The Witness (H.S.)

26

I got woken up by a shrill and loud ringing throughout the house. Before I can even figure out what that sound is someone yanks me by my hair and pulls me out of bed. I'm so shocked and overwhelmed in the first moment I don't even scream. I just realise that there is someone in my house, grabbing my hair and dragging me out of the room as we're already in the hallway. I kick and scream trying to wiggle out of the tight grip on my hair but just making it worse.

"Stop it and shut up", someone growls with a deep voice, a slight Spanish accent to it and I immediately freeze. I know that voice. He found me. Fear spreads through my body, paralyzes me. The grip on my hair is released only to be grabbed harshly on my upper arms and yanked to my feet. Something presses into my side and I have a suspicion what that object might be. It's probably the same gun James was murdered with.

"Move! And be quiet or I swear I'll kill that little girl of yours", he threatens as he pushes the object deeper into my side sure to leave a bruise to make me move. All I care about is to protect Ava. I'll do anything I have to to ensure she doesn't get harmed. As we reach the staircase he suddenly shoves me hard so I loose my balance and tremble down the steps feeling each one as I fall downstairs landing with a heavy thud at the wooden parquet groaning in pain.

"Get up and switch the alarm off", Jorge Martinez yells at me as he moves his dark dressed body down the stairs still pointing his gun at me. Hurting all over my body I turn on my stomach to push me to my feet but fail as he reaches the floor and kicks me right in the side. Crying out in pain I try to crawl away only to be yanked on my hair again till I stand to my feet. He pushes me to the security panel and with trembling fingers I need three attempts to enter the passcode correctly. He then leads me to the living room and to my surprise and terror I see a second person waiting right there in the dark pointing another gun at me.

"What do you want from me?", I finally find my voice and fail to keep my fright out of it. My trembling body would have been a dead give away for my terrified state anyway.

"You know exactly what I want from you, Mariella. Did you really think I wouldn't find you?", Martinez growls,  spitting my name in a disgusted manner while shoving me further into the room making me fall to my knees.

"Well, he's got his own reasons", he adds maliciously hinting at the second man standing in my living room. The same man I caught sneaking around the first floor a couple weeks ago. Rico.

"Where is it?", Martinez comes right to the point of breaking into my house and threatening me.

"I don't know", I say meekly.

"Bullshit!", he yells with a booming voice echoing throughout the house and slapping me hard in the face. Pain immediately runs through my cheek and I can taste blood on my lip but I fight my tears not giving him the satisfaction he probably craves with this sick mind of his. 

"Do I really need to get your daughter down here to make you talk?"

"No! No! Leave her out of this. I don't have it", I exclaim terrified. "I've never even seen it! You have to believe me! Please don't harm my girl!", I beg him. I don't even care what he'll do to me as long as he leaves Ava out of it.

"I've had enough", Rico suddenly speaks up. "She doesn't have it. I looked through her stuff the other day while she was at work. It's not here. Now let me revenge my brother and then get out of here. We've already been too long." And now I see it. The resemblance is there. Now I understand why he looked so familiar to me when I first saw him in the bakery. James and him do share a lot of facial features just their eyes are different.

"You wanna revenge your brother? Why do you work with his murderer then?", I bravely speak up.

"What?" And for the first time I see his gun which is still pointed to my head wavering.