The Murder That Changed Me Forever

Chapter 15

I wake up in the middle of the night having to pee. So I go out of my room and sneak to the bathroom trying not to be too loud so Lily and Josh get some good sleep tonight. They have been worried sick about the situation. They are scared something might happen when they are asleep, they are especially scared to leave me alone. At least they will be at peace of mind when the FBI comes back.

I still have a hard time believing we put the wrong guy away. The courts are changing his sentencing. After all he did lie in a court of law. So he might get a few years. I just want this to be over.

I am sitting on the toilet peeing, going through my social media pages which are still blowing up from weeks ago. All of a sudden *DING DA DA DING*. My text tone goes off. I am scared that it woke up Josh and Lily, but I still hear them snoring, so it's okay.

I go and flush the toilet and wash my hands. I sneak back to my room and then look at the text. It was from an unknown number.

The image I saw sent shivers down my spine. It was of the house with a knife held in a gloved hand. It was captioned

"Jessica don't think I don't know where you live, you can't escape now! 3:)"

Just then I receive another message.

"I'm coming in now... and ps don't look out your window... you won't like what you see. Stay put or I will kill Lily and Josh!"

I let out a terrified shriek as I heard a loud knock on my window. Someone was trying to break the glass.

Lily and Josh run into my room to see what's wrong. Lily is holding her gun. I am crying loudly and Josh comes to comfort me.

*DING DA DA DING*

"You made a mistake screaming Jessica... Watch your back at all times!"

Josh grabs my phone and reads all the messages and shows them to Lily. He holds me and comforts me to the best of his ability. But it is not enough to make me stop bawling.

Lily walks out of the room and calls 911 to ask for backup and an unmarked patrol car to sit out of the house. Lily arms herself and goes outside to check the perimeter.

" WHY DO I DESERVE THIS?" I wail loudly.

" Shhhh Shhhh. It's okay... we are all okay. You don't deserve this. You have done nothing to deserve this. It's hard enough on you as it is," Josh says this in a comforting voice and that makes me mad.

I stand up and look right at him with dead eyes and yell at him, "YOU THINK WE ARE ALL OKAY!!! I AM NOT AND MY PARENTS AREN'T EITHER!!! You think you are helping with the 'comforting' voice but in reality it is driving me nuts. I realize you are trying to help but it's not helping."

He looks at me with wild eyes and opens his arms wide. I run into them.

"I know and I am sorry... I am just not good at this parenting stuff. I want you to get better... I really do. It's hard on all of us, but way harder on you. Trust me you are an amazing child and you need to get help. We are getting maximum security here and around you that way you will be okay."

I say nothing. I just cry in his arms. His scent helps calm me. He smells good. Like my father, making me feel like I can trust him even more than I do. I know he is having a hard time and the fact that I yelled at him made me feel bad.

" I know... I'm sorry for yelling at you... I'm j-j-just really stressed about this whole situation. And of all the things that could go wrong, this is by far the worst," I sniffle. It's hard on all of us but yelling doesn't help.

All of a sudden I go stone cold and stop crying. Anger coursing through my blood the way hot lava would burn down a village or forest. I get the sudden feeling that I am being watched. I look out my window and see a miniature camera was placed on the outside of my window peering in. I can tell with my basic technology skills it is bluetooth and on. Probably hooked up to some computer somewhere. I pretend not to notice because if they think I know about it then they will turn it off and I won't be able to find out where they are positioned.

" What? What's wrong Jessica?" Josh asks concerned.

I snap out of my daze. " It's just the stars. They are so beautiful tonight. It reminds me of the few camping trips I took with my mom and dad as a kid. We would go and watch the stars."

Of course I was lying about the stars, but we did go camping a few times when I was little. I hope he can't tell that I am lying right to his face. They just can't know about the camera or we are screwed.

" Oh, okay. I thought you saw someone and that scared the absolute crap out of me," he responds clearly relieved.

Phew he believed me. We are okay. Plus the camera is too small for many people to notice.

I text Jodi and tell her to make sure she comes to because there is a "task" I have for her to figure out. She responds almost instantly and says she is okay with coming as long as I have a place for her to set up.

Lily walks in the room. "The perimeter is clear. No one is out there. But there is a crack on your window. How did that get there?"

" Someone tried to break the window and that is what made me scream really loud."

" Okay well I will call agent Poker and tell him to come now. I don't care how dark it is, but this is even more important than anything." And with that she walks out of the room, phone in hand.

Josh is about to walk out of the room to go back to bed but I stop him. "Wait Josh. Can you sleep in my room... I have a trundle bed and as you know it is always set up... I'd just feel more safe if you slept in here tonight."

" Sure... Let me tell Lily. I want you to feel safe in our house and if this helps you feel safe then I'm down. It'll be like a sleepover... but with me," he jokes about that last part.

I laugh a little. I can always count on josh to cheer me up.

He walks out and once he does there is flash of the camera. I guess they think I am not paying attention. But I pretend not to notice.

Josh walks back in the room. "Let's get this party started yo!" He jokes.

" Hahaha. Yeah let's sleep." I say.

He falls asleep fast and is soon snoring. But I can't sleep and it is not because he is snoring. It's because I am terrified and do not know the consequence of what is going to happen. I'm scared they will kill us all if and once I fall asleep. But I doubt they will come twice in the same night. What if they kill my friends. I'm scared that they will hurt the ones I love.

*DING DA DA DING*

It's Morgan. I heave a sigh of relief. I was worried I would have gotten a text from the unknown number.

" We are on our way... sit tight. We should be there by morning."

Thank god. I just want time to hurry up. At least they left.

*DING DA DA DING*

" Do you want me or Agent Anders to stay in your room with you?"

I respond as soon as I read it. "Would Agent Anders want to stay in my room? I have a trundle bed he can sleep on."

*DING DA DA DING*

"Yeah he said that is fine and he is down with that."

EPIC!!! I get to share my room with the hot agent, whom also is very very intelligent. I better pull out some pj pants for me to wear to bed. Pretty sure he doesn't want to be in the room with me if I am pantsless. I shut my eyes and after about a minute exhaustion from the day seeps in and I fall into a deep sleep.