Ten steps

Ten steps, he was ten steps behind me. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10, each step ringing eerily through my empty house. Horror widened my eyes, noting that he took all of my knives. Shit, I thought to myself. My heart was pounding as hard as the migraine that sent me to bed earlier that evening. A shadow of a man darted across my view, hiding in the darkest corner of the house. Almost as if he was waiting for me to come out, and make it easier for him to kill me. Not long from now Keith Morrison would be describing my crime, and sharing the same two pictures. My parents would mumble some generic crap about how I was a good person who would be missed. The irony is that they hadn’t spoken to me for years, letting the crocodile tears fall as if they knew me.

“Babe.” My boyfriend Ivan called out, setting down a bag of groceries. “Where are you? Why are the lights off?” Bright light blinded me, the man scattering out of the house. Our black and white kitchen slowly appeared into view. The knives crashing to the floor in a metallic pile. Breathing heavily, my body leapt into his arms. Hot tears flowed down my puffy face, panic ripe in my voice.

“Did you see the man in our house?” I blurted out raspily. “We have to call the cops.” His green eyes rolled, glowering into my copper eyes. Sighing, he tucked my long wavy chocolate brown hair behind my ear. A soft smile formed on his kissable lips, disbelief shining a light in his eyes.

“You need to stop listening to scary stories, Yvette.” He muttered, putting the milk into the retro red fridge. “It is just your migraine causing hallucinations.” Shaking my head, my fists clenched tightly. Anger burned in my veins, making me want to punch his handsome face. A deep frown dimmed my pale face.

“Then why are all of the knives sitting by the door?” I pointed out, crossing my arms. “Are you suggesting I put them there?” His shoulders shrugged, infuriating me more. He tugged anxiously at black business suit. His hand patted my head, attempting to comfort me.

“Listen, work was tough today.” He exclaimed with a long sigh. “I don’t need your childish antics tonight.” Growling to myself, my boots thudded against the wooden floors up to our red and black bedroom. Black furniture surrounds me, reminding me of the years my parents never believed me. Sleepiness weighed heavily on my eyelids, surrendering to sweet slumber.

Crashing erupted downstairs, jerking me awake. Ivan snored loudly enough to wake the dead next to me. Frantically, I shook his shoulder. His hand slapped me away, a knot forming in my stomach. Loud boots boomed up the creaking stairs of my old home. Jumping out of bed, the heavy wooden bureau slid across the soft blue carpet in front of the door. Yellow light flooded the bedroom, Ivan standing there with his arms crossed.

“What the hell?” He ejected, moving the bureau back. “You are losing it.” Raising my arms in protest, he tossed me aside. Darkness glimmered in his eyes, churning my stomach. An evil grin danced across his face, paralyzing my muscles with pure terror. My heart dropped to my stomach watching him open the door to let the man in. A sea of black clothing covered the seven foot tall man.

“Well, is she in here?” A deep voice boomed beneath the black mask. “You best be paying me after this.” Leaping up, my feet hopped into a pair of winter boots. Evil laughter erupted behind me, my winter boots squeaking to the front door. The door handle jiggled but it was locked from the inside. Thump, thump, thump pounded my heart, realizing that it was locked. My eyes glanced over to the window. A nail stabbed my palm, taking that option away. A small drop of blood pooled in my palm. The tall man stomped down the stairs. One, my eyes scanned for a way out. Two, no weapons could be seen. Three, maybe the back door is open. Four, a metal baseball bat sat in our umbrella vase. Five, my fingers wrapped around the ice cold handle. Six, the cold air rushed around me with the first failed swing. Seven, a help explodes from my trembling lips. Eight, cold sweat soaks my black silk nightgown. Nine, a knife sits hungrily at my throat. Ten, Ivan saunters over to my face. A sick look of glee tossed dinner in my stomach, waiting for the final blow.

“It is so sexy seeing you this way.” He mused, pulling at my straps. “All you ever had to do was listen to me, and do everything I asked. So I need you to sign everything over to me, all of it. I know you are a rich brat.” Fury boiled in my veins, my fists clenching. How did he know about my inheritance? That was something I never told him about. What a douche!

“Never!” I shouted, kicking the big guy in the balls. His body crumpled into a puddle of soft whines, my fist smashing against Ivan’s pale cheeks. A stunned look melted into a sinister sneer. The knife clattered to the floor, my fingers wrapping around the black handle. My boots pounded down the hall to my basement door. There was no way they locked the cellar door. The wooden door slammed shut with a rattle. My trembling hands locked the door from my side, aggressive knocks banging loudly on the other side. A wall of spiderwebs clung to my skin, my hands shakily ripping the web off of my exposed skin. The chain spun around in circles the moment I turned on the light. Yellow light flooded the dirt cellar, burning my eyeballs. My headache throbbed something mighty fierce. My mind was doing the best it could to ignore the pain, my body exploding through the rusty cellar doors.

“Nice try.” A deep voice commented, slamming a knife into my left shoulder. “I like it when they run.” Gritting my teeth, my knife slammed into his heart. A sickening noise rang through my ears as blood rained over my face. Shock illuminated his face, his body plopped into the fresh blanket of white snow. Red painted the snow, hot sticky blood soaking my nightgown. Of course, I would pick the guy who pays someone to kill me. The adrenaline died down, leaving me to feel the agony in my shoulder. The chilly winter air nipped at my skin, pricking all of it’s nerves.

“Hey man, did you do it?” Ivan queried, wandering over in my direction. Visible disappointment formed on his face when he saw me standing over the big man’s body. His eyebrows raised in annoyance, a gun glistened in the blue moonlight. Pretty sure outrunning a bullet was hard to do.

“Go to hell!” I wheezed, blood pooling in my mouth. “I am not your money bag. Joke’s on you, I don’t get a dime until I get married. You lost the game.” Anger twitched his eyebrows, the gun raised to my face. My body either quivered from the cold, or fear at this point. Irritation burned in his intense eyes.

“Call the priest.” He ordered firmly, waving his gun in my face. “We are getting married honey.” My arms crossed in defiance, his scowl growing darker by the moment. My heart was racing faster than it ever had in its life.

“No thanks.” I uttered calmly. “I would rather die than be with you. Then no one gets the money. You are then broke, and sitting in prison for the rest of your god given life. Have fun.” A crack whipped in the winter air, a bullet landing in my thigh. A howl of pain poured from my lips, blood dripping slowly down my bare legs. My knees gave out underneath me, his arms tossing me over his shoulder. Darkness consumes me.

A sharp breath of alert slipped out of my dry bloody lips, jerking my body awake. Frayed rope scratched my wrists the more I struggled. Groggily, my eyes noted that my feet were tied up as well. Damn, now was my time. The knife was still in my left shoulder, reminding of its presence.

“Nice lie.” Ivan teased, running his finger up my cheek. “You had me fooled for a bit. Your lawyer told me it goes next to the kin, but they are all deceased. That was a fun few months, so now it goes to the co-owner of the house. So little old me will be rich.” Fear was long gone only to be replaced with determination. From this moment on, it will just be survivor mode. A shot whizzed by our head in the sterile living room. My best friend Jonathan kicked the door down, aiming the gun at Ivan. His winter coat was soaked with fresh snow, snow crunched underneath his boots with each step.

“Back off!” He warned, pressing the muzzle to his sweating temple. “No one hurts my little moose. I knew you were the worst when you sauntered into her life. She is worth more than dollar bills.” Using this moment of distraction, a shot rang into my ceiling from the gun I knocked out of Ivan’s hands. It slid all the way into the bathroom, crashing into the black vanity. Red and blue lights illuminated my living room. Ivan turned to sprint out of the house, but a shot rang out. My ears ached, watching a bullet slide into his knee. Cursing, he fell to the floor and rolled around in pain. Officers flooded in, the sweet sound of handcuffs clicking into place around his wrists relaxed me. EMTs fussed over me, loading me into an ambulance. Eternity passed as Jonathan held my hand. Shouts and voices faded in and out as bright lights blinded me over and over again. Sweet slumber wrapped her beautiful arms around me.

Birds chirped cheerfully outside my window, the bright morning sun burning my throbbing eyes. Giddily, I realized that I had made it, well thanks to my friend. He sat snoring loudly in a hard chair next to me. A short blonde nurse examined me, leaving me to sit in the awkward sound of his snoring.

“You did great.” A dark haired officer complimented, walking over to the side of my bed. “Most people would be dead by now. Don’t worry about charges. We got all of the messages that he sent setting the whole thing up. Bless your soul for having him in your life. Come to the station when you get out of here okay.” Nodding, she left, leaving on my own again.

“Oh good, you are awake.” Jonathan mumbled, sitting up straight. “Maybe you should be more careful next time you date someone.” A crooked grin danced across his soft lips, my heart skipping a beat. Clearing my throat, a thought flashed in my mind. My face flushed bright red, the officer statement floating around in my head.

“Do you want to be my next time?” I squeaked out anxiously, watching his reaction. “I mean you don’t have to be.” His face blushed scarlet, his lips parting ever so slightly. He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine hungrily. Time melted away, not longer hearing the chirping of the birds outside or the beeps of the machines. His hand held my face, his other arm pulling me closer to him. He pulled away, his eyes darting to the floor. Chuckling to myself, my finger lifted his face to mine. My lips kissed his passionately, feeling his desire on the other side. We pulled away, a pregnant pause in the air.

“I will be your next time, little moose.” He answered numbly, letting me go. “Would you like to go do something after the station? You must be famished. I heard hospital food stinks.” He ran his hand through his short dirty blond hair.

“I heard that too.” I teased playfully, twirling my hair in my finger. “How about something italian?” Nodding he got on the bed next to me, and flicked on the TV. A blonde woman in a navy blue dress swiped on her tablet.

“Breaking news!” She exclaimed urgently. “Ivan Evans has escaped custody after committing a string of murders, and attempted murders. Do not approach! He is considered armed and dangerous. I repeat, armed and dangerous. “ A lump formed in my throat as his picture flashed across the screen. Jon gripped my arm so hard it left a bruise. Panic tossed up my empty stomach, causing a hot vile to spew into the nearby trash can. Oh crap!