Last Steps

4. A Plan Backfires

JAMIE'S DREAM
I grab my purse and go to leave when he grabs me by the waist and pulls me to face him. "Don't go" he smiles. "I have to" I push his arms away and grab the door handle. "Great party" I open it and he slams it on my fingers. "I said, don't go" he scowls. I drop my purse and grab my hand. Its throbbing. "Samuel, what's wrong with you!" I yell. He grabs me by the arm and throws me onto the couch. He starts to unbutton his shirt. "What are you doing?" I gasp. "You should've listened" he takes it off and comes towards me. "No!" I push him away. He hits me in the face and fall down on the couch again. He starts to lift my dress up and I scream. "Shut up!" he hits me again. He tries again when someone bursts in through the door. They pull Samuel off me and punch him. I get a proper look at their face. Its James. "James" I whisper. "Jamie, run!" he yells just as Samuel gets up and swings at him. I get up and go to the kitchen. I look around and see James kick Samuel onto the ground. He runs over to me and grabs my shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asks and I nod. "Behind you!" I scream. He turns around in time for Samuel to punch him in the head, knocking him out. "Now Jamie. Where were we?" he walks towards me and I back away. I walk into the bench. He grabs my waist and softly laughs. "Don't worry. Your safe if you behave" he whispers into my ear. I pat the bench behind me trying to find something I can use as a weapon. I find the knife block and grab the biggest knife. I stab him in the neck. He steps back and looks at me in shock. He falls to the ground and stops moving. I drop the knife and gasp. I killed him. I go to James who is just stirring. He sits up and cuddles me. I sob into his chest. He's about to say something when the door opens and someone screams. We both look and see Katie standing at the door. "Samuel!" she runs over to his motionless body. "You killed him!" she yells at me. "It's not her fault. He was trying to rape her! He hit her!" James yells back. Samuel was Katie's boyfriend. "I'm sorry" I manage to say. She just gives me an icy stare. "Come on, we'll take you home and tell your parents" James says and helps me up. "No. We can't tell them. I don't want anyone to know that I...." I can't say it out loud. "Its okay. We won't tell anyone. "Bull shit" Katie gets up. "Who are we gonna say killed him then!? He stabbed himself? I am not going along with this!" she yells. "Come on Katie" James grabs her arm. She yanks it away. "Fine, but I am not cleaning the knife. I am going to call the police" she grabs her phone and leaves the room.
END OF DREAM

I wake up covered in sweat. I haven't dreamt of that night in over a year. Katie, James and I are still the only people who know. We made it look like a suicide. I get up and go to the bathroom. I have a quick shower. When I get out I look at the time. It's 4am. I get into a pair of grey track suit pants with a white loose singlet. I get my phone out and text James 'Are you awake?' He replies almost instantly 'Yeah. Are you alright?' 'Bad dream' I reply. Next minute he's calling me. "Hi" I say. "What did you dream of?" he asks. "Well you were there, Katie was there, I was there..." I stop when James takes a deep breath. "And Samuel was there" I finish. "Are you alright?" he says with emotion. "Just a bit edgy. That's all" I smile. "I am coming over" I hear him get out of bed. "Now?" I ask. "Yep. See you soon" he hangs up. I put my phone on the bedside table and pull my knees up to my chest. I wonder if I should tell him about Katie. After about 17 minutes, James pulls up in the driveway. He gets out comes to my window. I open it and he comes in. "Hey" he cuddles me quickly. "I have to tell you something" I say. "Okay" he sits down on the bed and I follow. "I love you. You know that right?" my eyes get watery. He nods "Are you alright?" I shake my head. "I love you so much that's why I have to say this" I start to cry. "Jamie, what is.." "We can't see each other any more" I interrupt. "Wait, what?" he frowns. "I can't let you deal with the trauma of losing me. With your father and now me. It's too much for you" I say. "You think that dumping me will help!?" he raises his voice a bit. "I'm sorry James. Its for the best" I look at him properly. He's wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. He's not wearing shoes. "Goodbye Jamie" he looks at me one last time and exits through the window. I lie down and cry. I can't believe that I just did that. I look at the time. It's 4:53. I text Katie and tell her that I did it. 'Well done. Wasn't that hard now, was it?' she replies after a minute. "What happened? I just saw James pull out of the driveway" mum says as she comes in. "We broke up. I left him" I sob and she embraces me. "What on earth did you do that for?" she asks me. "I can't tell you" I whisper. "Ok" she says. "Get some sleep" she makes me lie down. Then she lies down and cuddles me. Dad walks in after a minute. He kisses me on the forehead then leaves again closing my door. I fall asleep almost instantly. I wake up to the sound of glass smashing. I look at my window. The window is fine. It must've been in the kitchen. I get up and go to the kitchen. There is a smashed cup on the floor. "Mum?" I yell. When she doesn't reply I call dad "Dad?" I go to their room. I gasp at what I see. Mum and dad are tied to the bed with a piece of duck tape over their mouths. I run over and take the tape off their mouths. "Call the police!" mum yells. I turn and go to the kitchen. I grab the phone and dial 911. Just as the operator picks up, someone hits me in the head. I fall to the ground and blackout.

-

When I wake up, I am tied to a chair beside my parents bed. I don't have tape on my mouth. I scream. "No you don't" someone comes in and hits me. I look at the person. He is tall with a number 2, brown hair cut. He has a black shirt with blue jeans on and black boots. He also has green eyes. "Samuel?" I murmur. "Miss me?" he cocks his head to the side. "But, but I killed you. I saw the knife go in" I stutter. "It was a good hit" he admits. "A little more to the left and I would've been a goner" he laughs. "Oh my god" I mumble. A week after I supposedly killed Samuel, Katie started acting weird. She was acting like he was still alive. That's cause he survived. "Why are you doing this?" I ask. "You stole the love of my life from me. Katie said that she couldn't trust me after that night. She left me" he spits the last bit out like its poison. "It's your fault" I snap. He comes over and grabs my chin so I face him. "No it isn't" he says then lets go. He pulls a knife from his back pocket. He drags it lightly across my arm. I bite my lip. I really wish that James would come in right now, but he won't come. Not with what I did to him last night. He lifts the knife up and stabs me in the leg. I scream from the pain and my parents scream through their tape. "That was for stabbing me" Samuel says. "You done now?" I sob. "No, I'm just getting started" he laughs. He lifts the knife again when someone hits him in the head with a frying pan. He's knocked unconscious. I look and see Katie standing there with the pan in her hands. She's wearing a blue dress with a frilly bottom and black heels. Her hair is tied up in a bun. She grabs the knife and cuts my rope. "Thank you" I sob. "Oh my gosh. Are you okay?" she actually sounds concerned. I clutch my leg. Katie goes and frees my parents. They come running over to me. "Call an ambulance!" dad yells. Katie pulls a pink, sparkly iPhone out of her bra and calls an ambulance. "They'll be here in 5" she says and stuffs the phone in her bra again. The ambulance arrives eventually and put me on a stretcher. My parents come with me in the van. Katie stays behind. She also called the cops. Their dealing with Samuel. On the way there I start to feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I pass out just as we arrive at the hospital.