Hope

The following day Zack went to his parents’ house, to find a familiar car already there. He took a deep breath then walked in. “Zack!” his mom exclaimed, as she looked up from the table.

“Hey mom,” he replied as he gave her a hug, then glanced at the table to see Gina. “Gina,” he nodded towards her.

“Gina stopped by to see if she could come to Easter dinner with the family. So nice of her,” Zack’s mom explained, bringing him over to the table. “I told her I’d have to talk to you first, of course. You came just in time.”

Zack gave his mom a smile, trying to keep calm, “I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

At this Gina got up, glaring at him, “You’re bringing her aren’t you?!”

“Who’s ‘her’?” Zack’s mom asked, turning towards Zack.

“Yes, Zack,” Gina all but snarled. “Who’s this girl you picked up off the street?”

Zack’s mom looked back from Gina to Zack trying to get an explanation for the sudden hostility. “Gina, you need to leave,” Zack clenched his fists at his side.

“I have other places to be, anyways,” Gina replied, stalking off.

“Explain,” Zack’s mom gave Zack her full attention, pointing at a chair for him to sit in.

“Mom, it’s not as bad as Gina made it sound,” Zack tried to ease his mom. “We had just finished playing a concert, when I was on my way home, and came upon a girl who was getting attacked. So, I helped her and her daughter out.”

“Her daughter?” Zack’s mom raised an eyebrow, making Zack shift nervously in his seat.

“She has a year and a half old daughter, well, now she’s almost two.”

“Where’s the father?”

“He has no interest in her, he hasn’t attempted contacting her or anything.”

“Or so she says,” Zack’s mom crossed her arms.

“Mom, you can trust her,” Zack argued back.

“I haven’t even met the girl. I think you’re so desperate for a girl that you’d take any girl. What happened between you and Gina? Gina was a good choice for you, we know her family, and they’re very nice people.”

“Mom, Gina and I weren’t working out. She’s controlling and only wanted money,”

“She’s a sweetheart,” Zack’s mom argued back.

“Mom, please, she doesn’t have any family in the area,” Zack pleaded, attempting to change the subject.

Zack’s mom sat and contemplated for a few moments before, getting interrupted by Zack’s phone. Zack glanced at it to see it was Kristel. She usually never called so it must’ve been important. “I have to take this, sorry.”

[c]*****[c/]

Kristel had straightened a few things around Zack’s house after she had gotten up. She was in the process of getting lunch ready for Amber when the doorbell rang. Still not comfortable answering the door when Zack wasn't there. She timidly walked to the door and looked out the peephole. Her heart pounding when she saw the three men from when she had first met Zack.

Kristel quickly backed away from the door and went for her phone. Dialing Zack as the men started pounding on the door. She felt her adrenaline kick in when they started shouting. Different scenarios running through her head, each one worse than the last. Why were they here? What did they want? She thought to herself.

“Kristel?” she heard Zack’s confused voice on the other line.

“Zack,” Kristel’s voice cracked, tears forming in her eyes. “Those men who tried to rape me when we first met are here and I don’t know what to do.”

Kristel’s heart jumped in her throat when Zack fell silent for a second. “You need to call Val, I’m too far away to get there right away.”

“Okay,” Kristel squeaked, not wanting to hang up.

“You okay?” Zack asked. Bringing Kristel’s attention back to the phone in her hand, as the pounding intensified.

“So far,” Kristel whispered.

“Okay, stay out of the windows and lock yourself in my room with Amber, and call Val and Matt. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Zack promised.

“O-okay,” Kristel took a deep breathe then disconnected with Zack. She grabbed Amber’s lunch and ran to her bedroom, careful to duck below the windows. After getting to her room she grabbed Amber, then started dialing Val’s number, praying she’d pick up.

[c]*****[c/]

Matt and Val were in bed, when Val’s phone started going off. “You need to start turning that thing off when we’re alone,” Matt grunted as he started losing concentration.

Val glanced at her phone to see it was Kristel calling, “Its Kristel,” Val climbed off of Matt to get her phone.

Matt lay begrudgingly on his side in bed, as Val answered her phone. “Hey Kristel what’s up?” Val asked confused. She looked towards her husband to see him laying on his side, the covers off, showing his body to her. “What?!” Val exclaimed into the phone after Kristel explained what was going on. “We’ll be there in a few minutes hang in there.”

Val threw clothes at Matt after hanging up with Kristel. “Get clothes on the men that Zack saved Kristel from are at his house and she's all by herself.”

At hearing this, Matt jumped out of bed and threw clothes on. They both ran to their car, and sped off to Zack’s house.

As Kristel called Val, Zack turned towards his mom. “I have to go.”

“But, why?” his mom asked, confused. “You just got here.”

“Yeah, well, there's some guys at my house that want to hurt Kristel.” Zack explained quickly as he walked towards the front door.

“Kristel’s the name of the girl you found on the street right?” his mom called after him, before he made it to his car.

“Right,” Zack called back, then got into his car and sped off.

Kristel sat on Zack’s bed, hugging Amber to herself, relaxing slightly when the pounding stopped. She hopped that meant that Matt and Val were there. Kristel sat Amber in Zack’s bed, and tiptoed to his door. She unlocked it, to peek out into the hallway. She didn’t see anything, so she ventured out a little farther, trying to listen for sounds.

Suddenly the sliding doors in the kitchen crashed open, making Kristel’s heart nearly come out of her chest with fright. It didn’t take the men long to find Kristel in the hallway, frozen with fear. One of the men slammed Kristel into the wall, knocking the wind out of her. “You owe us money,” the man snarled into Kristel’s ear. “So I’m taking the payment now.” the man grabbed for Kristel's chest as she whimpered in pain.

Kristel struggled to remove the mans hand from her throat, as she became scared for her life. The other two men stood to the side, they're eyes alight with enjoyment. The first man let Kristel go, then slapped her across the cheek, making her fall into the wall. Kristel let out a small cry of pain, her hand flying to her hurt cheek. “We're gonna keep doing this until you pay up.” the man smirked, making Kristel curl up against the wall, trying to protect herself as much as she could. This didn’t deter the man in the slightest. The man signaled for the other two men to grab her arms. They did as they were instructed as Kristel sobbed, begging for them to let her go. The first man going for her pants, his eyes looking over her hungrily.

“Kristel?” Val’s worried voice floated to Kristel, as gasps of fear escaped her lips. “Oh my God,” Val found Kristel and the men in the hallway. “Matthew!”

Matt came rushing down the hallway and tackled the man off of Kristel, then held him against the wall. Kristel squirmed trying to release herself from the other two men as Matt knocked the first one out. He then shoved the other two off of Kristel, letting her run towards Val. “Are you okay?” Val gently hugged Kristel to her. Kristel nodded her head, burying her face in Vals chest.

“Kristel?” Zack’s voice floated to her, as he rushed into the house. He looked towards the hallway as he heard scuffling. He ran and helped Matt knock the other two guys out. Panting both Matt and Zack came back to the living room. "I called the cops on my way here," Zack informed everyone. "They should be here soon."

Zack looked towards Kristels frightened form, as the cop cars rolled up. His heart broke at how much she was crying. He got up and let the officers in, and filled them in on what had happened. Once they were able to get Kristel to calm down, she was able to give a statement as well. The cops took the unconscious men and bid everyone a good night.