Being Grassi-Hoying

Chapter 6

**Third Person's POV** (Wait what?! Haha!!) (Mitch: Shh, keep writing.) (When did you get in here!? Nevermind.) [Sorry, that's fun to me, now. I'll stop doing it at the beginning.] 

Esther sets Karlie in the brand new car seat, just put together before she left. She climbed in the car and drove to her home, just a few minutes away. When she gets there, she feels a bad vibe, but shakes it off quickly. It's fine, you're just overthinking. she tells herself. "This you home??" Karlie says as Esther unbuckles her. "Yeah." Esther smiles. 

Meanwhile, two doors down from Esther's apartment, there's a man and a woman, siblings, and the man's on the phone. "So, she's right next door??" He says to another man, "Yes sir. Two doors down, number 498." The other man's voice comes calm and clear, yet scarring...Him, we'll say for now. "Alright, Xavier, I'll hold up my end of the deal, the money should be in the glove box." Him can hear Xavier rustling around, "Here it is, and I trust it's all $2,000??" he reminds Him. "Yes." he answers. Him's sister looks out the window slyly, watching Esther and Karlie go into the small apartment. "Brother, they're here." She snaps at Him. "Okay." He hangs up the phone, glad to not still be talking to Xavier. "You remember the deal, right?? Tears and all." "Yeah, yeah. I didn't go to acting school for nothing." He watches his sister walk out of the apartment, and prays that the plan will work, or James will certainly kill him, and most likely his sister too. "Last time." He whispers, reminding himself of what's at stake here. He puts in the small ear piece just as he hears his sister knock on the door, hurriedly. He slips out, hiding until the signal. 

"Please, please open up!!" Esther hears a woman's voice as Little Einsteins comes on the screen, what Karlie wanted to watch. Esther carefully walks to the door. "Please!! Before he notices!!" The woman's voice frails out again. Esther opens the door as she hears a deep voice, "Where are you woman?!" "Just come in." Esther whispers to the girl. "Thank you." She says as Esther shuts and locks the door. "Who that??" Karlie asks nervously. "A friend, Kar, nothing to worry about." Lies. The girl unlocks the door quietly before Esther turns her attention to the smallish woman in front of her.  "Are you okay??" "Yes, but if you hadn't opened the door, I wouldn't have been. My boyfriend's brother is drunk again." She explains as Esther gives a strange look. "Excuse me??" she says, confusion written all over her face. "He's very...sexual." Him's sister whispers, pretending to care if little Karlie heard the word. "Oh. Okay." Esther nods, understanding, but still slightly suspicious. "My boyfriend," He hears the code word. "Will be back very shortly. I told him I would be here or 504." Esther gives a skeptical look. "I know you, Ms.Esther. I kinda fangirled a little knowing such a beautiful, caring woman, would be living just two doors down." Esther turns a little pink at the fake compliment. "Awe, thank you." She replies as there's another knock at the door. "Lily??" He uses the fake code name. "Grant??" His sister calls back. "Is that him??" Esther asks politely. "Yes, I believe so." "Oh Lily!! I thought you were hurt, are you hurt??" Esther smiles as 'Lily' opens the door. "Grant!! I'm quite okay." She throws her arms around her fake boyfriend, in false relief. "Awe, do come in." Esther waves to them. Too easy, sucker. He thinks to himself. "Oh, thank you." He fakes a smile, closing and locking the door. "Oh, wait, I'm sorry...Did you want this locked??" 'Grant' imitates a question. "Oh, it's alright. Do you guys want a drink??" Esther asks kindly, not wanting them to go back to the brother yet. "Oh, umm...actually, could I have a water??" 'Lily' asks as sweetly as she can come up with. "Of course!!" Esther walks to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, not noticing Him following. "Get the kid." He whispers violently to his sister and she rolls her eyes. But no one knew Karlie had ran off finding Esther's room and hiding in the closet like at home. "Even if they open, no say anything." She whispers to herself, remembering what Mitch had said. "Damn it!!" 'Lily' whispers in frustration as Esther tries to scream, 'Grant' quickly blocks it though. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to Karlie now, huh?? Or maybe even that brother of yours, Avi, isn't it??" He whispers in her ear, tightening the pocket knife against her throat. Esther's eyes go wide at the thought of Avi, or worse, Karlie getting hurt as this man drags her in the living room. "Daniel, she's not here!!" Daniel's sister uses his real name. "What the hell do you mean, Leah!!" Daniel calls back. "I mean the kid!! She ran off." Leah growls. Good job, Karlie. Esther thinks to herself. "Where could she had gone!?" He screams in frustration, Esther suddenly regretting only having these criminals as nearby neighbors. "I don't know, but we need to act fast!!" Leah snaps, mentally scolding her undertrained brother for screaming. "I don't know, but we need to find her." He says, worriedly, Pushing on Esther's neck, a pressure point, knocking her out cold. Daniel pulls the rope out of his pocket, tying the woman's wrists and then ankles together, sliding duct tape over both and then over the woman's mouth. "She shouldn't wake up, ya know." Leah rolls her eyes, but proud of her brother's handy work. "Yeah, but I don't want to do it later." He smiles, walking up to his sister. "What do you think James will do to her??" Leah asks, interested. "Don't know, don't care, let's find the Karlie girl." Leah nods, pulling the recording device out of her pocket, "Who knew the Dads would be so God damn trustworthy." She shakes it in front of her brother. "I think I know where she might be." She whispers, finding Esther's room. Karlie hears the door open, and two feet walk in. Leah fast forwards the tape a bit and presses play. "Karlie!! It's safe!!" The little girl hears the familiar voice of her Papa's. She goes to say something, but her photographic memory kicks in, "Always remember, two sets of feet, two voices will call out to you, three, the same, and so on. The people who are adopting you never just let one person speak like that." She thinks of Marli's voice, the one who always hid her and taught her how to survive. "Marli..." She whispers, not understanding the two people in the room would hear her. "Closet." Leah sighs, guessing the little one's move. She rips open the closet door, and unlike Scott, finds her immediately. "Come here you little brat." She pulls Karlie's arm up, dragging her out of the closet. "No!!" She grabs on to the door frame. "Yes." Daniel barks, snatching her other arm, then letting Leah deal with her when he hears something from the living room, he walks out cautiously, then when he realizes it's still only Esther, he walks up to seeing the source of the noise, "Mitch Grassi." He growls when he grabs Esther's phone out of the back pocket, after putting on gloves like Leah had taught him. He lets it ring on until it goes to voicemail. Turning the iPhone on silent, he sees something across the screen.