| GHOST STORIES | THE BLACK PHONE | COMPLETED

3 | I HAD TO TELL THEM

     SATURDAY'S WERE ONE of the worst day's of the week for Abby and James, their father's favourite days where he could stay home and drink rather than go to work. Abby had hoped that she could go to Finney's, like she often did, but he was busy that day. In reality, Abby knew that was code for his dad was being just as bad as hers was.

Finney knew of Abby's home life and Abby knew of Finney's. But she could almost understand why Finney's dad acted the way he did, he lost his wife. But Robert, he was just born mean. Abby sat in her room, reading a comic book and trying to drown out the yelling happening between her mother and father. 

Her door opened, and instinctively, she sat up and looked in that direction. She relaxed upon seeing her brother, but tensed again when she saw he looked dishevelled and was breathing heavily. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of dollars, shoving them into his sisters hand. 

"Go to the store, would ya?" He faked a smile and ushered her towards the window of her room. 

She didn't want to know what was about to happen, but she was happy that James wanted her away from the house when it did happen. She clambered out of the window, landing softly on the grass before walking rather quickly to the store. 

On her way she noticed something strange, a black van she had never seen before. It was parked in a slightly hidden spot behind the store, no one seemed to be in the front seat but it had a very ominous presence about it. She gulped slightly and continued her walk until she spotted Robin, who was heading in her direction.

She raised her hand, about to call out to the boy, but stopped in horror as she watched him get snatched into the mysterious van by a man. Black balloon sprouted from the back and her hand slapped against her mouth, preventing her from screaming out and drawing attention to herself.

The man glanced around and he caught sight of the blonde girl, who immediately ran into the Grab 'n Go and hid at the very back of the store, confusing the girl behind the counter. It felt like forever before Abby finally removed herself from her hiding spot, she stared out of the window and it seemed like the man and his van was gone. But so was Robin. 

She awkwardly bought some item, giving the girl a weak and clearly fake smile as she left. However, Abby was happy she bought a heavy bottle of cola that she could use as a weapon. Then she needed to decide what to do, does she tell the police? She knew it was the better idea, then Robin could be found. She had valuable information. But she also knew that the moment police were involved with her life was the moment her father would rain down hellfire. 

Robin was a friend, she couldn't let him end up like the others. So she headed to the station, her hands shaking as she spoke to Detective Wright and Miller. Sharing what she had seen, now the police had more to work with. A basic description of The Grabber and the van he used to snatch the kids, they also knew much quicker about who the victim was and where he was taken.

Abby had to wait in the station, her feet swinging over the tiled floor as she waited in fear to see who would be the one to pick her up. She prayed it would be anyone but her father, but luck wasn't in her favour today. She raised her head to see her father walking towards her, a angry look on his face, making her feet halt. 

She gulped as he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "Thank you for telephoning us, Officer. I don't think it would have been a good idea to let her walk home after what she just saw."

Wright nodded, a small smile on his face. "Of course, it seems The Grabber may have seen her so we want her to stay as safe as possible from now."

"Of course."

Abby walked, well was basically dragged, to the car where she got in and waited for her father to get into the drivers seat. She was shaking violently and already had tears in her eyes. Robert slammed the door shut and his hand gripped the steering wheel as he took a deep breath in.

"You just had to speak to the police." He said, his voice low, almost demonic.

She refused to look at him, but she knew she had to speak. "I was worried about Robin, I had to tell them."

"And now they're gonna be 'round the house!" He yelled, making the young girl flinch. "You stupid bitch!"

She felt his hand grab the back of her hair and pull it so she was looking at him, he then landed a punch against her nose. She let out a yell of pain as she raised her hands to defend herself against the punches he continued to throw. Eventually, he stopped, a bit of blood covering his hands.

Abby held her nose, curled up in the corner of the car as she attempted to keep the blood pooled only in her hands. As they got to the driveway, James was racing out of the house and straight to the side where Abby was. He opened her door and caught her before she fell out, he glared at his father as he helped her inside and into the bathroom.

It was a surprise that Robert hadn't broken his daughter's nose, but he had caused a rather large bruise to appear on her face which would be extremely noticeable. 

"I didn't cry." Abby spoke softly as James wiped the blood from her nose.

His eyes locked with his sisters and his heart broke.