J-Fred

Ch. 8: Protection

After all that commotion with the creepy guy from the bar, Alice drifts off into sleep. She dreams that she is back at the bar, but instead of Damien approaching her, it is J-Fred. He sits beside her and flashes his kind smile. A bright light flashes, and the dream changes. Now, she is in the center of a dancefloor with a spotlight shining down at her. J-Fred walks out from the darkness and holds out his hand to ask her to dance. She takes his hand, and he immediately pulls her close against his chest and starts to sway to the music. She never wants the dream to end.

Sadly, she awakes to find herself alone again in bed with a massive hangover. Even getting out of bed rocks her brain and makes her want to vomit. She decides to spend the day home alone instead of hanging out with friends. 

She has a nice, calm day once again. She forgets all about Damien...until night approaches. As Alice is curled up on her couch watching Netflix, she hears violent banging coming from her front door. Luckily, it is still locked from last night. 

Cautiously, she approaches the door and peeks out through peephole. Damien stand outside with anger in his eyes. "Alice!" he yells as he continues to pound on the door. It sends chills up her spine. She never even told him her name last night, how does he know it? "I know you're in there!" he yells. "Let me in! I want to talk to you." His eyes move right up to the peephole, and it feels as though he is staring right at her. 

Alice goes throughout her whole house, closing the blinds and double-checking that everything is sealed up tight. All she can do is sit and wait, hoping that he will eventually leave. Finally, the banging stops. Alice eases up and turns the TV back on to watch Netflix. Suddenly, there is a loud bang against the window in the living room where she sits. "Alice!" Damien yells from outside the window. "Let me in, Alice, or I will find a way in on my own! I just want to see my pretty girl."

Now Alice is truly scared. She slowly backs away from the window and races into the kitchen. She grabs a kitchen knife and pulls out her phone. In a moment of panic, she does not call the police. She just decides to call the first person that pops into her head. She calls the person that she trusts to protect her. 

"Hello?" J-Fred says on the other end of the phone. He sounds tired and groggy.

"I need your help," Alice whispers.

J-Fred snaps out of his tired stupor when he hears her voice. "Alice? Is everything okay? Why are you whispering?"

"There's a man outside my house," she explains, still in a hushed tone. "I'm afraid he wants to hurt me, and I'm scared--" she chokes up.

"I'll be right there," J-Fred answers immediately. 

Alice whispers to him her address, and tells him to sneak in the back door. "Thanks, J-Fred," she sighs. Once he hangs up, Alice comes to her senses and calls the police. They tell her they will be there in several minutes. 

Alice hears glass shatter in the living room. "That's it," Damien yells, "I'll just have to let myself in." Alice races into the other room and waits by the back door. She counts down the seconds, waiting for J-Fred to arrive. She keeps one eye out the window with the other eye on the door. 

Finally, J-Fred appears outside the door. She pulls him inside quickly. "Thank god you're here," she breathes. "He's inside the house, and--"

Before she can finish the sentence, they see the shadow of Damien in the doorway. "I see you brought a friend over," he smiles. "I told you I just wanted to talk." 

J-Fred takes a bold step forward and shoves Damien back. "You better stay away from her." Damien flashes that evil smile again. Suddenly, he wraps his hands around J-Fred's throat and tosses him across the room. J-Fred slams hard against the edge of the table. He falls to the ground, clutching his side. 

"You better stay away from me!" Damien yells. He takes Alice's wrist and pulls her into the next room. She reaches up with her knife to stab him, but he knocks it out of her hand with ease. Alice slaps him and struggles with all of her might to get free from his grip, but it is no use. He is too strong.

J-Fred races in and tackles Damien to the floor. The two of them wrestle on the floor. They punch, kick, rip out hair, and strangle each other. When Alice tries to intervene and help, Damien kicks her in the jaw, and she falls hard to the ground. A loud ringing noise blares in her ears, and black spots cloud her vision.

After a long fight, Damien has weakened J-Fred. For a final move, he takes J-Fred's head in his hands and slams it against the wall. J-Fred slides limply down the wall, and he fights to keep his eyes open. Damien has won. Both Alice and J-Fred are too weak to fight anymore. As Damien starts to walk towards them, Alice feels J-Fred slide his hand into hers. When she looks up at him, he squeezes her hand. He gives her a weak smile, as if to tell her that he is still there. She squeezes his hand back and awaits whatever is to come next.

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AN: Thank you guys so much for 300 reads! I really appreciate all of the support, and I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Have a day!