Little Black Book

My heart ached. It was just too much. I barely held back the tears on the walk back to the condo, breaking down as soon as I stepped off the elevator.

Spending the night alone, I ate ice cream and watched old movies. There was a brief debate on whether or not to call Trish, but I didn’t feel like explaining the condo or anything else. It was better if she stayed in the dark about my life, especially because it involved her boss.

I stared down at my cell phone, willing him to text or call, but there was nothing. I fell asleep on the couch with my phone in my hand, an empty ice cream carton on the table, puffy eyes, and the TV on.

The sound of gunshots woke me and I sat straight up in bed. It was a horrible sound. It hurt my ears and made a strange ache twist in my stomach. I gripped my sheets with sweaty palms and that’s when I heard the firm footfalls on the hardwood outside my bedroom. Whoever it was, they were running. The sounds of them running down the stairs and out the back door, echoed in my room.

Kyle’s loud crying sounded from his nursery and filled the deadly silence of the night. I was too afraid to get up, but once his cries got louder, I tiptoed to my bedroom door.  Pulling the door open slowly so it didn’t squeak, I tried to listen for any strange sounds.

The area outside my room was pitch-black. On silent feet, I ran across the hall to Kyle’s nursery, but my eyes glanced into my parent’s room and I froze. Terror was a punch to my chest, when lying there on the floor, in the light shining from their bathroom, was my father. He was in a puddle of blood, and his eyes were wide open, staring back at me. He wasn’t moving, he wasn’t breathing.

In shock, I turned away from Kyle’s room and started toward my dad. It was then I saw my mother’s body. I gasped when I saw her killer still standing above her.

My eyes dropped to my mother’s lifeless body and I made an involuntary move toward her, but her killer jumped to his feet and I froze, not taking another step.

The intruder’s breathing became louder, and mine seemed to stop completely. The stranger’s eyes connected with mine. Time stopped as we stared at each other. Fear laced his expression and it confused me.

The harsh sound of his panting filled the room. It looked like he was debating his next move. His eyes moved to the door behind me. Shifting on his feet, the light caught something in his hand. It was my mother’s locket, which had pictures of me and Kyle inside. It wasn’t worth much, which made it strange that the guy was taking it, but then I looked around the room and saw their TV was missing.

The killer left my mother, necklace in hand, and ran toward me. I stopped breathing and dropped to my knees. Just when he got close to me and I was sure he was going to kill me too, he ran past me and down the stairs. The back door slammed.  And then, even though I could hear Kyle crying, it was eerily silent.

I woke up in bed, with my pajamas on and a blanket draped over me. The sun from the windows blinded me when I opened my eyes.

A sound from inside the condo startled me and I reached over to my bedside table. Still in a sleep-induced haze, I pulled open the drawer, and grabbed the gun Sebastian bought me.

Walking toward the noise on quiet feet, I raised the gun, ready to shoot. Making it to the corner of the kitchen, I took a deep breath and tried to steel my nerves.

When I stepped around the corner, I came face to chest with a large man. Without thought, I pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

I looked up and Sebastian was standing before me, looking down with wild eyes. He reached out and took the gun from me.

“Holy shit. You could have killed me, Roz.” He set the gun on the counter beside us. “Thank God you had the safety on. Speaking of which, you have to make sure the safety is off before you use it.”

He turned and walked away from me, and back to the stove where he was cooking. I’m not sure how I missed the smell of bacon wafting all around.

“You’re here,” I stated the obvious.

“Yes I am,” he grinned at me, as if I hadn’t just tried to kill him. “A ‘good morning’ would be nice.”

I was still in shock by the fact that I’d almost blown a hole in his chest.

“Good morning,” I said slowly.

“Come sit down and eat some breakfast,” he said, setting a plate on the counter full of bacon and eggs.

“You made me breakfast?”

“It was the least I could do.”

I had a million questions I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to jinx the moment. Instead, I sat on the stool in front of my plate and started to pick at the bacon.

“Eat. We have a lot to talk about,” he said, taking a big bite of bacon and chewing with a smile on his face.