"Ma'am, please stay calm. The police are en route." The dispatcher’s calm, steady voice is only making me panic more. There's some psycho in my house breaking stuff. And if they think they're in an empty house, what will they do when they finally realize they aren't alone?
Just then I hear the sound of my bedroom doorknob turning. It makes a clicking sound as whoever is on the other side tries to turn it again and again. There's a muffled curse and then a bang. I hang up on the operator, not wanting the intruder to hear the sound of her voice. I close the lid on my laptop and silence my phone. I shrink back deeper into the closet.
My hand bumps into something hard and pointy. I grope around until my fingers close around the shoe. I almost want to sob and laugh at the same time. I'm trapped in my room and the only weapon I have readily available is a high-heeled shoe.
I clutch the shoe tighter to my chest when I hear the sound of sirens in the distance. Then a few minutes later I hear someone call out, "Police! Anyone here?"
I'm shaking so badly I can't even answer. I crawl out of the closet and run to open the bedroom door.
"Is it safe to come out?"
The beam of a flashlight hits me in the face and I squint against the sudden light in the darkness. The officer lowers his weapon and his flashlight. "Yes, ma'am. You called about a prowler?”
“Someone was here. I heard them.” I open the door wider and then gasp.
An ornately carved knife is embedded into the wood of my bedroom door. The blade goes directly through a picture.
Of me.
* * * * *
For the next half an hour, I have to recount the story of what happened and point out the damages. Nothing appears to have been taken but it's hard to tell since my living room has been trashed. The cushions on the couch have been slashed with a knife and all my vases have been shattered.
The picture of me is still on my bedroom door. I was told not to touch or move anything, not that I wanted to anyway. It gives me the creeps every time I look in that direction. I’m not sure what day it was taken but it must have been recently because I’m wearing my new down coat. In the picture I’m laughing, my face turned up to the sky. There are words written on the bottom but I only know because the officer told me what it said.
You take from me, I take from you.
Just remembering the words sends a chill up my spine, not that I have any idea what that means. I haven’t taken anything from anyone. And I never have. I would never steal.
Eli arrives in the middle of everything and smoothly takes over. I'm grateful for his interference for once. When he sees my fingers shaking, he even uses my cell phone to call Gabe.
While he deals with the police, I sit on the couch clutching my phone in my hands. The next thing I know Gabe is kneeling before me. His dark eyes are awash with regret. I launch myself into his arms and cling to his neck.
“I knew I should have brought you home with me. Oh god, Sasha.” His voice breaks and he suddenly grabs me in a hug so tight that my ribs ache. He hefts me in his arms and sits awkwardly on the couch with me in his lap.
“What happened?” he asks.
My tears have subsided a little at this point so I wipe my eyes and stand. I point to the back door. “He came in through that door. I was asleep on the couch. When I got up, I heard some strange sounds. Then I heard the door open. I barely made it to my room.”
Eli appears at my elbow. “The police are about done. They’re going to dust for prints and they’re taking your neighbor’s statement. She says she saw a guy hanging around earlier today. They’re also going to analyze the photo and see if they can find out where it was printed.”
“Photo?” Gabe raises his eyebrows.
Eli points to my bedroom door.
Gabe walks over and when he sees the note all the blood drains from his face. I’m stunned by the devastation in his eyes. Silently, he crosses the room and pulls me into his arms. I can feel his anguish.
“I’m okay, Gabe. I’m okay.” I repeat the words, hoping if he hears it enough, he’ll believe it.
He pushes back and the bleak despair on his face transforms into a determined look. He kisses me on the forehead again. “I have to go.”
“Wait! Where are you going?” I follow him to the front door.
When he turns, something comes over his face and his expression goes completely blank. I haven’t seen this look on his face in so long that I forgot what it was like to have him look at me with no emotion in his eyes.
His mask is back and my Gabe is gone.
“Sasha, I was wrong when I told you that I could do this. This, all of this, is getting too real. You deserve the kind of guy that can be there for you, who can make you happy and hold you when you’re sad. I tried to be that guy … ”