My heart thuds against my chest, the deafening rhythm thrumming in my ears. Over the noise from outside the bathroom, I breathe deeply, but it does nothing to calm my erratic pulse.
As much as I know we’re sitting ducks if we don’t try to get away, there’s nowhere to go since we’re on the second floor. If we even tried climbing from the window, we’ll fall to our death. Either way, we’re fucked.
Both boys look up at me through wet lashes, and I wish I could stop whatever is about to happen, but I can’t. Instead, I pull their heads down, lowering my own and closing my eyes.
The thudding from the bedroom stops, and silence hangs heavily around us, but something tells me it’s not over. The threat is close. I have never prayed, ever, but right now, in this bathroom, I do. I silently call out to a man in the clouds to keep us safe and get us through this.
I’ve seen all the movies. I’ve even laughed at them. It’s always the babysitter who gets killed in the end. My stomach drops when I hear the door handle twisting. The door is locked, but I doubt it will stop whoever wants to get in.
The boys tremble in my arms, and I wonder if we can make a getaway through the adjoining room. Thankfully, their folks decided it would be a good idea to have their rooms on either side of the bathroom.
I shoo them toward the opposite door, and we slowly, silently make our way there, but the moment we’re over the threshold, something grabs at my hair and shoves me back, causing me to stumble into the wall with a painful thud.
“No!” My throat burns with the screech as I watch the man in black make his way toward the boys. My back aches, it feels as if something is broken, but I rush to the bedroom where he turns and glares at me with black eyes.
He’s wearing a mask, so I can’t see his face, but the venom in his glare is enough to stop me in my tracks. The glint of a blade has my heart leaping into my throat.
“Don’t hurt them,” I plead, hoping he’ll leave the kids alone. They’re barely ten years old. And they’re good boys. They’ve never given me trouble while I’ve watched them.
The man in black laughs a deep, throaty chuckle before turning and grabbing one of them by his hair. The other tries to fight, but it’s no use. I grab a lamp from the nightstand and race to where the intruder is, but he’s fast. He spins on his heel and the sleek, metal slices through my clothes and blood oozes from my stomach.
When his gaze falls to the wound, he turns, grabs both boys, and rushes from the house as I fall to my knees. I have to get to a phone.
“No!” I cry out, but it’s too late because he’s gone. On my hands and knees, I crawl through the room to the hallway, leaving a trail of crimson in my path. By the time I reach the living room, I’m weakened by the loss of blood. Just then, the front door swings open and all I hear are voices.
Darkness clouds my vision and I know it’s no longer possible for me to keep my eyes open. As the pain sears through my body, I allow sleep to take me.
“Are you okay?” A deep rumble comes from beside me, and a scream tears itself from my throat. The burning sensation causing me to cough.
When I open my eyes, I find kind, but worried eyes beside me. He looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. I’m pretty sure I have. But I can’t tell him the truth. I can never confess I am scared of becoming like my father.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. It’s a lie. Everything he knows about me is a lie. He’s handsome, caring, and I know he loves me, but I can never truly be with him. I’m nothing more than a liar, and he doesn’t deserve it. “Perhaps you should go.”
“What?” The shock in his tone is clear. “It’s two in the fucking morning, Becs,” he says, calling me the name I gave him. “Becs, what is happening?” The concern in his tone cracks through my chest, reminding me of why I’m doing this. I should never have said yes when he asked me out. But the loneliness got to me.
I focused on my life, my secrets, and one night stands were all I ever allowed myself until Roger walked into the bar where I work. He wore me down and now I have to hurt him.
“Get out.” I don’t look at him as I pull on my clothes. “Get out. I need you out.” My hands tremble as I shrug on a hoodie. The cold has taken over me, and I shiver as I the memories still plague me.