Brahms will watch you through the night
I woke up to the sound of familiar voices. My body ached and my head pounded. The smell of sterile clean hospital attacked my nose. I almost forgot what had happened while I was asleep. I grimaced, wishing desperately that I could sleep again to escape my reality. The voices picked up as I was becoming more awake, and I began to hear what they were saying.
"I cant believe this has happened to her." Were they talking about me?
"She will be okay. She is a strong girl." I recognized the voice instantly because it sounded like my own. Jen had finally arrived. "We were so worried about her." Said a deep voice. Who was that? Was it my dad? Were my parents here? I fluttered my eyes open only to be blinded by the bright lights on the ceiling. "She is waking up." I heard someone say. Come on Danny. Open your eyes. I used all the strength I had and forced them open.
Everything looked blurry but the room slowly came into focus. Familiar faces surrounded my bed. My parents were in fact there, squeezing each others hands and Jen stood next to detective Marchant. The detective was wearing the same suit from yesterday and had dark circles under his eyes. Had he stayed with me the whole night?
"Danielle my darling girl!" My mom said rushing over to my side and throwing her arms around me. "Mom? Dad?" I asked. My dad stepped forward and put his arm around my mother who had began to sob. "Yes sweetheart, we are here." I stared at them very confused. "How..."
"We flew in this morning." Jen answered. "As soon as we received the call from detective Marchant, we found plane tickets and flew here as soon as we could." Her normally green eyes looked a little red. Had she been crying? I turned to study my parents faces and found that they all had. I felt a pang of sympathy for not wanting to let my parents know what happened to me.
I turned back to Jen. "Why were you with mom and dad?" I asked confused. My sweet sister smiled at me. "I was on a holiday. I'm so sorry we couldn't get here sooner. We wanted to be here for you. You must have been so scared." She said stroking my hair. My mom nodded in agreement. "Thank goodness that detective Marchant was assigned to your case." She then turned to the detective. "Thank you so much for staying with her the whole night. You are so sweet." She said with fresh tears spilling out of her eyes. The detective smiled graciously at my mom. "It was the least I could do." He really stayed with me the whole night? I turned my head slightly so I was facing him better. He looked so tired. "You didn't have to stay." I said hoping that I wasn't a burden on him. He shook his head "No really Danielle, I am off today anyway. It was just fine." He smiled. That amount of kindness he showed me almost made me want to cry. It was really comforting to know that he was with me the whole time. "Thank you." I said and tried to form a smile.
Just then a blonde woman entered the room wearing a light blue nurses uniform. "Hello Danielle, my name is Tiffiny. How are you doing this afternoon?" After noon? Was it really afternoon? "I am doing well thank you." I said as chipper as I could. "That's great!" She said then looked down at her clipboard "Looks like we need to do a few more checks on you and then you are good to go home!" Home. Brahms! How could I forget about Brahms? If my parents were coming home with me then I wouldn't get to see him! My heart ached at the thought. I needed my Brahms.
A doctor followed the nurse in and gave all of us a warm smile. "Looks like miss Danielle is awake." He said walking over to me. "Are you ready to go home?"
"More than you can imagine" I said before I could stop myself. The doctor just chuckled. "Don't worry. We will get you out of here soon." I cringed at his words. Even soon wouldn't be enough to see Brahms.
~*~
When we pulled up to my house the sun was beginning to set. Orange yellow beams cast down upon the roof of the house, causing the windows to look dark and eerie from the shadow. Everything about it looked unwelcoming, but I wanted to run and lock myself inside forever. I stepped out of the car and surveyed the scene around me. This was exactly where I was attacked less than 24 hours ago. It looked so different in the sunlight, I could hardly tell this was the same place Andy held me down. It looked so beautiful now. "Danny", Jen whispered as she put her arm around me, "Lets go inside now". I nodded numbly and followed her.
The doors creaked open and the inside of my home looked unfamiliar. I felt like I hadn't been home in weeks. I sat down on a chair at the foot of the staircase while my parents wheeled in their luggage.
I looked around the house, wondering where Brahms could be. Was he watching me? My heart picked up a nervous beat. For some reason, I didn't want to see him now. My hands began to shake. Was I nervous to see Brahms? No I couldn't be. I loved Brahms! And he loved me too. I tried to shake away all my jitters. Brahms was probably very worried. He hated being left alone. I needed to find him and comfort him, show him that I am all right. But what if he gets mad that I brought my family here? Would he hurt me?
A hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder and I jumped. I looked up to see my mom, giving me a worried smile. "Everything Is going to be okay. He is gone now." Brahms was gone? Relief began to fill my heart, but then I realized who she was talking about: Andy. The feeling of relief left just as fast as it came. What was wrong with me?
"Are you hungry?" Mom asked. "Id say its time for some dinner!" She said forcing some enthusiasm. I nodded and stood up from my chair. I didn't realize just how starving I was until she had mentioned anything. We walked into the kitchen and my mom began looking through the fridge and cupboards, making distasteful grunts at the emptiness of them all. "It looks like we might have to make a trip to the store." She said turning to me. I pursed my lips. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the store.
My mom noticed my expression and pulled me into a hug. "Don't worry sweetheart. Me and your father will run into town to pick up the food. You and Jen can just stay here if you would like." I nodded, liking the sound of that plan. "Yeah. It would be nice If I could jump in the shower." I said, trying to give her a reason for me to stay. She nodded and kissed my forehead. "Okay sweetheart, I will head out than. You have a nice shower and we will be back soon." She said before calling for my father to get the rental car keys.
"See you in a bit." I said before heading up the stairs. I suddenly spun around. "Mom?" I asked. "Yes?" She turned to answer me, pulling her arms through her jacket sleeves. "Can you pick up some pneumonia antibiotics for me at the store?" She nodded and smiled. "Of course darling." "Thanks", I said before bounding up the stairs. Finally Brahms would be getting proper medicine.
~*~
I stared at the entrance to the wall for 10 minutes, deciding whether or not to go inside. Brahms needed to know that I was okay, but I was afraid to see him. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to get mad at me. After another long 20 second pause, I exhaled and took a step into the wall. My legs felt wobbly from the resistance that my body was building up.
The trip up the narrow staircase was agonizing. With every step, I felt as if the walls were moving in on me. My breaths were short and raspy as I began to get more and more claustrophobic. Just breathe! I finally reached the top of the stairs and stood before the door to Brahm's room. "Here I go..." I whispered very quietly under my breath.
I slowly opened the door and immediately heard a scrubbing noise. I peered in to find Brahms dipping a brush into a bucket and then lifting it to scrub the moldy walls. I was hit with a strange sense of pride. Brahms was cleaning out the mold and I hadn't even asked him to. I smiled and walked into the room much more confidant than I was before.
Brahms stopped what he was doing almost mechanically, knowing that someone had just entered his private sanctuary. I took a few more steps into the room when he spun around instantly. "Danny!" He shouted loudly. He must have recognized the sound of my footsteps. He rushed to me as if he were about to defend me from some sort of threat and nearly brought me down in a tackle. His arms were wrapped tightly around me as he nuzzled his head in my shoulder. As we held each other, I wondered why I had any doubts that he would not hurt me.
"Brahms are you alright?" I asked, shocked at how he had just approached me. I held him tight as his body trembled. A few wheezes escaped his lips before he spoke. "I missed you so much Danny". He dug his head deeper into my shoulder. "I thought they took you away forever." "Shhhh." I told him while I stroked his hair. "They could never keep me away from you." I said and kissed the side of his head. We held each other for a minute and didn't say anything. I felt like I was home again. Like I was finally safe.
Just then, I noticed something that made my blood run cold. At first I couldn't tell just what it was until my eyes caught the squirming. On the floor there was a pile of spiders lying right next to all their own dismembered legs.