Caged Birds Don't Like to Sing

I sat down on the couch with a small cup of coffee in my palms that was given to me. Jackson was beside me, as close as physically possible. In one hand was his coffee, the other hand rested on my leg in a nervous, protective habit of his. On the other side of me was Steven. He just looked from Jackson to I in a perplexed state.

I had already explained Laurie my situation once she picked Jackson and I from her plane’s landing area. She was pacing back and forth with her chin between two of her fingers. Her little heels shuffled around her body. She still looked the same after all these years. Still as busty and curvy as ever. And still stuffing herself into these tiny outfits. Not that she was fat, she just had assets.

“Do you think she’ll be at your house soon?” Laurie asked, still staring at the floor and walking in thought.

My eyes followed her movement. “I’m not sure. I don’t even know if she’s going to be there. It’s just an idea. But I do know she’s going to do something soon.”

“Especially because she thinks you guys are still on the cruise,” she added in, pointing her finger at me. She was making conclusions faster than I could even think. My mind felt like it was on fire.

“But I’m not.”

“Exactly why I got you two out of there.”

I looked over to Jackson. He watched her as she processed all of the facts and then glanced to me. His eyebrows were lowered. “Should we stop at home and check it out?” Jackson asked. He held his hands together and leaned over so his elbows were on his thighs.

“Probably the best idea. Have anything of great value? Anything fragile?” she questioned. “You can keep it here for now.”

I sighed, pointing my thumb over in Jackson’s direction. “Almost everything of his is important.” Which was true. He had his abundance of instruments and Dean. We’d have to haul that over ASAP.

Jackson corrected me. “I can just get Annabelle and Dean.”

“Do you think she’d do anything to your other instruments?”

Laurie answered for him with a shake of her head. “Deena wants to hurt you guys specifically. And she knows that damaging a few instruments, no matter the importance, wouldn’t get her point across. She wants to do something worse.” I could tell how well she had profiled my mother already. It was crazy how much she could see coming. Then again in the car, she did spill how she used to help with some crime cases. I guess she wasn’t as much of a ditz as I had falsely accused her of being.

I winced at the real name of my mother. I usually never referred to her as Deena. I sometimes even forgot that was her real name. “So should we go over there?”

She nodded. “Quickly. Our driver can take you.”

Jackson and I thanked her and told her we’d be right back. Once I got into the car, a familiar voice greeted me.

“Joseph?” I asked, shocked. I crawled up and leaned over the front seat. I smiled greatly when I saw Joseph in front of me. I knew it was improper to hug a chauffeur, but I threw my arms around him. “It’s so great to see you! You work for the Fiske family now?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Your parents fired me after you moved out. I told them how upset you were and I tried to stand up for you, but they just lashed out.” His familiar Russian accent made me feel better.

“Aw, thanks. The Fiskes are nicer anyway.”

“I found that out immediately,” he laughed.

I looked back and Jackson was glaring at me with confusion. I briefly summed it up for him. “Joseph was my family’s driver for the longest time. He’s a hell of alot better than the rest of my family.”

Jackson made a soft “Oh,” signalling that he understood. I smiled back at him and jumped back into my seat. His arm jealously wrapped around my waist and tugged me close to him.

“You’re so cute when you’re jealous,” I whispered in a baby voice to piss him off. He pursed his lips and scoffed. I poked his side lightly and pulled away, getting comfortable again.

“So I take it you didn’t murder her out in your neighbor-less house?” Joseph teased. We could see his eyes in the reflection of the rear-view mirror. I chuckled lightly, remembering the day that I was going out to Jackson’s house for the first time.

“Nope,” I answered. “He’s actually not half bad.” I smirked back at unamused Jackson.

Once Jackson and I were walking into the house, we noticed that everything seemed normal. Which made me feel like I was suppose to be expecting something. We told Joseph to go back to Laurie’s.We could take Jackson’s car back. It’d be one less thing to worry about getting damaged.

I started to get anxious the longer we stayed in the house. I felt like something was going to pop out and slice me up. We actually had to stay in there for awhile because we couldn’t find Dean.

“Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Deeaann,” Jackson and I would call in a sing-song tone, clapping our hands and snapping our fingers.

I was up in Jackson’s room and I checked under the bed for him. He wasn’t in there either. We were planning on staying in Laurie’s mansion for tonight, so I grabbed Jackson another outfit and tossed it in a small bag. Our suitcases were already back at home and I knew shouldn’t bring that whole thing.

My head popped up from his dresser when I heard a noise. I shoved the clothes in the bag quickly and threw it over my shoulder. Being the cautious person I am, I peeked my head into the bathroom to make sure everything was alright in there too. Then I flew down the steps.

Jackson immediately rushed over to me. He must have heard the noise as well. “Are you okay?”

I nodded quickly. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.”

I glanced around as I picked up the pace to find Dean. As I passed through the kitchen, I flicked on the stove. A strategically placed, inconspicuous murder weapon. Just in case. Then I took the knives off the counter and hid them in the back of the fridge. “What are you doing?” Jackson asked as he walked into the kitchen.

I pushed my hand over his mouth. “What if someone’s here? They could have stabbed us with the knives.”

Jackson shook my hand off of him. “You’re being crazy again, darlin’,” he assured. “I’m going to check the guest room for Dean, alright?”

I was nervous about being alone, but I didn’t want to seem like a complete loon for following him around like a lost puppy. I could feel my bottom lip quiver a little, but I faked some confidence. “Yeah. Grab me and outfit while you’re up there.” I tossed him the little bag that had his outfit in there.

“Okay.” With that, he was gone. I made sure the fridge was closed all the way by firmly pressing the doors close one last time.

I turned around and took a deep breath. I was still afraid that someone was going to show up behind me. I heard another clang. I ran to the end of the stairs. “Jackson! Are you alright?”

“Just fine. What was that?” he called back in return.

Before I could answer, someone clamped their hand over my mouth and tugged me away. I frantically kicked around until I was tossed over onto the couch. In front of me stood Riley. She held a wicked grin on her face. I gasped when I saw her saunter menacingly over me. I quickly stumbled up to my feet and held my stance.

I had the urge to call Jackson, but my instinct just wanted me to kill her right then. “What are you doing here?” I snarled, still in place.

She gracefully and arrogantly fluttered around the couch, grazing her thin fingertips over the edge of it. “Did you really think your mother would do this kind of dirty work herself?” Out from her long jean jacket’s sleeve slipped a knife. It fell perfectly into her grasp. Her fist clenched around it.

Jackson popped back down from the stairs just in time. But now he had Dean in his arms, but he immediately let him go back up the stairs. I watched over Riley’s shoulder as Chase grabbed Jackson from behind and pinned him down immediately.

“Jackson!” I cried, starting to push Riley out of my way. She held me in place and I couldn’t pass her. She was like a wall. She turned around quickly though, pulling out something. There was a loud noise and Jackson screamed out. I imagined she had shot him. I looked over even farther. Blood was leaking from his shoulder. I started to panic.

However, Jackson still managed to fling Chase over and toss his head against the floor. It was where the carpeting met the tile floor of the kitchen. Thankfully Jackson had made Chase hit his head on the title. He seemed out of it for a split second. Jackson screamed, “Go!”

Riley had tossed Chase the gun, which he had caught. I couldn’t decide if that was smart or not on her part. Jackson could easily get the chance to take that gun from Chase and I prayed he would. He just needed to stay in control a little longer.

I wasn’t going to leave him here, but I was going to charge up stairs. Riley threw out her knife and I hopped over the couch. It tipped over, but I kept running. She was on my tail. Her hand latched onto my ankle and as I fell onto the steps, my chin clipped the floor. I could taste the iron-ish taste of blood from biting my tongue. I kept crawling as quick as I possibly could go. Her knife slid down my ankle. I yelped, but it was a light cut.

That was when she got to me. I fell down a few steps and she jumped onto me. Her fist knocked on the side of my face and I cried out. I had a tight hold on her wrist that was the hand that held the knife. I was playing a deadly game of arm wrestling, trying to keep the knife as far away as possible from me. And it was almost pitch black in the dark, stairway. She grumbled and lurched as I wrenched around under her. Her other hand kept hitting any part of me possible. I finally pushed her off and she flew down a few steps. The knife was tossed out at the bottom of the staircase. I looked around briefly as she got it. Jackson was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Chase. It worried me greatly, but I shook it off when I saw her coming at me again. I shot off up the stairs, stumbling over a few as I went.

I got up to my feet once I was at the top of the stairs. I rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I watched as the handle was fiddled around with and I heard her groan loudly. “I’m coming in there!” she screeched.

I knew she’d be able to break down the door soon. I was breathing heavy and shaking. I looked around for some sort of protection. The first thing I saw was our sink. I pulled on the lever to make sure the water wouldn’t drain out. Then I began filling it to the rim.

I remembered me heating up the oven when I saw the curling iron sitting on the counter. I flicked it on. There was a thud on the other side of the door, nothing was damaged though. I didn’t know how long it would hold up. The iron was still heating up.

There was another thud. “Come on, come on, come on,” I mumbled to the curling iron, cranking up the heat to the max. I started to grow anxious. I prepared myself for her to barge in before it would heat up.

With the next thud, a board snapped. With the next, it was almost down. Through the small seam between the door frame and the door was her knife. She slid it in to scare me. I felt like I was in The Shining. “I’m almost there!” she sadistically laughed.

With the last hit, the door was down. I dodged the fall of it, and grabbed the iron. She didn’t expect it when I grabbed her by her hair and tugged her head down. It hit the counter top and I roughly pushed the iron to her forehead. She screamed loudly and tried to throw her hands to her head. Frozen with the stun of pain, I pushed her head into the sink and pressed the iron to the back of her neck.

Bubbles started to arise as she thrashed about. I heard a muffled scream once the iron started to burn against her. That would probably just speed up the process. I didn’t know how long I could keep her there. She was awfully strong. I used all my might to keep her down. I bit my already busted lip and grunted as I attempted to hold her down.

The iron started to steam even more as water hit it and her skin melted. She had to feel immense pain, but I felt no remorse. The smell of her skin made my nose crinkle.

After a minute or two of watching her motions slow. I started to feel the guilt. I couldn’t imagine killing someone, even if they were out to kill me. I let her go. Her skin was almost gone on the back of her neck. It made me feel a little ill to know I did that.

Her body twitched and the knife dropped from her hands. Maybe I was too late. Maybe she did pass already. I flipped her body over and her mouth was frozen in the shape of an ‘O.’ I winced at the look of the dead body. I lightly took her onto the bathroom floor and threw a towel over her. I made sure the iron was even hotter before unplugging it. I wanted it to stay as warm as possible for a while. I ran down the stairs with it.

I started to search around. I found Jackson and Chase fighting around over the gun. Blood still poured from Jackson’s arm. I started to get worried as Chase got control of the fight. They neared the stove and I screamed, “Stop!”

But it was too late. Jackson’s arm and side was pressed against it. I felt like it was my fault when I saw it steam. I roared and ran over, tackling Chase and the gun to the floor. I didn’t even look back on Jackson. Chase knew he let Jackson burn, so I was going to make him burn. I pressed the iron to his face. It hit his nose and his cheek. I didn’t know how hot it was, but he still hollered out. As he started to push me, I began hitting him over and over again with it.

He tossed me off of him. Then pounced onto me. The gun was pointed straight at me as he straddled my hips. The skin was peeling from his face and it dribbled blood. Jackson launched himself over Chase and managed to knock the wind out of him. The gun went spiraling out and across the room. Neither of us had time to get it. I watched as Jackson got up and started to kick at Chase. I flinched at every hit. None of us would be in this situation if it wasn’t for me.

I already knew what it felt like to kill someone. It felt awful. “Don’t kill him!” I demanded of Jackson. He turned around to me as Chase curled up into a ball on the floor.

“Do you not see what he did to you? To us?” Jackson exclaimed, throwing his arms down.

“Don’t kill him, though!” I pleaded again. “Why should we stoop to his level?”

“He can still hurt us if we let him go!”

I felt a hit to my side. I flung onto the floor. Riley was over me. I almost had a heart attack to just see her alive again. “You’re alive?” I gawked.

She evilly chuckled. “You can’t kill this cat. I’ve still got at least eight lives.”

Her face was repulsing. Water that was tinted red spilled from the corners of her mouth. Her forehead was badly burned, too. Her face was pale with purple lips. She looked like she had came back from the dead as a zombie. I didn’t understand how she lived.

She coughed a few times, spitting the gross liquid at me. She was still going to have damage from that for awhile. She was wielding the knife between her dainty fingers, interchanging her fingers to swiftly move the knife along her hand. As she grinned back at me, I could help but think about what a psycho she was. How was I even friends with her this long?

Rage built up inside me. I shoved my arms up and pushed her off. The knife went flying off, just like the gun. Now it was just fist and feet.

Unlike the gun, however, Riley started crawling over to reach it. I took her left ankle and pulled her before she could reach it. Her finger nails clawed at the floor as she tried to escape and her legs flung around, kicking her shoes off. I took her ankle closer and bit down on it. Hard. I didn’t let go until she stopped her moving all together.

She now turned her hands at me, grabbing at my throat. I was pinned back on the opposite side as I was before. Gasping for air, I looked over to see Jackson lying under Chase. Both of them were throwing fists still at each other. The length of this fight was utterly shocking. They kept rolling around on the tiled floor.

I kneed upwards and hit Riley in the gut. Luckily, I was by the fridge and I scrambled my fingers around for the knife. I grabbed the first one I saw and threw it out at her as hard as I could. I clenched my eyes closed so I didn’t have to see.

I heard a piercing scream. I peeked one eye open sheepishly to see the knife go straight through her foot. She grabbed onto it quickly and started to pant because she finally got a break. I did too. My chest was heaving. I took the opportunity to help Jackson. But when I looked over, Jackson seemed dead already. My heart sank.

I ran over and pounced on top of Chase, knocking him to the ground. I kept him down with all of my strength. “What the fuck, Chase? Why would you do this?” I spat, holding him down by his throat now. I knew he couldn’t answer. I just pressed my thumbs in harder.

His face changed hues. From white, to red, to a eerie purple, to blue. His eyes watered lightly. Mine did, too. I was taking a life. A life that had almost taken mine many times before.

He stopped moving. Eyes stopped blinking. Mouth stopped quivering. I got up off of him and wiped my wet eyes. It still hurt on the inside.

I looked behind me to see Riley still in pain. She was trying to get up. I knew what I had to do to stop everything.

I ran past Jackson and picked up the gun. I held it in one hand as I dialled for 9-1-1 in my other. As Riley tried to come after me again, she stopped once she saw the gun. Before I could start the call, I warned, “Any sudden movements and you are dead.”

Behind he I could see the knife she must have yanked from her foot. She was trying to hide it, but I wasn’t going to let my sympathy get in the way of anything. I fired the gun and I didn’t miss. She fell to the ground. Shaking uncontrollably, I pressed the button on the phone.

“We just got attacked. We fought them off, but my husband is injured,” I sniffed into the phone.

“We’ll be there soon,” the lady said hanging up.

I dropped the phone, letting it crash onto the floor. I knelt beside Jackson’s body. Blood came from his shoulder and his stomach and his leg. I took off my own shirt and tried to clot the stomach wound. More tears poured from my eyes.