The Forgotten Child

Chapter 11

Shirley started to pass out. "SHIRLEY!" James yelled. James turned behind him to see Bridget sitting up on Shirley's bed. "What's happening to Shirley?!" James yelled at Bridget this time. Bridget didn't respond, and she looked into James's teary eyes. "Bridget please, help," James said while slowly breaking down. Bridget jumped off the bed and ran downstairs. She saw Shirley's rotary phone on a small wooden table. She started rotating the numbers. 9... 1... 1...

She slowly picked up the phone while her hands were shaking vigorously. She pressed the cold phone against her ear. She started to breath even harder. She waited a couple more seconds until finally she got a response.

"911 wha...!" A lady started to speak but she got cut off by Bridget, "M-my friend broke h-her leg," She was trying to process everything that was going on. "Where are you, ma'am?!" She said with more urgency now. "3021 Maple Street!" Bridget tried to say calmly on the phone, so she could understand. "We are on our way," The woman replied.

The woman started to notice Bridget breathing heaver into the phone. "Are you okay?" She said calmly. Bridget quickly put the phone back down. She was more worried about Shirley. She started to run again to get upstairs but slipped and fell. "Damnit," She said under her breath. She pulled herself back up and ran upstairs.

She ran into Shirley's room to see James crying on top of Shirley. "Don't leave. Please don't leave me." James said sobbing. He looked up towards the doorway to see Bridget standing there. "I-I called the police," Bridget said. James looked up at her with a frown.

"This is your fault!" James yelled. Bridget looked at him with disbelief. She started to walk up closer to him and Shirley. "Stay back!" James yelled again. James put his hand behind his back like he was holding something. The more Bridget thought about it, it was her fault. If she did not pick up that gun none of this would be happening.

"James, I-I would have never have done any of this and you know it," Bridget said while walking closer to James. "You've been acting weird since Daniel left," James said feeling more anxious the closer she got. Bridget stopped where she was, and her hands started to clench together again. She hated hearing that name.

James started to study her even more. He noticed she got mad when she heard that name. "What actually happened to Daniel? He didn't just leave so no one could find him. Daniel's family has been trying to look for him and the last time they saw him was w-with you" James said started to say suspiciously. James started to grip whatever it was behind his back even harder.

"James, I don't know where he is. H-he just left," She tried to say without her seeming suspicious. But, she knew where he really was. He was buried in his own backyard with a bullet between his eyes.

She stopped thinking about it and looked back at James. He stared at her and started getting even angrier. "YOU KILLED HIM!" James yelled. Bridget took a step back. She felt like she got punched in the gut after hearing him say that. "I-I um... he..." Bridget tried to come up with something, but she could not defend herself. James slowly put Shirley's head down on the ground and stood up with a gun facing Bridget.

"GET OUT!" James yelled again. "I would never hurt Shirley!" Bridget said regretting it. "But you would apparently kill your own boyfriend! So, I honestly don't know what you would do to Shirley!" James yelled even louder. "Daniel abused me," Bridget tried to say but James could barely hear it. She felt ashamed to admit it.

"What?!" James's gun started to shake. "Daniel abused me!" She yelled this time. "That does not give you any right to kill him. You could have told Shirley or even me." James said still holding the gun up to Bridget. "I was scared," Bridget replied.

"No, you were a coward!" James screeched. Bridget stumbled back a little bit. "Now leave! I never want to see you here ever again!" James howled. "But..." Bridget said weakly.

"NOW!" James yelled for the last time. She grabbed her purse off from the bed and then bolted out of the room. She almost stumbled down the stairs. She ran towards the door to see rain still pouring down from the sky. She closed the door behind her and she was finally outside.

Tears started to run down her face. She ran into the rain. She wanted to feel the cold rain rub off her tears. "Why... did I not tell them?" Bridget thought. Her hands dashed through her long hair.

She started to run back to her apartment. She was running down the block seeing the lightning shoot pass her. Hearing the thunder crash. Feeling the wind scurry across her body. She was now soaked with rain.

"PAX!" Bridget started to yell out loud. "I need you, please." She said whimpering. "You said you would always be near me. You said you would never leave my side. You lied!" Bridget yelled out into the darkness. She laid her hand against the fence and slowly started to fall down.

She finally touched the wet sidewalk and put her head between her knees. She wrapped her arms around her head.

"I will never leave you!" Phobos's voice formed inside her head. He started to cackle. "Bridg..." It sounded like Pax, but she wasn't sure. He was interrupted by Phobos, "Shut up!"

Shirley's House

James laid the gun down under the bed and laid next to Shirley. "I'm sorry Shirley. You don't deserve this." James said leaning over her body. He started hearing the blaring of sirens outside his house. "Hello!" A police man yelled outside while banging on the door. "Come in!" Daniel yelled. They rushed in with paramedics right behind them. They ran upstairs while leaving the gurney at the bottom of the stairs.

They finally made it to the room and the man asked with two more men behind him. "Help, she's hurt!" James said pleadingly. "What happened?" The police officer questioned. "She said her leg hurt and then she passed out. She's still alive though, I checked," James said to them. The two men standing behind the police officer quickly grabbed Shirley and brought her downstairs to put on the gurney. They rolled her into the ambulance truck.

The police officer and James started to walk downstairs too. Once they reached the bottom James pulled the police officer back to talk with him. "Hey, have you heard of anyone named Daniel?" James asked the police officer. "Yea I think so. He's that missing 23 year old isn't he?" He asked while rubbing his bushy mustache. "Yea," James responded. "He got murdered," James said.

"And how do you know this?" The police officer said while raising his eyebrows. "Because the person that hurt my wife killed him." James said making the police officer cross his arms. "How would you know that? They wouldn't just tell you that," The police officer said confused.

"I know because the woman that hurt my wife was also Daniels girlfriend. She was the last one seen with him." James said. The police officer was trying to make sense of it. "What is her name?" He asked.

"Bridget Thompson."