Stockholm Syndrome

Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning with the sun shining in my eyes.  Blinking a few times to get the fuzziness to go away I looked at the time and sat up quickly.  It was almost eleven in the morning, I don't even remember the last time I slept in this late!"  Untangling myself from the blankets I went down stairs in my pajamas and rushed into the kitchen.  I saw my dad sitting at the table reading the paper with coffee next to him and my mom digging in the fridge.  "Hey sleepyhead, sleep well?"  My dad asked looking up from his paper smiling.   Inodded and let out a small yawn.  "Well we can skip breakfast and have lunch instead."  My mom's voice came from the oven.  I grinned sheepishly and apologized.  "No need for that, ou had a long day yesterday.  So we'll leave after lunch instead which should be ready in about an hour."  "I'll go get ready then."  I told her and went upstairs to my room. Grabbing a dark brown sweater, skinny jeans, my brown boots, and undergarments I went to the bathroom and took a shower.  I hopped out and changed into my clothes before blow drying my hair and straightening it.  Once I was happy with my hair I applied my make up.  Once I was done I went back down to the kitchen to see just my mom there.  "Where's dad?"  I asked and she turned around to look at me before answering.  "He got called into work for an emergency, said they needed an extra pair of hands."  I nodded my head before asking if she needed any help.  "Nope I'm good but thanks sweetie."  I smiled and went into the living room to watch some TV.  I turned the channel to the news and watched the weather.  "-high of 36 F and a low of 28 F" I looked out the window and saw the trees that still had a few leaves on them moving in the wind, but it was still sunny out.  "And in other news there was another murder of a family of four.  Police say it's the same 'smiling' killer that has been around for the last ten years.  May their souls rest in peace."  I frowned at the TV and shut it off before walking into the kitchen to see my mom placing dishes on the table.  She looked up and saw my frown and her mouth matched mine.  "What's wrong?"  She asked and I sat down at the table.  "The police still haven't caught the killer yet?"  She froze at my question and paled.  I immediately felt bad for asking but still needed to confirm that it was true.  She took a deep breath and sat down at the table.  "No, not yet.  The police have been trying and giving ways to stay safe but none have worked  Every day there's another family murdered.  Whether it's over in California or even here in Iowa, they can't catch him or the others."  he stopped talking and a tear went down her cheek.  "Ten god damn years this man has been taking lives and causing everyone fear.  He's the reason we wanted you to stay here for college.  We wanted you to be safe and happy and not fear for your life everyday.  And it's not just this one man either that's been like this.  Police say there are even more out there."  I felt a tear run down my own cheek and stood up to hug her.  "I'm sorry I asked,"  I apologised and continued to hug her.  "I'm fine, it's just your father and I worry about you, we don't want our baby girl to get hurt."  I nodded in understanding.  I may not be a mother myself but I can imagine the pain of losing a child.  he quickly stood up and went to the ove.  "No need to let good food burn."  I smiled at her way to lighten up the mood.  "Then let's eat!"  I said excitedly and dug into the food as it was placed on the table.