Chapter 4 - The Storm
Susan received the call that she was dreading,
for a long time. Her friend Lucy had
seen Peter not far from Susan’s home and she was concerned that perhaps he was
in the area looking for Susan and Aimee.
Susan thanked Lucy and then rushed to lock her doors and windows, closed
her curtains and blinds and then activated her house alarm. Aimee started to repeat ’why is it so dark
mummy, I want to go out and play?’ Susan
told Aimee ’go play with your toys honey, mummy’s busy!’ Susan sat by the window at the front of the
house and looked out through a gap in the curtains; the street was quiet with
no movement in sight. Susan’s stomach
was in knots; that old sickening sensation had returned for the first time in a
long time; she was scared and didn’t know what to do. Susan knew that no matter what should happen,
Aimee was her primary concern and nothing else could take precedence. The following several hours after the
distressing phone call, seemed to last forever and Susan thought that the day
would never end. Susan looked at her
mobile phone and then clicked on her contacts, Alex being first position, not
through choice but dictated alphabetically.
Susan sat looking at his name and number on the screen and then decided
not to contact Alex, feeling that it would not be right to involve him in her
troubles. Alex was driving along a
country road when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, causing him to
quickly pull over to the side of the road.
Alex gripped his chest with his right hand and felt a terrible feeling
of panic, a panic which he knew to not be his own. Alex felt that he couldn’t breathe inside his
van and needed to get outside. He
quickly threw open his door and jumped out onto the tarmac. As he turned his head in the direction of
Susan, he could feel the cold icy fingers of fear creeping up his spine and it
was then that he realised that something was wrong. Alex got back into his van, moved the gear
stick into reverse and then backed the van into a small lane. Alex turned the wheel towards Susan’s house
and then put his foot to the floor causing his powerful engine to roar like a
lion as he sped off along the country roads.
Alex looked at the speedometer and it read 71 mph as the shiny silver vehicle
raced forward. Susan was starting to
feel more relaxed as there was still no sign of Peter in sight, then the door
knocked loudly and Susan jumped. There
was a long pause of silence and then suddenly the door knocked again and Susan
leapt from her chair, running towards Aimee where she picked her up in her arms
and hugged her tightly. Susan was
shaking with fear ‘what’s wrong mummy?’ Asked
Aimee. Susan couldn’t speak; her mouth
dry as a bone and instead remaining silent.
The noise from the door increased and Susan backed further away from the
front of the house, she was petrified and kept staring at her phone. Susan moved forward to lift her phone from
the coffee table when suddenly she heard a massive noise when the lock broke and
the door came swinging in. Susan
panicked and tried to run but she couldn’t move fast enough and before she knew
it, Peter had grabbed the back of her hair, dragging her back into the living
room with Aimee screaming in her arms.
As Peter held Susan hostage, he screamed ’you fucking thought you could
hide from me and keep my daughter away from me, you fucking bitch!’ Susan screamed ’please Peter, let me put
Aimee down, you’re scaring her!’ Peter
in a temper, threw both Aimee and Susan onto the sofa and then started to pace
up and down. ’You thought that I
wouldn’t find you Susan, didn’t you?’ Said
Peter. ’I fucking told you I’d find
you!’ said Peter with a crazed look in his eyes. Susan protected Aimee by wrapping her in her
arms while Peter continued to pace up and down ’please Peter, let’s just calm
down and talk?’ Peter stopped in his
tracks and then rushed towards Susan, striking her with his right fist on her
face, sending Susan’s head back onto the sofa.
Aimee started to cry
and tried to cuddle into her mother while Peter kicked over the coffee table in
a rage. Peter turned and looked angrily towards Susan once more. Susan looked back at him with both contempt
and fear in her eyes; calling out in her mind for help but feared that no one would
intervene. As Peter moved forward, a
male voice was heard shouting ‘stop!‘, coming from the living room door. Everyone turned towards the door to see where
the voice came from and there stood Alex, six foot tall with a deadly look in
his eyes. Tears of joy started to stream
down Susan’s face as she knew that her hero had arrived. Peter shouted ’who the fuck are you?’ Without saying a word, Alex rushed towards
Peter to engage him in combat. Peter
tried to throw a right hook but Alex blocked it and then with his right foot raised,
kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the room onto the fire
place. Alex braced himself for a
reprisal while Peter tried to pull himself together. As Peter attacked Alex again, Alex defended
himself against a barrage of kicks and punches until he was forced to strike
back once more. With virtually no
effort, Alex using only his fists, unleashed his fury onto Peter until he could
take no more and fell unconscious onto the floor. All was over in a matter of moments and Susan
felt stunned and relieved at the same time.
Alex turned to Susan and asked ‘are you and Aimee ok?’ Susan again, could barely speak, traumatised
by the whole incident and Alex rushed to her side, kneeling down before
her. Susan with tears in her eyes tried
to stop herself from crying but failed.
As she broke down, Alex reached forward and held both Susan and Aimee in
his arms; feeling Susan shaking with emotion.
Alex said ‘it’s over Susan, please don’t be afraid, I’m here now and I
won’t let anything bad happen to you……..you’re safe!’ Susan looked at Alex and smiled. Alex looked calm and then said ‘I better call
the police before he comes round!’ As
Alex stood up and started to turn round to keep an eye on Peter; he felt a warm
wet feeling coming from his chest. Alex
looked down and could see blood seeping through his t-shirt, and could tell
that he had somehow been stabbed by Peter.
Alex smiled and then turned back to Susan as he fell down onto his knees
saying ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen!’ Susan screamed ‘No,’ as she gripped Alex’s
face with her hands and pleaded ‘don’t you leave me, promise me you won’t leave
me!’ Alex smiled at her again and said
‘I’m tired Susan, I think I need to lie down now!’ Susan started to cry, the tears streaming
down her face as she reached for her phone and then dialed emergency
services. As Alex leaned back against
Susan’s sofa, he remembered how safe and content he felt on the previous day
where he sat in the very same position.
As time started to slow, he could think of nothing but Susan and Aimee
as the darkness started to slip over his mind and he thought to himself ‘if
this is my time to die, at least I know that I have loved and been loved in
return.’
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