You Saved Me

“Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh! Bobby get back in here!” Brittany squealed with terror and delight from the living room as she paused the movie.

She only received a small bit of laughter from the kitchen before he said, “One sec.”

She turned back to the TV screen and then looked down at her phone to see it still turned off from Thursday afternoon.

Steph was the only person she would talk to and she called the house phone whenever she wanted to talk to Brittany.

In fear of turning her phone on and seeing all the missed calls and unread text messages from Joe, they came up with ‘call the house’ plan. Luckily, Joe didn’t seem to think of that to get a hold of her or he didn’t have her house number.

As badly as she wanted to talk to him and tell him, “Yes I meant it when I said it.” there was always the ‘but’ statement that came after it. “But, we still can’t be together.”

And the worst part about that, is that she couldn’t tell him the real reason why. Even though it would make everything so much easier between them. But she knew that could never happen since it was against the rules and the fact that there was at least one agent following Brittany whenever she left the house.

It never really made sense to her why they always followed her and Steph whenever they left the house on Friday, but then would just disappear whenever they were back at the house.

But she didn’t mind. It was breathing room for her whenever they would leave.

And it was bonding time for her and Bobby on Saturdaywithout having to worry about people peeping in through windows to make sure that she was alright.

They seemed to think that being at home with Bobby was the safest place for her. And she actually felt that way too.

Since Steph left earlier Saturday morning, Brittany’s day was freed up and her and Bobby decided to have a bonding day.

Watching movies, playing board games, talking about stuff. The stuff usually consisted of Brittany talking about school, Steph, Joe and the other kids who miraculously decided to turn on her and Steph. But still, it was nice to talk to someone other than Steph about things that were bothering her and have that ever so famous parent answer, “Things will get better. They always do.” And him talking about his job somewhat. She still didn’t know what he did for a living and she was so ashamed that she had been living with the man for three and half monthsand never bothered to ask him what he did, she didn’t ask him then. But she noticed how he seemed bulkier the last couple of days. Like he’d been working out or something. Steph had suggested steroids to explain his sudden bulkiness, but Brittany denied it and said that there was no way Laura would send her to live with a guy who took steroids.

And she also found out that she actually was ok with looking at Bobby as her father figure. She actually almost called him Dad today when he consoled her when she burst into random tears.

Well, for him they were random, but for her it wasn’t.

She was thinking about how messed up and yet a blessing in disguise her life was.

Yes, her parents were gone. That was the messed up part. But she met Steph and Joe and Bobby because of it. And even though she was currently avoiding Joe at all costs, she still couldn’t imagine her life without the three of them in it.

“Aww…you paused it for me.” Bobby cooed as he came in from the darkened kitchen with two bags of popcorn and a glass of water for her and soda for him.

“Well I would still be watching it if it wasn’t so damn suspenseful.” she snapped back with a laugh as he flicked the living room light off with his elbow and set everything down on the coffee table in front of them and got comfortable in his seat again before she pressed play for the movie.

“Well you said you didn’t like horror movies too much, and The Reaping isn’t a horror. So that’s why I got it. If you didn’t like suspenseful, I wouldn’t have gotten this one.” he said back to her while she shoved popcorn in her mouth to keep her from squealing.

“It’s so sad what happened to her daughter a-UH OH! Sex scene!” Brittany practically yelled while she turned her head and dug it into the back of the couch to keep from watching while Bobby laughed at her.

And that’s when she heard it.

The back door open and close.

“Did you hear that?” she asked into the couch and Bobby looked over his shoulder towards the darkened kitchen he just came from.

“Hear what?” he asked her as he looked back to the screen and reached for his soda to take a quick sip before setting it down on the table.

“Nothing.” she said quickly while looking back into the shadows of the kitchen before turning to look at the TV screen. “Nevermind.”

But it wasn’t a ‘Nothing. Nevermind.’ in her mind.

She knew she wasn’t hearing things.

She heard that back door open and close swiftly. And her senses went into overdrive along with her heartbeat.

It’s nothing. Just…the wind. It was just the wind. Don’t worry about it. Nothing’s there.

She took a few deep breaths and clenched her eyes shut to try and get her nerves to calm down a little bit.

But right as she was just about relaxed, she heard another heavy footstep against the wood flooring and her eyes snapped open while Bobby turned in his seat on the couch a little bit.

“Did you hear that?” she whispered to him and he looked at her with a blank expression.

She’d seen that expression before.

When Laura came yesterday and told her that they thought Gables was in California.

She gulped and watched as Bobby’s eyes swiftly moved back and forth from her eyes to the kitchen while his one hand reached down towards the back of his jeans.

“Act casual. Say your going to the bathroom and walk as normally as possible. Got it?” he ordered to her and she stared in confusion at him but snapped out of it when she heard yet another footstep against the wood.

“I’ll be right back. I have to go potty.” she said while a gleam of terror flashed across her face and he gave her a somewhat encouraging look.

She got up from the couch and took a deep breath before taking a step and decided to really see how well her acting capabilities portrayed.

“Oh. Pause it for me. Give me 5 minutes! You can time me!” she said back to him with a forced smile and then jogged up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut.

And right as her door shut, that’s when the panic started to take over her body.

Her already heightened senses, seemed to be more on alert and she was seeing small little dots of purple and green as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness from staring at a lighted TV screen.

As she took heaving breaths to try and get her nerves to stop tingling she tried to figure out what was going on.

But all she knew was four simple things.

The back door opened and closed, she heard footsteps, and that Bobby transformed into somewhat of an agent with telling her what to do in a time like this. And Gables was here in the house. There was no other explanation.

She felt her tears build up in her eyes from becoming completely scared out of her mind and her breaths were coming faster and more shallow than the last. All she wanted to do was curl up in a little ball, but she knew she couldn’t.

Especially when she heard what sounded like furniture getting scoffed around the floor downstairs.

And it hit her that Bobby was in just as much danger as she was at the moment and letting all her panic get tossed to the side by her adrenaline taking over her body, she scanned her room for any type of weapon.

The only thing she could make out in her darkened room was her bedside lamp, so she quickly ripped the cord out of the wall and grabbed it while slowly opening her bedroom door to hear Bobby’s and the intruders scoffs and groans while more furniture was being tossed around.

Even though her body was telling her to bolt down the stairs and save him, she knew she couldn’t. It would be more stupid for her and him to just come running down the stairs.

Maybe if I announce myself. Yeah…that might…no. Cuz then he might try and be a hero and tell me to go back upstairs, giving Gables the time to strike. I could just creep down the stairs and try and hit him, that will give me the element of surprise. Yeah. Surprises are good.

She thought back quickly to Joe’s saying’s about surprises.

“They keep life interesting.”

Hell yeah they do! Ok…breath…step…breath….step….listen….don’t panic….breath….step.

As she made her way quietly down the stairs as calmly as she could, she could see the light from the TV while the movie was still going that they were currently watching peacefully 10 minutes ago.

And when she got to where the wall ended on the stairs she let out a cry from seeing Gables standing over an unconscious Bobby with a gun in his hand, pointed directly at his chest.

She saw his head snap over towards her on the stairs and even though it was dark, she could see that sinister smirk he had on his face 9 years ago when he was making his way towards her in that closet and that thought made her drop the lamp right there on the spot.

She didn’t even wait to see what happened next, but she heard it. A gun shot and then footsteps coming after her.

The tears she had that she was fighting back sprung from her eyes when she heard that shot go off, but she knew she couldn’t stop running.

Her life depended on it now.

She pulled the pictures off the walls and anything else that could possibly slow him down but unfortunately, nothing was in the hallway to help her so she made a dash to her room and shut and locked the door, only two seconds later to have him throw himself against it.

She looked throughout her room for anything she could use to either kill him with or to escape, but nothing was coming across her line of sight and she inwardly cursed at herself for having Joe take that rope ladder home with him the night he asked her out.

And then she did the same thing she did 9 years ago.

She went into the closet and barricaded herself in there. Using her treasured suitcase that held her mother’s apron and fathers flannel pajama set.

It was déjà vu all over again. Except this time, she didn’t feel the tears streaking down her face.

She jumped in her spot and bit down on her lip to keep herself from squealing when she heard a crack and then a loud thud followed by a malicious laugh.

He had broken her door down.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness with the little aid of the moonlight shining through her blinds her breath hitched when he came into view through the slots.

She watched as he slowly made his way towards her bed, his back towards her and she looked hurriedly around her closet shelves while he started to talk.

“I know your in here Brittany. Or is it Trisha now?” his raspy voice echoed throughout her room and sent unwelcome chills down her back.

She spotted a dark square on top of one of the shelves and she reached her hand up to grab it and ripped open the box while he turned his body towards her closet from the noise she made.

Her heart practically stopped when he took quick steps towards her closet while she grabbed the contents of the box and realized what it was.

A gun.

How a gun got in her closet, she had no idea. But she was never more happy in her life to see one.

He reached for her closet door as she clicked the safety off from seeing so many guys in movies do and her closet door only moved about an inch from all the boxes she piled in front of it.

“Oh my dear Brittany.” he said with a small chuckle as she raised the gun towards his figure on the other side of the slotted wood door. “You really think that a couple of boxes is going to stop me?” he asked her, and her heartbeat increased as she whimpered slightly.

Shoot him Brittany! Now! Shoot him!

He tried grabbing the door again as she moved to the still enclosed side of her closet when he got another inch to open up.

“You know what’s really sad?“ he asked her and her hands started to shake from the convulsive but silent tears that kept rolling down her cheeks from thinking about what she had to do in order to save her life.

Yes. She wanted him dead. More than anything. But it was another thing when it was up to you having to end another person’s life despite what they had done to you.

Would you be able to pull the trigger if the very man that scared the living day lights out of you was coming at you?

“You know, it’s rude to not answer questions!” he yelled at her making her let out a squeal and her crying to now get switched from mute to full volume while her hands and arms trembled from her nerves and crying.

He’s right there. One shot and he’s dead. One shot. And he’d never see it coming!

“That Uncle,” he spat the word as if he knew that Bobby wasn’t her family member as everyone else was lead to believe. “was harder to kill than your poor old daddy. It’s a shame that he put up more of a fight for you than your own father did.” and that sent any confidence that she could pull the trigger, gone and made her fall to her knees to hear him say that.

It all came back to her than. The flashbacks started right there of that night 9 years ago.

She could hear the glass breaking in the kitchen from her father’s death. She could hear and see her mother tell her to go to the closet and be quiet. She watched as the man before her now, killed her mother by stabbing her to death. She could see him coming towards her hiding place when she was 8 years old with a knife that was soaked with her mother’s and father’s blood.

And then she snapped back to reality when the door was kicked in and a part of the snapped wood sent the gun she was holding to fly onto the dark ground of the her closet while his beady eyes locked on hers.

She literally was frozen to the spot when she saw that sinister smirk spread across his face and he reached for her. He grabbed her by her arm and dragged her out of the closet with no regards to the scraps she was getting from the broken wood that he dragged her over.

As she felt a piece jab into her other arm and break open the skin, something inside her clicked and she started flailing her arms and legs while screaming for any sort of help but that came to a quick halt when she felt his fist collide with her face, knocking her to the ground.

She heard a crunch as pain shot over her cheek and when she reached up to touch her cheek she felt a sting from the pressure and retracted her hand to see a dark substance on her hand.

But she didn’t have time to think about how badly her face and body hurt along with the searing pain that was spreading across her face when she saw him coming at her while reaching behind his back and revealing a large steak knife.

The tears rolled harder down her face as she had a flash of her mother’s dead figure on the bed and she knew that was going to be her any second.

“Good night Brittany.” he said to her, making her skin crawl one last time as he lunged towards her.
Using any little strength she had left, she kicked her feet up and slammed them to his chest while a gun shot rang off from somewhere nearby.

She watched as the instantaneous look of shock came across Gables face before he fell down next to her and she let out a blood piercing scream while she scrambled to get away from his body that was laying face down on her bedroom floor while a pool of darkness started to seep out from underneath his head.

She heard Bobby’s voice, fatigued and gasping for breath, call to her from her doorway and she quickly ran to him, tears running down her face mixed with her blood from her cheek and she flicked on her light to see him keel over onto the ground and pass out.