Little Winston | Happy Lowman

4. Fight or flight

My Adrenaline was pumping as I flew down the all to familiar back roads towards Opie's house. Pulling in the driveway, I was shocked to see my moms car parked next to Opie's. "Mom" I yelled and I cautiously pushed the front door open. "Scarlett?" I could hear my mom question before rounding the corner to face me. She was getting older, there were more grey hairs on her head and her eyes looked tired. "What are you doing here" she asked, managing to muster up a half smile. "Ope came to tell me about dad, brought me back here last night, and then got arrested 20 minutes ago" I sigh letting my frustration out. "He called me an hour ago to come look after the kids, said he had to run errands" Mom scoffed and began to grab her purse. "Well you're here now, I'm going" she says and makes her was to the door. "You're leaving? where are the kids" I ask shocked. "In the lounge room. They will need dinner soon. You better get cooking" She says before walking out, slamming the door behind her. You know how they say some parents are better grandparents than they are parents? Yeah that doesn't apply for my mom. "Bitch" I mumble under my breath before putting on my best smile and walking into the living room.

"Who missed me?" I say loudly as I made my way into the living room. "Aunty Scarlett" both Ellie and Kenny say in unison before sprinting towards me. "Hey guys" I laugh embracing both of them. "My god, when did you get so grown up" I place a kiss on both of their heads. "Where's dad?" Kenny asks. Great the dreaded question I was hoping to avoid for at least a few more hours. "Your dad's going to stay at the clubhouse tonight, but I thought since I was here I would come over and watch you guys" I say hoping they couldn't detect the lie I was spilling. "Hell yeah sleepover with aunty Scar" Kenny yells making me smile.

After dinner, a few movies and endless amounts of popcorn, I managed to get the kids to bed with only a few question about their father. I was almost finished cleaning the dishes when a knock on the door caught my attention. I didn't have to look at the time to know it was late. I grabbed the hand towel next to me and wiped my hands dry before venturing towards the door. Looking through the peep hole to find no one I sighed to myself before I decided the dishes could wait until tomorrow. It was bedtime for me.

I couldn't have been asleep for more then a few hours before rapid knocking and abrupt shaking tore me from my dream of a better life. "Aunty Scarlett" a voice from the dark whispers. "Ellie?" I question, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. "Someones banging on the door" she whispers as the banging continues and I jump into action. No matter what happens, I protect these kids with my life. "You grab your brother and you go into the bathroom and lock the door, no matter what you don't open the door unless I tell you to, okay?" I say while grabbing my gun and ushering her down the hall to Kennys room.

"Go Ellie" I whisper while grabbing my phone and dialing Happy's number. "Scarlett, what's wrong" Hap answers on the third ring. "Someones banging on the door, scaring the kids" I whisper while checking to see how many bullets I had. "You keep the kids safe and you don't use that gun unless you have to. I will be there in 2 minutes" Happy says rushed before hanging up.

Just as Happy hangs up, another loud bang rings through the house. Making sure the bathroom door was locked, I quietly make my way into the kitchen as the front door comes crashing in. "Shit" I whisper. "Drop the gun now or I swear to god I'll put a bullet in the back of your skull" A voice from behind me says. Turning around so I could face the man, it was him. After all this time. He finally found me. My gun remained beside me as one of his henchman appeared from behind him. "Put the gun on the ground and kick it over to me" His guy yells, at this point I was staring down the barrel of his gun, any minute now a bullet would fly through the air and land straight between my eyes and he would finally get what he wanted. "This isn't any way to treat a lady now is it" I say letting humour replace my fear while bending down to put the gun on the floor. "Shut up bitch" he barks back. Either one of two things is going to happen. Either he kills me where I stand or I fight.

Death has a secret crush on you and thus keeps trying to kill you and reap your soul so you two can be together for eternity. The catch? Your guardian angel disapproves of the pairing and is doing everything in its power to keep you alive.

Fight or flight kicked in and I knew what I had to do. "Look do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt the kids" I plead. "I said shut the fuck up" his henchman screams. Quickly and without thinking, I grab his gun and hit it up towards the roof before punching him in the face stunning him. I quickly grabbed a knife of the counter silently thanking myself for not finishing the dishes, and plunged it into his neck watching the man fall dead on the floor. I scrambled to grab my gun, and pointed it at him. "I'll be seeing you real soon Scarlett" his stupid smirk spread across his face. He hadn't changed at all, he was still the twisted psychopath I met seven years ago. "Get out" I warned. He took one last look at me before running out.

"fucking hell" I ran my hands over my face and turned to look at the man bleeding out on the kitchen floor. The sound of a motorcycle echoed through the quiet neighbourhood. About a second to late Hap but thanks for coming. "Scarlett?" Happy called out as he ran into the kitchen. Relief washes over his face when he see's me. "It was him Hap. He found me. Again" I shook my head at the older man. "the kids" I panic and make my way to the bathroom. "I"ll get the kids, put them back to bed then i'll handle this mess. Go get yourself cleaned up" Hap says and I nod in agreement.

No matter how long I stood under the scalding hot water or how hard I scrubbed my body, it felt like the blood was never going to come off. Finally, after what felt like hours of scrubbing, I gave up. "I'll dump the body in a few hours before the sun comes up" Happy speaks as I enter the bedroom. "Thanks for coming" I say sitting down next to him on the bed. "Just wish I got here sooner so I could have killed the bastard" He says and I get under the covers. "Will you stay?" my voice came out quieter then I expected it to. "Course" Happy mumbles and kicks his boots of and lays down next to me.

Strike two Charming, what more could you possibly throw at me...