What Would You Do?

Chapter Three

Hey guys! Thank you so much for sticking around.

Fair warning, this chapter is a little intense. Here, we get to know Audrey a little better. Hope you guys enjoy!

PS: Don't worry! All questions will be answered. Promise!

Audrey got home at around 3 in the morning. She had driven around her neighborhood a few times to clear her mind. The house was quiet as she slowly opened her front door. Normally her step-brother would still be up playing his video games or blasting his God-awful rap music. However; tonight, not a single sound came from his room. Audrey brushed this off, thinking he was out with friends. The stairs creaked under her weight, as if protesting her late arrival. Not wanting to wake anyone up, she made her every movement cat-like; a skill she had mastered when she was a pre-teen. Audrey made it up to her room within a short minute.

Her room was the attic. It consisted of a queen sized bed near the double windows, a large skyline window in the middle of the slanted roof, and three large windows on the other side of the room opposite of her bed. Dark wood surrounded her. The smell of incents and candles filled her nostrils. The room wasn't small. It could easily be a loft. She had a small T.V with a sofa and two lazyboy's. The walls that didn't have windows were lined with tall bookshelves. Her desk sat in the corner of her room, the computer sitting on top. Next to her desk was an antique standing-lamp and a small table that held an old vinyl player. The shelf next to it was completely filled with vinyls. The only thing missing was a bathroom.

Audrey loved her room. It was cozy to her. She spent most of her time up in her room, listening to music and writing down her thoughts. Here, she was safe. Here, she wasn't afraid. Her room allowed her to be free to do whatever she pleased. She was free.

Tossing her keys onto her dresser, Audrey kicked off her shoes and flopped onto her bed. She stared up through the window on her ceiling. Tiny fireflies lit her eyes. The stars, like distant cousins to the lighting bugs, covered the sky and illuminated the night. A long sigh escaped her lips. Her eyes were barely open as she reached for the button of her jeans. Freeing herself from her denim prison, she flung her jeans off the bed and rolled over onto her side, not bothering to get up and change her shirt. Audrey was slowly drifting into a restless sleep when she heard a shuffle come from one of her lazyboys. She sat up, straining her eyes in search of the shadowy intruder.

"Who's there?" she called out shakily.

No answer.

Audrey cleared her throat and asked again, "Who's there? Hello?" She reached toward her dresser, trying to grab her pocket knife. Nothing was there. Little beads of sweat started to form on her forehead. She swallowed hard. Then, the light flickered on.

"You're looking for this right?" a voice asked.

Audrey's eyes adjusted to see her step-brother, Todd, twirling her pocket knife.

"Todd..." her voice was horse. She attempted to smile but faltered. "What are you doing up here?"

Todd flipped open Audrey's knife and spun it around in his hand. His expert skill showed off his military training. Todd's lips were pressed into a grim line. His eyebrow was raised and his eyes blared an angry glow.

"Where the fuck have you been?" he asked quietly.

Audrey got off her bed and steadied herself with the bed railing. Thank God she wore shorts under her jeans today.

"I had a bad day," she started with a shaky voice, "I drove around to clear my thoughts."

"It's three in the FUCKING morning!" Todd fumed.

"I know." Audrey tightened her grip on her bed. Her knuckles were almost white.

Todd took notice to this. "Relax," he said, still twirling the pocket knife. "I won't punish you this time." He smirked in a sickening way. Audrey hated that smirk. That smirk brought nothing but pain.

"Thank you..." Audrey barely chocked out. She started to shake and her palms were slippery with sweat.

Todd stood up. Every muscle in Audrey's body tightened. Her step-brother took notice, and chuckled. He bucked at her, causing her to flinch and cower. Todd laughed and tossed her her knife. Audrey fumbled and dropped it. Still shaking, she reached down to grab it, being careful to keep her back facing away from Todd. He shook his head, still smirking.

"One day," he started, "you'll learn to trust me."

Audrey didn't look at him. He sighed and turned towards the stairs and left. Audrey let out a long sigh and relaxed. She stood up straight and stared up at the ceiling again, looking towards the comfort of the moon. Her mind was racing, in intense compitetion with her heart. She walked over to her record-player and flipped the switch. Her eyes scanned her shelf for the appropriate music to calm her nerves. She settled on an Explosions In The Sky album and put it on. The gentle instrumental soothed her. Her body relaxed, but her mind was still boggled. She layed down on her bed and attempted to sleep, failing miserably.

Today will be yesterday, and tomorrow will soon be today. She repeated to herself this quote every night. Her father had taught her to say this whenever things got tough. It comforted her. She repeated this about 130 times before she finally drifted, silent tears still running down her face.