The Grabber

Goodbye

The whole night Andrea tossed and turned. She didn't want to sleep. It would only make the next day come quicker. She didn't want to leave here. She wasn't even thinking about her friends or her brother or her home. All she could think about was Al. She didn't want to leave him. She had grown so dependent on him being around that she had forgotten about how her friends made her feel. How caring they were to her. She couldn't imagine a life without Al. She didn't want to. She wished she didn't have to.
As the sky grew lighter, Andrea's heart grew darker. She had thought about many scenarios that could keep her here. Running away, convincing Al to kidnap her again, she had even gone as far as thinking to fake her own death. As the morning came closer, so did her desperation. She didn't realize that part of it was her fear of being away from Al, someone who could protect her easily. Al had killed others before. She knew that if the need had come, he could do it again to keep her safe.
What is going on with me? Andrea thought to herself as she sat up. What am I thinking? A soft knock on the door pulled her away from her thoughts. She glanced at the clock. 9:09.
"Morning, doll," a soft voice smiled. Andrea smiled to see him, but could feel the pain of the day already. "How'd you sleep?" He asked as he came to sit beside Andrea on the bed.
"Not great," she sighed. Al nodded.
"Me too." He put his arm around Andrea. She let her head fall on his shoulder. "Looks like the day we've dreaded has arrived. The night just wasn't long enough."
"I'm old enough. Why can't I just say I'm moving out and stay here with you?"
"I mean, I guess you could, but there's a lot of stuff we would need to take care of for that. There's a whole lot more to it than just staying with someone else instead." He had thought about this as well, but they didn't have enough time to take care of everything. Or the money.
"Mom and dad would never let me anyway," she sighed. "Regardless of my age." Al squeezed her shoulder and carefully stood as she sat up.
"In the meantime, you can bet I'm going to be doing everything I can on my end to be ready for when you come back one day. That'll be the second best day of my life."
"The second?" She echoed. Al smiled as he offered a hand to get Andrea out of bed.
"The first was meeting you." Andrea smiled and took his hand to slide out of bed. He ruffled her already messy hair and looked around the room. "What should we start with first?" He asked. Andrea walked over to grab her suitcase.
"Everything's already in here. I never really unpacked. I knew I would forget something if I did." Al nodded as she held it.
"Alright, saves time, I suppose. In that case, I'll let you get changed. I'll be in the kitchen making some eggs and toast, okay?"
"Okay, I won't be long," Andrea nodded as Al left the room and closed the door so she could change. Just as she was about to, she grunted at another headache.
"I won't miss these pains, that's for sure," she sighed as she held her head.
"This is the last vision, An," a voice announced. Andrea looked up to see a figure standing on the other side of the bed.
"Robin?" She asked, even though she knew who it was. "What are you doing here?"
"You were very brave while you were down there. I wanted to tell you I'm proud of you," he started. "I'm sure you'll be just as strong while you're away. I know you're scared about it."
"Scared doesn't even begin to explain it," Andrea sighed. "I don't know if I'll be strong enough the whole time alone."
"You won't be alone," Robin assured her as he came around to her side. "Even though we won't be able to talk to you, you'll have our memory. Remember what we told you."
"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget what happened here," she shook her head. Robin smiled.
"We're your friends. We're always with you. You're never alone. If there's one thing you remember from us, let it be the fact that we all are so proud of you for pulling through this. For surviving and befriending, maybe even taming the Grabber."
"I don't know about taming him.." she shrugged. "Maybe helped him see what he's doing. I hope, anyways."
"Either way, you really took a chance on him, and as much as I hate that coño, I really admire you for giving him that chance. Someone as horrible as him. The way you never let him get to you. You listened to him and wanted to help him. You tried your hardest. You've really got guts." Andrea smiled as Robin did.
"I did it for you guys at first," Andrea admitted. "But I guess I got caught up in his scheme. I fell for it, hook, line and sinker."
"Well, he fell for yours, too. He fell hard." Andrea allowed a slight chuckle.
"Like father, like daughter." Robin nodded. Suddenly, he lost his smile as he looked down.
"My best friend is still down there. Locked by that puta." Andrea looked down as well, even though she knew she couldn't see past the floor.
"I tried my best to get him out of there." She shook her head. "Things just didn't go as planned, I guess. I wanted to protect Al, too. There just wasn't a way to save both."
"You tried your best. I know you did, and I know it wasn't easy. He'll get out of there. I'll make sure of it."
"You guys talk to him too?" She asked as she looked up. Robin nodded, not moving his gaze.
"We've been with him this whole time. Each of us helping him, just as we did with you. Although, he can hear the phone. You couldn't."
"Can he see you guys like I can?" Robin shook his head.
"He can't. He can only hear us." After a moment, Robin finally looked up at Andrea. "It's time for me to go. I just wanted to tell you that we care about you and we're glad you're alright. I wanted to remind you that you're so much stronger than you think. This next part in your life isn't going to be easy, but you can do it. You'll make it through, I promise. I have faith in you."
"Thanks, Robin," she smiled. "I'm really going to miss talking with you guys. Maybe we'll meet in the afterlife one day. I mean, hopefully it'll be a while, you know. I don't wanna die anytime soon," she chuckled. Robin did as well.
"Hopefully you live a long life," he nodded. "We'll be waiting for you when it's the right time. Until then, take care. Remember, we're always with you, and we're all so proud of you. I feel like you don't hear that enough like you should."
As a gasp of air quickly filled her lungs, she held her chest at the sudden pain. It was almost as if she hadn't been breathing.
"Nope. Won't miss that either," she wheezed. She finally caught her breath and shook her head, deciding she needed to change and meet Al.