Simple Kind of Life

Through her deep slumber, Avery was suddenly thrust into consciousness, causing her heart to pound and her lungs to constrict. In the darkness, her blurry eyes attempted to locate the cause of the new found alertness. Her hands searched the sheets for Jeff’s body, but it was gone and had been for about a month. She could never seem to get used to his absence during road games.

Her slender shoulders tensed as she heard the sound that ended her rest. A muffled pounding noise seemed to be coming from downstairs. She slowly rolled out of bed and tiptoed out of the bedroom and to the top of the stairs that led into the living room. The pounding grew louder.

"Av?" The moonlight from the windows shed beams of light on her brother’s approaching figure. A baseball bat hung from his right hand. "I think someone's trying to get in." His voice shook, showcasing his fear.

"Get Lili, lock yourselves in my room." She whispered, waving for him to hurry along. He shook his head vigorously.

"No way. I'm going down there with you." She frowned, grabbing the bat from him.

"Absolutely not. Get Liliana and do as I say." The teen glared at her before turning around toward the child's room. Avery sharply sucked in a deep gust of oxygen before slinking down the stairs, gripping the handle of a Louisville Slugger.

The pounding was coming from the other side of the front door. Tiny hairs on her neck and arms stood as she approached the entrance. Through the wooden barricade she could hear a voice, a low masculine tone. Cautiously, she leaned the bat against the wall, placed her palms on the door and brought her eye to the peephole. Her vision was slightly distorted, like looking through a fishbowl, but she could still make out an older male staggering about on her doorstep. She stepped away sharply when he began pounding his fists against the mahogany obstruction again.

"Who is it?" Her yelp echoed through the dark house at her brother’s nearby voice.

"What did I tell you?" She hissed at him, smacking his bicep. He crossed his arms.

"I'm not leaving you by yourself," he reached for the bat. "It’s him, isn’t it?"

Avery sighed and nodded slowly, her gaze falling on the vibrating door.

"What the hell is his problem? He disappears for like two months and decides to show up at three in the morning? I thought we were done with this."

Avery thought so too. And yet it was happening again. The same vicious cycle.

“I can hear you!” James’ muffled voice called out and the banging stopped.

“Go home, Jamie! Go sleep this off!” Avery’s voice shook, holding no trace of courage. She was afraid and there was no hiding it.

“Where’s my kid? I’m not leaving without her.”

“She’s sleeping, Jamie.” The woman said slowly. “Come back in the morning and we can talk.” She silently hoped this would be enough to satisfy his need to see his child.

“Can I at least see you. Please? Just let me see you and I’ll go.”

Avery peered over at her brother, who was glaring at her sternly, shaking his head. “Don’t.” He whispered sharply.

She knew it was dangerous, but if she could get him to leave without involving the police, it was worth a try.

“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Aaron scoffed. “You’re seriously gonna open that door?”

“Go upstairs.”

He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you,” He shifted his body, placing himself between her and the front entrance. “And I’m not letting you open that door.”

They both gasped and instinctively grabbed each other as the pounding started again, but this time, it was louder and the windows shook with the blunt force.

James was kicking the door with such power, the whole house seemed to vibrate.

**********

Jeff rarely had a problem sleeping in hotel rooms. He had gotten used to strange beds over the years, mostly due to traveling a lot, but his off-ice activities helped him in that department too. That night was different though. He had fallen asleep easily, however after about an hour or so, he was suddenly wide awake. Every now and then, he’d be hit with an annoying bout of insomnia, usually after a tough loss. The Rangers had destroyed them at Madison Square Garden that night, but it was their second to last road game and the Flyers would be taking the short drive home to Philadelphia in a few days.

He could hear the rhythmic breathing of his usual roommate, Mike, cutting through the darkness. Jeff was instantly jealous of his friend’s uninterrupted sleep. He sighed and continued staring at the ceiling.

A light sliced through the dark room, grabbing Jeff’s attention. His silenced phone was illuminated and Avery’s picture filled the screen. A devious smile parted his lips. He knew what late night calls from his girlfriend meant. A steamy phone conversation was just the remedy for his insomnia.

“Hey baby.” He whispered huskily into the phone, rolling onto his back after retrieving the device from his nightstand.

“Jeff?” A frightened, small voice made him sit straight up in bed.

“Lili? What’s wrong?”

“I think my daddy’s here,” Her voice was so hushed, he almost couldn’t hear her. “And he’s mad.”

“Where are you?” He was already out of bed and throwing clothes on.

“I’m in my closet hiding like Aaron told me.”

Jeff nodded and pulled a shoe on. “OK, you stay there. Don’t move.”

“I’m really scared, Jeff.” He could tell she was crying by how her voice shook and it broke his heart.

“It’s OK, you’re OK,” He assured her as he scoured the room for his other shoe. “Do you know where your dad is? Is he in the house?”

“He’s outside, I think. But I can hear him. He’s yelling and he wants to come in.”

By now, Mike was awake and sitting up, staring at his teammate with concerned eyes. Jeff threw on the light, blinding himself momentarily. His eyes adjusted quickly and he silently cursed his missing shoe.

“Where are mommy and Aaron?”

“Downstairs, I think.” He could hear rustling and Lili’s heavy breathing.

“What are you doing?” Mike held up the renegade shoe and tossed it to the blond. He slipped his foot in and didn’t even bother to tie them.

“I’m checking.”

“No!” His tone came out harsher than he intended but he didn’t want her leaving the safety of her hiding spot. “Stay where you are.”

He could hear a banging noise growing louder as Liliana got closer to the source of the bedlam. Oxygen was robbed from his lungs when he heard the distinct sound of glass shattering and screaming. He knew it was Avery’s voice mixed with Aaron’s.

“He kicked the window!” The children screeched. “Daddy broke the window!”

She was sobbing now.

Mike was on his cell phone, calling the police as Jeff stayed on the line with the child.

“Get back in the closet, Lili.” She didn’t answer, but he could still hear the screaming and more glass breaking. “Liliana Cruz, you go back to hiding.”

The line clicked and Jeff yanked the phone from his ear.

Call ended: 2:36am.

“Fuck!” He threw a hoodie over his head and peered over at Mike.

“What is going on?” Mike was dressed too.

“James showed up at the house. I need to go home. I need a car.”

“I have a cousin nearby. We can borrow hers.” They hurried out of the hotel room while Mike called his cousin and Jeff redialed Avery’s phone. It rang several times before going to voicemail.

*****

Normally it took an hour and 45 minutes to get to Philadelphia from Madison Square Garden but with Mike behind the wheel, they were turning down Avery’s street a little over an hour after they had left New York. Jeff’s heart raced when he saw several police cars in front of the familiar house. Their blue and red lights flashed brightly in the night.

“Shit.” Jeff whispered as they pulled up to the curb. He maneuvered his long body out of the car and sprinted up the driveway. He was stopped almost immediately by a police officer.

“I’m sorry, sir. You can’t go in there.” Jeff’s eyes fell on a dark puddle that splattered across the welcome mat and extended inside the house. There was no mistaking what that dark substance was.

It was blood.