by Ford, Brenda
“Shit,” I mutter as I finally get back outside. “What am I going to do?”
There is only really one person that I can speak to about this, who should care as much as I do, but she hates my guts right now and she’s going to absolutely destroy me for this. She told me to keep away from Ellie, so speaking to her about that very person is going to be very problematic. But I have no choice…
I call her number, my heart racing as I do, and I prepare myself for her to hate me.
“Hello?” Rosie barks, already unimpressed. “What do you want, Oliver?”
“Rosie, I have a real issue.” The terror is immediately evident in my voice. “I need your help.”
“You need my help? What after you fucked me over about a million times? After you made me fall for you and then you broke me? After we argued a hundred times about our feelings?”
“I thought that we were going to be friends,” I half whisper. “Didn’t we agree on that?”
After a beat of silence, she replies. “Okay, fine. We’re going to be friends. How exactly will that work?”
“Well, I’m at Ellie’s house right now…” I start, but of course she quickly jumps in.
“Ellie’s?” she screams so loudly; I’m forced to drag the phone away from my ear. “You are at Ellie’s house, after I told you that I didn’t want you anywhere near her? And now you’re calling to rub it in?”
“No, it isn’t like that. Please, just listen to me, Rosie.” I beg. “Please, this is urgent. You don’t understand.”
“Fuck you, Oliver,” she yells. “Just fuck you. Go to hell, okay? I hate you, I don’t want to talk to you.”
“No please, wait! Don’t hang up,” I yell. “I’m worried. Something really bad is going on.” I wait for a moment and while she doesn’t say anything it doesn’t seem like Rosie has hung up the phone either. I have managed to catch her attention for long enough to keep her on the line so I need to make my next words really clear. “I’m worried about Ellie and Seth. She isn’t answering her calls; she isn’t going in to work…”
“He hasn’t gone to school today,” she whispers back. “Mom told me. I thought that he was sick.”
“Well, they are at the house, I can hear them. But they aren’t answering the door. They might be really sick.”
“Shit. That’s not good.” Thank God it seems like family is over shadowing all the pettiness from the past. “I’m going to call Mom now and we will meet you there. Figure out what’s happening.”
This might not be any kind of truce, but I’m so glad that she’s agreeing with me. “Thank you, Rosie.”
“Hold tight, Oliver. It won’t be long, and we will figure this all out.”
As I hang up the phone, a little bit of relief floods me. I haven’t seen Ellie just yet, but at least I won’t be by myself any longer. They will be here soon, and we can sort all of this out… I hope.
* * *
“Oliver, oh my God, you’re here.” Rosie hugs me, which surprises me. Her arms squeeze me tight and she leans her head against my chest, gaining some comfort from me. “What’s going on? Have you seen anything?”
She’s winded me, it takes me a couple of seconds to get my breath back and find the words. It’s been such a quick time between me calling them and them arriving, it’s unexpected.
“I’ve just been waiting down here for you guys to turn up.” I smile at Amelia over her head. “Shall we go?”
“Yes. Come on.” Rosie pulls on my hand. “Let’s go and help Ellie and Seth.”
We run up the stairs together and all three of us begin hammering on the door. I half expected Amelia to have a spare key or something to make it a little easier, but she doesn’t. I guess Ellie hasn’t had enough time to plan things like spare keys. After this situation, she’s going to have to. This can’t happen again.
“Ellie!” Rosie yells. “Ellie, I’m sorry that I have been such a damn bitch. I didn’t mean to be an asshole about you and Oliver. I should have listened to you and talked to you. I was wrong. Please just open up.”
She doesn’t meet my eyes as she says this, so I don’t know if this is just because she wants Ellie to come out or if she really means it, but right now that isn’t the top of my priorities.
“Ellie… Seth…” Amelia joins in. “I’m here too. Can you please open the door so I can talk to you? I’m very worried and the school is as well. I just want to be able to tell them what’s happening. Nothing is going to happen. Not with me here. I promise. This will just be a civilized conversation.”
I hold on to every scrap of hope that she will just open the door already, but it doesn’t happen. The door remains as firmly fucking locked as it did before. I sigh harshly, hating every moment of this. It’s agonizing. I need this nightmare to end. I might have to break the door down to sort everything out.
“What shall we do?” I murmur to Amelia. “How are we going to get in there? We need to.”
“I don’t know, but I’m freaked out, Oliver. We need to do something.”
I glance at Rosie, and we share a knowing look. We’ve known each other long enough to understand what we mean, and it seems like Rosie agrees with me. This is going to take some drastic action to save Ellie and Seth in there. No one knows what’s happening, but we need to find out soon enough. We need to.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ellie
I can hear them, all of them together. They have come to help me and Seth and there isn’t a damn thing that I can do. If I scream then me and Seth will both be in danger, which I can’t let happen. The night has been long and awful. My father has pushed me around on more than one occasion, not even stopping when I caved and burst in to tears. In fact, he really seemed to get some kind of kick from that. He’s a sick man.
The drugs don’t help. He’s been snorting that white powder all night long and at one point he smoked something in a pipe as well which sent him over the edge. He was unbearable for a long time. I actually hoped that one of the neighbors would call the cops because of the noise, but no one did.
Seth was actually excited when he first leapt up from his bed to find his dad still here. He thought this was a sign that we were going to be a real family for a while… but then Dad grabbed a knife from the kitchen and waved it in his face. That’s the moment he realized that his father was a pig. I couldn’t bear it, seeing his face fall and his dreams crushed, but I just can’t get the man out of my house. I don’t think he’d go even if I gave him money now. It seems to have gone way beyond that. He’s lost his freaking mind.
I glance towards the door once more, wishing that I could run for it and unlock it, to let my family in, but I feel Dad’s eyes upon me, piercing through me, warning me that we will both die if I do anything stupid.
Luckily, Seth gets it too. He has his lips clamped tightly together, I don’t even know if he’s breathing, never mind making any noise. It isn’t going to happen, thank goodness. I just wish that he hadn’t woke up and that he was still safe in bed. Or at Auntie Amelia’s that would be much better.
A wave of sadness washes over me as I think about my life at Auntie Amelia’s. It wasn’t always perfect, that’s for sure, but I felt safe there. I came to this apartment thinking that I was an adult and could handle anything, but now I feel like a small child who can’t deal with life. Who needs her mommy.
Oh, Mom, I think sadly. How has this happened? What is with this guy? Why him, huh?
But I will never be able to ask her. Not about any of it. The things that my dad have accused her of, the fact that she was ever with him, the fact that he’s here now… all of it. It’s a shame, but something that I will just have to come to terms with. I can’t get answers, so I just need to escape. Get away from him. This toxic ass.
“Shut the fuck up,” Dad whispers, moving over to Seth. The knife goes around his neck and he presses the blade against my brother’s skin, making me whimper. I try to shoot across the room to him, but Dad presses it harder. The threat is real
. He intends to kill Set first if anything goes wrong.
“Sorry,” I mouth to a terrified Seth who is now sobbing like crazy. “I’m so sorry.”
“Ellie, we are truly worried about you,” Auntie Amelia calls through the door, making my heart bleed. “I’m scared for you and Seth. I want to come in and talk to you. Oliver and Rosie can wait out here…”
“Bitch,” Dad hisses, spittle flying everywhere. “I hate her so much. Fucking Amelia.”
“Yep, they have just agreed to wait out here,” Auntie Amelia continues. “They are mature enough to know that you need space. Even if all of you have been acting like kids recently. I know why as well. I have finally found out the truth of what’s been going on. You all could have just talked to me.”
Her words touch me deeply. I know now that I probably could have done that all along and made this easier, but I was scared. Stubborn too, probably. Idiotic. And now we have ended up in this mess.
“Shut her up,” Dad growls to me. “Shut her the fuck up before I kill her.”
“You want me to go out there?” I jump up probably showing too much excitement.
“Oh, hell no. I’m not letting you anywhere. Sit the fuck down. Don’t try to outsmart me!”
I do as he commands because I don’t have any choice. Thankfully, he pulls the knife away from Seth’s throat, but it’s only for long enough for him to snort another line of that white stuff. His nose sounds blocked as he does it, I’m sure that he must be damaging himself, but I’m not worried. I would rather him pass out. Drop to the floor and harm himself so me and poor Seth can join the rest of our family outside.
“Fucking bitch,” Dad mutters again while sorting out another line for himself. “I fucking hate her.”
As he snorts, I spot my cell phone sticking out from underneath the couch. I know the screen is smashed because Dad stomped on it hard earlier on, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work. I know that I can’t call anyone, but I might be able to do something. I could text! I could send a message to someone outside.
I try to catch Seth’s eye, so he knows that I have a plan, but he’s too busy sobbing hard and clinging on to his knees like they are the only thing keeping him together. He’s a wreck. If we get out of this, he will probably need a million hours of therapy, but he’ll be alive and that’s the main thing. I need to keep him alive.
I slide slowly on my ass, trying not to make any noise at all, which seems to work because Dad remains distracted by his drugs. I slide a little further and slowly reach my fingers forwards to grab the device. I hate the way that the screen remains black as I pull it to me. I really hope it isn’t completely destroyed.
“Have they gone?” Dad asks, spinning back just as I slip back to where I was before. “I hope so.”
My heart thunders but thankfully he doesn’t seem to even really look at me. His eyes are glazed over and blood shot. I don’t know much about drugs, but I doubt he can even see me right now. Still, I don’t risk actually using my cell phone because he has the knife clutched between his fingers all over again. He isn’t letting that go no matter what happens. He needs it to keep me and Seth right where he wants us.
“You could have just written me a check,” Dad murmurs. “Then none of this would have happened. If you had just let me have what I wanted, then we would be fine right now. We would be all good.”
“I can…” I start, prepared to offer him anything now, even if we lose everything, I just want him gone. Auntie Amelia will take us back. We can live back in that house. It wouldn’t seem too cramped now, it would be nice. To have all of them around us… it would be good. I’d welcome it now. Me and Rosie can figure it out.
“I want more. I want all of it. I want everything now. That bitch stole my life and you…”
“I will give you all of it. Whatever you want. Just take it, will you? This is dumb.”
“I’m dumb now.” The tip of the knife touches my cheek causing me to suck in a panicked breath. I can’t move backwards because he’ll lurch at me again and I can’t move forwards either or it will pierce my skin. I need to remain still as a statue like a wasp has landed on me. Only this wasp could kill me. “I’m stupid?”
“N… no, I didn’t mean that,” I stammer, fear bolting through me. “Just the situation.”
“You need me to scare you more? Because I can?”
He pushes the blade in a little harder, making a little squeal of pain fly out my mouth. A hot trickle runs down my skin which means he’s pierced me and I’m now bleeding. Yet he doesn’t care. I seriously hope that my family outside can hear some of this even if it’s all happening far too quietly.
“I don’t… I don’t want anything,” I insist. “I just want to help you out.”
“It’s too fucking late now. You blew it. You wrecked it completely. Do you understand that?”
He’s just about to go in on me, really letting me have it, when he’s distracted by yet another bang on the door reminding him that there are people outside. His mood darkens even further, which I didn’t even think was possible, and he turns away from me. He walks over to the door as if he’s about to act…
“Ellie?” Oliver’s voice stops him in his racks. “Ellie, I’m sorry. I know that I have said that, we all have, but I really am. I don’t want to lose you. Not for anything. You mean too much to me.”
Dad cocks his head to one side, listening to the words, probably as something to use against me later on, which gives me the chance to get my cell phone out once more. I just about see a message from Oliver, but I can’t make out any of the words. I also don’t know how long I have to reach out to him, so I type the quickest thing I can think of. I hit the nine button, then the one twice before firing it off to him. It will signal an emergency surely? It will let him know that I need the police here right away to put an end to this once and for all.
Now I just have to hope that he doesn’t say anything about the message through the door.
I pray to whatever deity might be listening and squeeze all the tension inside of me while I wait, but thankfully it just goes silent outside. I hope this means that my message has been received and it makes sense. I half consider sliding my cell phone back under the couch just to get rid of any evidence, but decide against it in the end. I might need it again if this doesn’t work out as planned and I need to contact someone else.
“Seth,” Dad hisses. “Sethy boy. Come over here a minute.” Seth doesn’t move. He’s paralyzed with fear. Dad probably enjoys that too. He seems to enjoy inspiring fear in those around him. He must be sick in the head. “Get here now, Seth. I want you to come here. Don’t forget that I have a knife. I am the one in control here.”
“I’ll come.” I jump up quickly, needing to save my brother. “You need someone, take me.”
Dad grabs me and for one brief moment I think he might be about to turn another corner to hug me, but he slams me to the floor yet again. This time he holds the knife against my chest and with a sick smile on his face, he starts to push down on it. He wants to kill me; he wants me dead. This might be the last second of my life. At the hands of my father, and in front of my brother, I might be stabbed and killed. I can’t just lie here and take that. I need to find an ounce of strength to fight him off. I can’t give up like this. This is what he wants.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Oliver
I show Rosie and Amelia the message that basically demands I call the emergency services. It doesn’t specify which one I need, but at least it lets me know that she’s alive enough to text me. Of course, nine-one-one also means that she’s in serious danger, but I’m trying hard not to get too hung up on that part, I don’t want to fall apart. I need to hold it together for just a little longer, just to save the woman that I love.
“I’m just going outside to call,” I mouth to Amelia and Rosie. “You stay here.”
I know that I’m about to freak out and scream in a moment because Ellie is in danger but having her face in my mind and t
he knowledge that I could save her keeps me going. I am the only person who can get her out of whatever mess she’s in right now, so I need to do it. I run back outside the building, dialing as I go.
“Hello? Hello?” I yell to the operator. “I need the police… and an ambulance as well.” I call out the address quickly. “I need them both right away. There is a real emergency here. It’s really God damn serious.”
“Okay, sir, please calm down. Tell me what’s happened so I can assist you properly.”
I don’t know how the hell I am supposed to be calm in this situation, but I try. “Er, well we are at my… my girlfriend’s house.” That seems like the most rational explanation for what me and Ellie are right now. “Me and her family because she and her younger brother have not been responding to any calls. She hasn’t been in work or anything either. We’ve been worried about her. So, we went to see her and… well, she isn’t answering the door, but we can hear noises inside. Then she sent me a text asking me to call the emergency services.”
“Right okay, so you don’t know exactly what is happening? You haven’t seen anything?”
This question frustrates the hell out of me. Did she not hear what I just said? “I don’t know but it’s an emergency. I know that much. She’s in real danger and I don’t know what it is, but if someone doesn’t come soon… well, something really bad could happen.” I gulp, realizing the severity of this. Something really bad could happen. We don’t know how much danger she is in here. “Please send someone. Send them right away.”
The operator continues talking to me, but I don’t hear what she says. My brain has turned in to a scrambled mess. I’m nearly knocked off my feet thinking about what state Ellie could be in. What if she’s… no, I can’t even think it. I can’t even begin to imagine her dying that’s far too much for me. I can’t hack it.
