leather boots before slipping under the covers beside me. I laid on his chest, hearing his heart beat calm down like a bass drum, immediately made me relax in his warmth and soft hold; I fell asleep with no chance of a lullaby.

It was midnight by time I woke up again, Gabriel was no where in sight; even though the thin layer of blankets caked the floor right beside the bed. "Gabriel?" I said softly while looking through the open door, darkness swallowed the hall while holding a slight chill that made me shiver.

It swallowed me while as I walked my way to the bathroom, the hint of light from the television downstairs guided me away from snapping my neck on the steep steps; along with not hitting my toes on the narrow hall tables and the walls.

The bathroom was small, with a theme of many colors that they tried to choose from but gave up in the middle- I could tell the men was in need of a female guidance to straighten the place up and hold a sense of organization. I straighten the loose long sleeve Gabriel let me borrow, along with the basketball shorts; rinsed my face with water and took several breaths.

The floorboards in the hall creaked, still the darkness still swallowed the figure like a phantom in hell. "Gabriel, you should really stop sneaking around- it's not funny anymore." I comment while grabbing a rubber band from above the toilet and putting my hair into a wild curly ponytail.

Still, the floorboards creaked as he grew nearer. Yet, I still could not see through the darkness of the hall. I turned around finally, felt his eyes on me- taking over my body slowly like a fat kid watching taffy. I smirked to myself, a devious notion of me taking off my shirt to show my sports bra. "Did they come back yet?"