It's the middle of the night, Lindsey is in the studio, and has checked in many times before I decided to go to bed. I keep hearing noises and though they make me nervous, I tell myself it's just Karen. I drift back off to sleep just to have another noise startle me awake. I sit up in bed, looking around the upstairs area, checking in on Aria who is fast asleep. Then I knock on Karen's door but there is no answer. I knock harder and finally I hear her. I wait until she comes to the door and she looks at me, rubbing her eyes.
"Stevie, its...3 in the morning." She says, looking the clock on the night stand. "I've enjoyed you going to be earlier now that you're pregnant."
"I'm sorry I just keep hearing noises"
"Noises in houses are normal."
"I'm scared though."
"Do you want to come inside?" She asks, sighing and I can tell she doesn't really want me to.
"You need your sleep, I'm sorry I woke you up" I say and go back to my room.
Once again, I'm woken up by another much louder noise and when I open my eyes, someone is in the door way.
"Karen, I'm fine. Go back to bed" I mumble. She continues to stand there and it's starting to freak me out.
"Oh, Stevie. You dumb, dumb girl" says the voice. She steps closer to me and when my vision adjusts, I see a tall, slim blonde woman in front of me with a strange look in her eyes.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" I pull the covers up higher around me.
"Awww...are you scared?" She asks in a condescending manner, pursing her lips like how you would talk to a child or a pet.
"Why are you here?"
"I've been here before, don't you remember?"
"I knew it"
"Good for you! Gold star!" She says with sarcastic enthusiasm.
"What are you doing here?" I ask again.
"Where's Lindsey? I know he came back with you and your little brat"
"Don't you dare talk about my daughter that way!" I say angrily and she smacks my face hard in response. Though it really stings, I throw back the covers and stand up. I hate being looked down upon.
"I wouldn't get any bright ideas and start screaming if I were you...you don't want something to happen, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh come on. All alone in the house, pregnant..." I touch my stomach at the mention of my baby, wondering how she knew. "No one around to help take care of poor, helpless Stevie. Just you and your little girl." I open my mouth but she stops me. "Oh, and your little assistant. How could I forget? Now tell me, where's Lindsey?"
"He's at the studio. He should be coming back soon"
"Great, an audience" Kristen says, laughing.
"What are you going to do?"
"Don't rush it. This is the fun part. I've got a whole little bag of surprises for you." She opens her bag and pulls out a box cutter. She clicks up the blade and examines it, trailing the back of the blade down my chest and I shudder. She dives at me with the blade in her hand and I move out of the way, which only makes her more angry. She falls onto the bed beside me, clearing putting her weight into her attempt and I run out of the room. She's chasing after me as I bang on Karen's door, she opens it but much too slowly. Kristen pulls me to the ground by my hair, my body aching from impact with the hardwood floor. She slices into my thigh and I cry out in pain. "Shut up or I will start on your daughter!" She says through gritted teeth, pointing the weapon in my face.
"No, you can't! Leave her alone!" I say, grabbing her arm. We're struggling and as she's trying to gain control, I have to dodge the blade several times. I manage to gain a bit of strength over her and toss the box cutter down the stairs. "You're insane!" I scream. Karen tries to call the police but the lines are cut in the house. She searches for her cell phone, unable to find it.
"Shut up, you little bitch!" She slams my face into the floor boards, going to grab the box cutter. I hear the front door open and pray for help. I feel myself losing consciousness....my thoughts go to Aria and the baby growing inside of me. I hear a familiar voice in the distance then everything goes black.
------
I wake up in a white room with harsh lighting. I look around and my head is pounding, my neck aches as well as my body and I notice cuts I never knew I had. I try to sit up, my hand go right to my belly and I find a little relief.
"You're awake!" Karen says and she looks worse for wear.
"Oh my gosh, what happened?"
"We fought for the cell phone. Thankfully I was able to call but the thing was smashed to bits."
"I will replace it. Where's Lindsey?"
"Don't worry about it. He's at the police station."
"What? Why?"
"Not to make light of this whole thing, but you should be very proud of Lindsey. He came up the stairs and when he saw Kristen over you, he tackled her and took her blade and other weapons. She had some crazy stuff in that bag of hers. Then the guy, Dave, came in to assist her. It's disgusting how two people could do this. Those two deserve to rot! But anyway, Lindsey saw him and started wailing on him." I'm sickened by the whole thing but yes, I do feel a bit of pride over my protector. "He was like a hero in those action movies! I've literally never seen anything like it in real life. I'm glad he got there when he did. I can't imagine what could have happened."
"Oh my god...What about Aria?"
"She came with us in the ambulance, don't you remember?" I shake my head. "She was hugging you and kissing your belly. You told her you loved her and promised to come back to her" I'm crying and she holds me gently, not wanting to hurt me. "You're so lucky to be alive. When you passed out, we couldn't find your pulse for a little bit. You have mostly superficial cuts, you needed very few stitches but you lost a good amount of blood due to the sheer number. And you have a nasty concussion. We will have to look after you and you have to tell us if you feel anything out of the ordinary"
"I will. Can I see Aria?"
"She's asleep" She points to the curtain that is half way around my bed, pulling it back. "We were lucky enough to get a room with two beds. And it's pretty private back here"
"My precious angel! Oh my gosh, I could have lost her....when can I see Lindsey?"
"He's being questioned. He was afraid he was going to be arrested for assault but since he was protecting you and Kristen was already wanted, he most likely won't have charges filed"
"Thank God!"
"Get some rest, I will have him come see you when he gets here"
"Thank you. Thank you for fighting for us."
"I didn't do anything."
"You called the police. You and Lindsey saved our lives. Thank you."
"You're welcome, honey. I was so scared for you and the little one"
"I felt her fluttering around as soon as I woke up. It was such a huge weight off my shoulders."
"Take care of your mommy, little girl" She gives my little belly a rub before leaving. I lay back down, finding a comfortable position and I fall right to sleep.
