Our Perfect Insanity

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

I stood up and whirled around, just as June came running out of her room, tears pouring down her cheeks.

When she reached me, I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms.

She was shaking, and clutching tightly on to me.

"June, sweetheart, are you alright? What happened?" I asked, gently brushing the hair out of her face in an attempt to sooth her.

June looked up at me, her large green eyes wide with fear.

"There's a strange lady in my room! She's scary, don't let her hurt me, please, daddy!" June cried, hiding her face in my shoulder.

I held her tightly to me, as she shook with fear. I, myself, was shaking, though not out of fear… out of anger.

How dare Ariel come after my daughter?

I looked up, and saw that the door leading into June's room was open slightly, and I could see the unnatural darkness inside of it.

I held June close to me, and started to walk towards the door. I stopped halfway there, as Ariel appeared in the door frame.

"How dare you? How dare you attempt to harm her? She's done nothing to you!" I shouted at Ariel, whose eyes flashed dangerously.

She barred her teeth at me, and growled, literally growled at me.

June whimpered, shaking as she clutched desperately to me.

"You still love her, don't you?" Ariel asked, her tone deadly calm, yet I could hear the rage hidden behind it.

"Who…?" I asked, though I was positive that I already knew who Ariel was talking about.

She growled again, and gestured to the door.

"The woman that left her a while ago…. your ex-wife… Samantha." Ariel hissed.

I didn't say anything.

Ariel's eyes filled with hurt, which was soon replaced by anger.

"I take that as a yes." She growled, before a sinister look crossed her face, as if she had gotten a devious idea.

I felt my blood run cold.

She’s going to do something to Samantha, isn't she?

"If you lay a hand on her, I swear I'll-"

Ariel cut me off with a cold, dark laugh.

It made my blood run cold; to know that my daughter and I were steps away from a cold-blooded killer, with no regard for humanity.

"Oh, don't worry, Jonathan. I won't lay a hand on her." Ariel said, and then she was gone, stepping back into the darkness that consumed June's room.

June looked up from my shoulder, and over to the door of her room.

"Don't make me sleep in there, daddy..." June whispered.

I nodded my head, giving her a shaky kiss on the top of her head.

"Come on, you'll sleep with me… don't worry, I won’t let her hurt you..." I told June, who nodded, tears still pouring down her cheeks.

"She was the lady on the TV, daddy… the one that you were talking to..." June told me, as I carried her into my bedroom.

I set her down in the bed, and quickly stepped into the bathroom connected to my room.

I changed into pajama pants and an old shirt, and walked back into the room, relieved to find June still there, perfectly fine.

"Go to sleep, sweetie..." I whispered to her, as I lay down in my bed, June cuddling closer to my side.

Through the darkness, I could see her looking around the room, fear evident in her eyes. I held her close to me, and closed my eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

When I opened my eyes, the whole rest of the night had passed, and sunlight was shining through my window.

I looked over, smiling as I found June curled up at my side.

She stirred, looking up at me and yawning. I smiled, and pulled my fingers gently through her hair.

"Good morning, daddy." June said sleepily.

I smiled down at her.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Would you like some breakfast?" I asked, sitting up.

June nodded, so I pulled the toddler into my arms and carried her out of my bedroom.

I looked over to the table in the dining room part of the kitchen, and saw that the blood stained white rose was gone.

Ariel must have taken it away a while ago, though the blood was still staining the dark brown wood.

 I sighed, and carried June on my hip and into the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, I was greeted with a sight that made tears burn in my eyes, along with making my stomach turn.

"June, close your eyes." I whispered.

June did as I told her to. I suppose... she could smell it as well. She knew something bad had happened.

I looked up to the body handing from the ceiling fan, which was still.

The noose was around the woman's neck, her once bright blue eyes dull, and cold. Blood was pouring from the many wounds in her body.

It was Samantha. Ariel had killed Samantha.

Just like with the murder of that patient, there was writing with the blood that dripped from Samantha’s corpse.

I stared down at the words.

I said I would never lay a hand on her, and I didn't. I didn’t use my hands, I used a knife. Remember, you are mine. Only mine, and no one else's.

Again, the writing was undeniably Ariel's.

I felt the tears slide down my cheeks, and I held June close to me. I made sure her eyes were still closed as I turned, carrying June into the living room, and away from the grisly scene.

"Get out." I growled, coming to a stop as I saw the woman sitting on the couch.

She looked up at me, her eyes filling with an evil light that I had become accustom to seeing in her eyes.

She grinned, showing off her sharp teeth.

"No, Jonathan. You don't want me to leave. You don't know what you want." She told me, and i growled, holding June close to me, protectively.

"I know what I want. I want you to leave! You killed her!" I shouted at her, and amusement sparked in her eyes.

"So what if I did? You are mine. Only mine, and no one else's." Ariel said, standing up.

Suddenly, all the lights turned off, and June screamed.

Thinking on impulse, I spun around, just as I felt something slash across my back, right where June would have been if I hadn’t turned around when I did.

I screamed out in pain, the same time Ariel screamed in anger.

"Let me kill her!" She screeched.

I held June close to me, shaking my head.

"No! If you kill her, you'll never get what you want!" I shouted, and the lights turned back on, revealing that Ariel was gone.

My back was killing me, and blood from the wound was pouring onto the ground.

I looked down, to see words written with my blood.

She is the only thing keeping you sane, so she must die. She will die, and you will be mine.