Another door opened, and then another he rifled through both rooms until finally Janie’s door opened. He didn’t speak at all, just opened the closet door and closed it. I knew he was just passing time. He knew exactly where I was now and he was just playing with my head, waiting to pounce for when I’d least expect it.
But I was prepared. I was ready to fight, it was either fight or die and if I’d learnt anything in the past week it was that I was capable of living.
I turned on to my back and grabbed my brick phone. I could vaguely hear the sound Nick’s car driving from the phone, I prayed he, or the police were close.
I braced myself, I couldn’t be sure how he was going to grab me, and I needed to expect anything. My breathing quickened and suddenly the mattress and base of the bed were overturned, My father lifted and hurled them to the side, giving me enough time to sit up and use my leg to trip him over.
As soon as he was on the ground I jumped to my feet and ran for the door of Janie’s bedroom, I opened the door, escaping in to the hallway.
“Sarah!!” He shouted “That was unwise!”
I turned back to face him, he was slowly getting up, and I wondered if I’d done some real damage to his ankle. He looked up at me however, with a menacing smile, those evil brown eyes stared through me, burning me like they had done for so many years before.
Suddenly he was up, on his feet and coming for me, he’d tricked me and I’d stood here like a moron. I’d had a chance to escape fully and I hadn’t taken it. I threw the brick phone hard at his face, I could hear the crack from three metres away, As it hit his nose, breaking it. He stopped and looked at me, as blood ran furiously down his face. I didn’t have time to run for the kitchen and grab a weapon when the door was only mere feet away from me.
“You’re nothing to me. You’ll pay for what you’ve done” I uttered as I turned and ran for the front door. I unbolted the dead bolt and unlocked the door, but before I managed to open the door and escape, I was grabbed with amazing force by the hair from behind and dragged down the hallway.
“Big mistake” He laughed manically.
He dragged me in to the bathroom; glass askew all over the floor.
I could feel the small shards scrap against my skin, like sandpaper, not sharp enough to break the skin, but rough enough to hurt. He sat on me, straddling my chest, his weight crushing my lungs.
“I’m not the same scared little girl anymore. I won’t let you hurt me again” I yelled using almost all of my limited lung capacity, still very much scared, but not willing to be trapped again, not willing to let him have a hold over me.
“Ha! You keep telling yourself that love. Your mother said the same almost exactly 11 years ago”
“What are you going to do? Drug me? tell me I’m insane? What!?”
“I’m going to take you home” he replied simply, pulling a small white bottle of pills from his jeans.
I tried to wriggle and shift; I knew what those tablets meant. I knew one of those would have been incapacitated for hours. He would get his way, I would be back there and he would make it impossible for me to leave again.
“Yes that’s right Sarah… Happy pills. You remember these don’t you”
He pulled one out and balanced it in the palm of his hand. I shut my mouth as hard as I could, tensing every muscle in my body to help keep my mouth closed. It was fruitless though; his strong fingers yanked my mouth open and dropped the pill inside my mouth. He covered my mouth, stopping me from spitting it out and he stared down at me with a smile. He laughed as I fought against him, still desperate to escape.
I held the pill between my teeth, desperate not to swallow it, Nick would be close now, the police too. I just had to hang on a few more minutes. My father slapped my face, hard. Hard enough to knock the pill from my teeth. It moved down my mouth, to my throat.
“There we go.. soon you’ll feel relaxed and calm won’t you love.”
“Get off me!” I screamed
“Now now, no point in fighting Sarah.”
A shadow moved in to the door frame and I looked up, Nick stood there. His face was dark and angry. Before my father could turn around Nick wrapped an arm around my father’s Neck and pulled him off me.
“You’ll never touch her or anyone again.” Nick said, throwing my father to the floor. His voice was low, so low it sent chills up my spine. I sat up, well aware that in a matter of minutes I would be completely knocked out and pulled myself up against the bath.
Nick sat on my father, holding his hands behind his back.
“Are you alright Sarah?” Nick said softly, looking at me
“Tired” I whispered, my eyes were heavy.
“What did you give her you disgusting piece of shit” Nick shouted crushing my father’s head into the ground
“It’s okay Nick. I’ll be fine” I slurred, closing my eyes, submitting myself to the darkness.
A nothingness, a deep vast nothingness.
Whatever was in the pill was much stronger than anything he’d given me before, much stronger.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t completely sure where I was at first. The walls were white, the lights bright. My heart thumped in fear, as my eyes readjusted.
Relief washed over me when I realised I was in the safety of a hospital bed.
Nick!
I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t let me, it felt like lead
“Sarah!” I heard Josh’s voice exclaim
“Josh” I croaked “I need to sit up”
Josh walked over and pressed the button on the bed to raise it up. Finally he walked back over to his seat and sat down. How much did Josh know? Oh god the house. The house had been ransacked by my father. Guilt ran through my veins.
“Are you alright?” Josh asked, his eyes were wide, shocked.
“Tired, weak… Josh, what happened? Where’s Nick?” I asked gingerly afraid of the answer.
“I made him go home and shower. He’s been here ever since you… well you know”
“How long?”
“It’s Sunday. The doctors said that the pill was double strength, Flunitraz-something. They were pretty worried about you”
“oh god” I gulped, thankful to be alive
“I came home to five cop cars outside the house, I thought there had been some kind of homicide at one of the other places. Then I saw a man being lead out of our house. I ran… ran for the door but the cops stopped me and I thought you were dead. You were wheeled out on a stretcher, out to it, you looked… and Nick was with you, he was crying.” Josh explained
I swallowed a knot in my throat that had become present, and closed my eyes.
“I guess you have a few questions” I whispered opening my eyes again
Josh shook his head, he shuffled to the front of his seat and placed his hand on mine
“As long as you’re safe now, you only need to tell me what you’re comfortable with.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, I still felt so incredibly tired. I needed sleep, even though I’d had over 24 hours continuous sleep.
“Oh god, the house.. It… he” I blurted out, opening my eyes, trying once more to move myself and failing again.
“It’s alright; I fixed it up and let the others know. Just relax”
“Thanks Josh. You’re too kind”
“No, I’m your friend, we look after one another”
“I haven’t really had friends before Josh, I don’t really know exactly how it works.”
I used what little energy I had to shift a little on the bed
“That guy was my father, he wasn’t very good to me and I never had the chance to be a normal kid. I should have told you guys about him, I just didn’t want any of you to look at me differently”
Josh sent me a melancholic smile and shrugged his shoulders
“You had your reasons. Its scary opening up about your past, I get that… For the record though, I don’t see you any differently, at least not in a bad way. I mean you must be pretty gutsy to use a cell phone as a weapon”
I laughed with Josh, That old phone really had come in handy. A $10 well spent no doubt.
A little while later the room door opened, Nick walked in, he looked tired.
Josh stood up and walked to the door, the two spoke quietly, too quietly for me to decipher what was being said. Then they shook hands and Josh opened the door
“I’ll see you at home alright Sarah” Josh said
“Bye Josh, thank you”
Nick walked over to the bedside and grabbed my hand
“I thought he’d killed you” Nick murmured
His eyes glistened softly in the harsh light of the hospital room.
“I’m okay Nick. I’m fine” I replied
“I’m so sorry I didn’t get there sooner. I drove as fast as I could.” He looked guilt ridden and angry with himself. My heart lurched. I hated that he would place any of the blame on himself. He’d come even though I’d put a stop to us. He’d not even questioned it.
“Nick, please. Don’t be sorry, you got there in time.” I soothed
“You did break his nose I suppose” Nick smiled
“I knew my brick phone would have a purposeful use at some point”
Nick pulled his hand from mine and grabbed one of the seats, he moved it closer to the bed then sat down.
“Have you really been here since all this happened?”
“Yes.”
“You must be exhausted”
“I’ll live” Nick chuckled, his hand moved back up to mine.
I felt a little stronger now, my muscles were slowly waking up, lightening up. I turned on to my side and faced Nick.
“What happened after I blacked out Nick?”
Nick sighed deeply and closed his eyes. I felt bad for making him recount it, for dragging him in to my dramas when I knew he had his own.
“The cops arrived literally a minute later. He tried to lie and say I’d done it all too you. That I was your crazed employer, But I began recording the call as soon as you said someone was breaking in. They heard his confession about your mom”
My eyes widened, and my breath was caught in my throat. Did that mean he would pay for what he had done after all?
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