I let out the breath I had been holding as I walked up the last step. I turned my head to the right, looking down the small hallway. It was pitch black, making it hard for me to see. I could vaguely make out a door that had a small bell hanging from the doorknob.
I slowly walked over to the door. I reached out and turned the knob, making the bell jingle. The door creaked loudly as I pushed it open. I stepped into the room, the darkness still preventing me from seeing, though I could make out the small bed that sat in the corner of the room. I slowly made my way over to it, not wanting to trip on some unseen object.
I gently sat down on the edge of the bed before pulling my sneakers and socks off. I lay back, turning so that I was now on my side.
In a matter of seconds, I was asleep.
I groaned, blinking my eyes profusely. I rolled onto my back and stretched my arms and legs out, feeling them crack. I furrowed my eyebrows and cocked my head to the side as I looked up at the ceiling. My eyes bulged as my vision cleared up and I was able to see the small pink hearts and flowers. Though some of them were covered in splatters of red. I screamed as the memories rushed back to me.
I jumped out of the bed as if it were on fire. The bright sunlight shining in through the window allowed me to see clearly. I felt my heart beat speeding up, my breathing becoming harsher as I looked around the room. I had slept in this room?
This was my childhood bedroom, though I had no good memories of this room. Every time he was angry, he would bring me or her, usually me, in here and have his way for hours.
I walked over to the bed that I had been sleeping on less than five minutes ago. I pulled back the covers to see the sheets stained with dozens of dried red splotches. He used to do it on the bed. I turned my eyes away from the bed to look at the pink and white rug that lay on the floor. It to was covered in dark rep splotches. He used to do it on the floor too.
I felt the tears brimming in my eyes as more memories rushed into my mind. I quickly wiped them away. I did not cry.
I turned my head to the right. I saw my old toy box. His treasure chest. I stumbled over to it, reluctantly lifting up the lid. I screamed as my eyes scanned over the contents. There should have been Barbie dolls, barrettes, and ballies inside. But instead there were his own personal toys. Belts, whips, and all types of things he used to torture us.
A sob escapes my throat. I dropped the lid of the box and hurriedly ran from the room. I ran down the steps, tripping a few times. I wrenched the door open and stepped out of the house.
The door slammed behind me as I ran down the old rickety steps and down the street. I didn't know where I was going, but I had to get far away from that house. Images of him beating me, raping me, spitting in my face, laughing at me, flooded into my mind.
I stopped running after awhile, unable to force my legs to move anymore.
I keeled over, resting my hands on my knees. My chest heaved back in forth as I fought to catch my breath and stop my heavy sobs. Tears streamed down my face.
I stood up straight, trying to stop my tears and pull myself together.
More images. Him beating her, raping her, making me watch. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to get rid of them.
Woo, woo, woo, woo! A police siren rang out behind me. It continued to get closer until a police car drove onto the curb next to me, startling me.
In a split second the officer from yesterday stepped out of the car, a stern look plastered on his face. Ohh, Officer Lee! I dramatically sighed inside my head.
"What are you doing?" he said, his voice calm and emotionless.
"Uhm... I-I..." I stuttered.
"I told you that you are to call me the second you wake up and inform me on your whereabouts, not just run off out of nowhere."
"I-I'm s-sorry. I j-just..."
"Look, Ms.Greene, there are specific rules that you need to follow so that I can keep you safe. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes."
"Good, then no more running off. I thought that someone had been chasing you with a gun."
"I'm s-sorry, I just h-had..."
"It doesn't matter." he said, cutting me off for the third time. "Give me your phone number that way I can call to check on you. I'm sure you will forget to call me." I followed his hand movements as he reached into the pocket of his tight uniform pants and pulled out his phone. I couldn't seem to stop my wondering eyes.
"Ms.Greene!" Officer Lee yelled. I jumped slightly, my cheeks flaming. I looked up, my eyes meeting his. He handed his phone to me. "Put in your number."
Shit! My cheeks burned a darker red. I didn't have a phone. How was I suppose to tell him that a 19 year old girl in 2016 didn't have a cell phone?!
"Well?" he said.
"I-I uhm..." I stuttered. "I d-don't have a p-phone." I mumbled.
"You don't have a phone?!" He said incredulously, his eyebrows raised. I nodded. "Can I ask why not?"
"Well I always lived at the g-gang house. I was always with them, so I never really needed a p-phone. Plus, he said the pigs would track us if we had a phone."
He sighed heavily, placing a hand on his hip. "Get in the car." He turned his back to me and walked over to the passenger side. He opened up the door ad signaled for me to get in. I stood, unsure of what to do. "C'mon!" He yelled.
Alarmed by his tone, I quickly followed his orders and climbed in the car. He shut the door before walking to the other side and settling into the driver's seat. He pressed the button and started the car up.
I stared dumbfounded. "Uhm... no key?" He shook his head before swiftly pulling off.
I stared out of the window as we drove. I was aware of the speed limits, and noticed that Officer Lee stayed just under them the entire time. Kings of Leon played low in the background, the heat blasted onto us. I appreciated this rare moment when I actually felt calm, my mind at peace. I rested my head against the window and closed my eyes.
All to soon, the warm air stopped blowing through the vents and the engine of the car turned off. I squinted my eyes. Officer Lee opened up the door for me and signaled for me to get out.
I stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind me. I looked around to see that we were in a small plaza filled with stores. Officer Lee wrapped his arm around my waist protectively as he lead me into the Verizon store.
The two of us walked over to the counter where the sales person stood. "Hi, how can I help you?" the man asked.
"Hi, she needs a phone. Were not looking for anything fancy or very high tech. Just something that she can use to contact me easily. Unlimited talk, text, and internet will be needed though. Limited data will do." He paused for a brief moment. "So, what are our options?"
The salesman looked slightly taken aback. I'm guessing he usually didn't get a customer that knew exactly what they wanted and couldn't be tricked into paying a lot of money. "Well, uhm, everyone pretty much has a touch screen right now. So I would go with the Samsung Galaxy 1."
"Fine, how much?"
"$149.95."
Officer Lee reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He reached in and pulled out two 100 dollar bills. He handed them over to the man. The sales man plugged the money into the cash register and gave Officer Lee his change. He then disappeared, coming back with a bag in hand. He handed it over to Officer Lee who took it and said thank you. He wrapped his hand around my waist again as we walked out of the store.
Once out, he handed the bag over to me. "Now you have a phone, so there is no reason why you can't contact me."
I took the bag from his hand and stared down at it. "Uhm, w-why did you buy this for me?"
He sighed, "So that I can know where you are at all times. I take my jobs very seriously. And my job is to protect you, so that is exactly what I'm going to do."
"Oh." I replied.
"C'mon." He lead me back over to his car. He opened up the door for me before getting into the car himself. The warm air flowed through the vents as Kings of Lean played on the background again. I rested my head on the window and looked out at the passing scenery. Before long I felt my eyelids getting heavy and slowly drifting down.
I stirred slightly, feeling my body being moved. Not having the strength to open my eyes, I gripped tightly onto whatever I was leaning against. I noticed that the object had a rugged yet pure smell. I buried my face in it, wrapping my arms around it also. I heard a small sound coming from the object. My eyes instantly peeked open.
My breath hitched in my throat as I looked up to see Officer Lee. He was carrying me in his arms, my head resting against his chest, my arms around his neck. I squinted my eyes, making sure that he wouldn't notice that I had waken up.
He carried me up the rickety steps of my house to the door, which was unlocked. He pushed it open with his foot, walked inside, and closed it with his foot. His face frowned as he looked at the surroundings. I prayed to God that he would just lay me down on the couch, instead of venturing upstairs. Much to my dismay, he headed towards the steps and began walking to the second floor.
A few seconds later I heard the small jingle of a bell, followed by the opening of a door. Oh no, oh no! I can't stay in this room again! Memories rushed into my mind again, my heart rate increasing with anxiety. I screwed my eyes shut. But, all of sudden, Officer Lee stopped walking. He stood still for a few seconds, maybe a minute, before turning around. Where are we going now?! I heard the small bell jingle again, and the creaky door shut. We left the room?
I squinted my eyes open to see Officer Lee carry me back down the stairs and out of the door. He walked back over to his police cruiser, opening up the passenger door and placing me in. He fastened the seat belt around me and shut the door.
After climbing into the driver's side, he swiftly pulled off. My mind raced. Where the hell is he taking me?! He- he's a dirty cop! He's trying to kidnap me!
Though when the heat from the vents blew onto my face and Kings of Leon played again, my mouth didn't open to voice my concerns. I found myself laying my head against the window once again. My eyes slowly slid shut. My brain with no clue of where I was going.