Short stories

Starting all over again

She suddenly awoke, stifling a cry of horror. Her face was sweaty and her breathing was ragged. Unfortunately, waking up affected her memory, making her forgot her nightmare. Alexander, her husband, was softly snoring beside her. Her heart was still beating hard in her chest. Still in shock, she took the sheets under her chin and tried to fall asleep again.

* * * * *

“Lucy!” her mother cried down the stairs. “It’s almost nine o’clock. Come on! Hurry up!”

Alexander approached her and gently caressed her buttocks. He whispered to her ear:

“You’re so sexy when you’re tired…!”

“Oh!” she cried, pushing him away. “She’ll be late. Competitions are coming and she must be ready!”

“Okay, but she can’t hear you.”

Peggy turned to her husband, frowning.

“She’s not deaf yet.”

“She’s in the shower, my dear.”

The woman blinked, not understanding how her daughter was in the shower without making the slightest noise. Her husband grinned, glad to surprise his wife.

“You were asleep.”

She nodded before returning to the kitchen. If she had fallen asleep, how come she still felt tired? She poured coffee into a cup. Her husband joined her at the counter. He kissed her cheek greeting her anyway. She smiled before taking a long sip of coffee.

“What are you going to do today?” he asked her.

“A quiet Saturday,” she said. “I don’t want to do anything. And you?”

Alexander embraced her, attracting her against him. He put his lips on her neck and whispered in her ear that he might have more interesting plans to propose to her for the day. She laughed. He took the cup his wife was still holding and put it away on the counter before kissing her again. Then he asked her what she thought about his proposal. She nodded, smiling at him.

* * * * *

They settled quietly in front of the TV with a cup of tea in hand. It was almost three o’clock. Luke had just returned from his hockey practice and was currently in the kitchen, raiding at the refrigerator. The door suddenly opened.

“I’m here…” Lucy threw with a hesitating voice. “Can you come, please? I… I need help…”

Alexander and Peggy frowned, turning towards each other. Why their daughter needed help? Out of curiosity, they got up and walked towards the entrance. Luke had the same reaction as them, a piece of sandwich in his hand. But Lucy wasn’t alone. She was accompanied by three men who were unlike any of her friends that Peggy remembered. She didn’t like the way they looked at her daughter. Before asking any questions, the three men took out their guns from their jackets and pointed them at the family after having pushed Lucy into her mother’s arms. Peggy began to describe in her head to keep their faces as a souvenir to identify them later.

“Nobody moves,” one of them said. “Where do you keep your jewelry and valuables?”

Alexander took a step forward, but one of the men pointed the barrel of his gun in his direction and asked him to forget the idea. Lucy and Peggy went upstairs to take whatever they could give them, escorted by one who seemed to be the leader. The other two remained in the living room with Alexander and Luke. With a sudden movement, the phone enthroned on a small table got torn by the leader before he turned to Peggy, asking her if there were others around. She shook her head. Lucy was just crying. They put down everything they could in a plastic bag the man held out. Then they returned to the living room. One of the men leaned his head to the side, a small smile on his lips. He was literally undressing Lucy! She wore a fitted sports pant that highlighted her long athletic legs. The girl huddled in her mother’s arms, sobbing. Peggy pressed her daughter against her, furiously watching the three men.