Past and Present

 “Have a good night Spencer, I said as I walked by the security office of A&S Insurance. The man in the standard brown uniform looked up from his station.

            “You too Scar,” he said, his chocolate brown eyes twinkling with mischief. Spencer is my partner in crime when it comes to pranking my colleagues.

            I smiled at him one last time as I leave the building for the night. Crazy man, I thought as I wrap my black coat tighter around my slim frame, my black hair blowing in the breeze where it wasn’t trapped by my white beanie. I made my way to my ’96 Toyota and quickly opened the door to escape the frigid Utah air.

            Once inside with the heater blasting the delicious warm air that thawed my body from the harsh winds outside, I started the car and made my way out of the empty parking lot. I made my way onto the highway and started the journey to my apartment. While driving, I decided to reflect on my day. I had made a huge deal for our company and because of that, my boss decided to promote me for all of the hard work that I put into the company. All in all, it was a good day, I thought with a smile on my face, a lot better than when I started ten years ago.

            Soon my thoughts drifted to my younger sister. “Stacy,” I whispered. I knew I needed to stop myself from remembering that horrible night but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t stop the memories.

~~~

            A loud bang came from downstairs. I look up after the door slammed to look at my sister as we listen to Him walk up the stairs. My gaze is locked on her green eyes as he stumbled into our room. I looked at her one last time as I stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her from view, or so I thought. In that moment, I saw the jagged scar that ran down the left side of her face. I saw the bruises that littered her arms and legs and I knew that she had more underneath the clothes that she wore to desperately cover them up. I especially saw the broken girl that was robbed of a happy childhood.

            Once in front of her, I look at Him. His icy blue eyes were locked on Stacy as His face contorted with rage. He lunged forward and tossed me aside. I hit my head hard on the ground and I was dizzy for a few moments. When I looked back at Him, He grabbed Stacy by the throat and before I could move a muscle, he pulled out a gun and shot her in the head.

            He dropped her now lifeless body on the ground with a disgusted look on his face, as if she was just a waste of space that deserved to die. He turned to me and spoke the words that would always haunt me, “You will die just like this worthless piece of trash, but not today.” He looked at Stacy one last time before walking out of the room, and then, the house. The words didn’t register at the time as I looked at my fourteen year old sister’s dead body. Her golden hair that she got from our mother was matted with blood and her sparkling green eyes were now cold and glassy.

            I crawled over to her as I looked at her. I felt tears slide down my bruised face as I bent over her body and wept. I wepted for all of her hopes and dreams. I wepted for her life that she barely started living. I wepted for the sister that I just lost.

            As I cried, I made up my mind. I would leave and never come back. I would make a life for myself. I would go on living – for both of us.

~~~

            I blinked as I thought about my old life, my old job. My job of protecting Stacy. I was supposed to protect her and I failed. I shook my head as I turned into my parking spot my apartment complex. I walked over to my one bedroom suite and unlocked the door. I turned on the lights and after I took off my coat, I made my way to the kitchen.

            I turned my home phone to listen to my missed messages. The first was about a doctor’s appointment. I ignored it and listened to the second one, which turned out to be a salesperson that was trying to sell me a vacuum cleaner. As the third message started, I reached for a frozen chicken so that I could start dinner.

“Hello Scarlet,” a voice came over the phone, sending chills of horror down my back as I listened. “I must say, you were always the smarter child. It took me how long to find you? Oh, that’s right, it took me ten years,” he gave a low chuckle that filled me with dread. “I am just calling to let you know that after you hear this, you will die. See you soon princess.”

            The phone clicked off and the dial tone on, but I didn’t hear it. He found me, was all I could think about. I got up from where I had slid down onto the floor during the message with that one thought running through my mind. He found me. I ran to my room to grab my backpack. He found me. Once I had it and my keys, I sprinted out of my apartment and towards my car.

            I hopped in and threw my backpack into the backseat. Then I started the car and drove off towards the highway as fast as I could. If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed the figure outside of my apartment. I would have seen the figure get into a black suburban. I would have seen it race towards me on the highway. If I had been paying attention, I could have prevented what happened next.

            I saw headlights coming at me. I heard the squeal of my tires as I tried to swerve. I saw the dark blue air above my head turn into grassy green. Then, blackness.

            When I woke up, all I could see was the ground above my head. I need to get out of here, I thought. I try to unbuckle myself, only to find my right arm is broken. After some struggling, I was able to crawl out of the window of my upside down car. I saw a pair of black loafers in front of me. My eyes traveled from his shoes to his black trousers to his black long-sleeved T-shirt and finally, his bright, icy blue eyes. As I look into the eyes of my worst nightmare, he starts to speak.

            “Hello sweetheart,” he told me as a victorious smile crept onto his face. He bent down and grabbed me by my long black hair only to hear me scream in pain from the pressure. Just as quickly as He picked me up, He threw me back on the ground. “I warned you that would end up just like your pathetic sister,” he spat at me as He pulled out a gun. He smiled again as he put the gun next to my head and pulled the trigger.

            I’m coming sis, were my last thoughts, I tried, I really did. I tried to live for both of us. At least He can’t hurt us anymore. “Goodbye Daddy,” I whispered for the last time as I succumbed to the approaching darkness.