The Game

Seventy-five

My eyes stay closed, too scared to open. My heart beating so fucking fast I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack.

Slowly I open one eye to see Harry on the floor, he's moving but hurt. I open my other eye and look up at Grace. I'm shocked to see my little girl holding a gun.

"Grace?" I whisper.

I watch her shaking with fear, I don't think she understands what's just happened. Darren appears seconds later and tumbles into the room.

"Grace?" he looks at Harry on the floor.

"Put the gun down now" he sternly asks her as he walks around so he's beside her.

"No" she steps forwards still holding the gun, arms out stretched. I know the safety latch isn't on and she's in no position to be waving that gun around.

"Grace! Drop the gun!" I scream.

I look down to Harry moving around clutching his stomach.

"No! He hurts you! He makes you cry and is mean. That's not nice!" she cries.

"No! No you're right it isn't. But listen to me. Please put the gun down"

"No, I don't want to. He's a bad man! He hurt you, mummy he does nasty things to you and it upsets me and makes me cry. I want to hurt him" she cries. Tears drowning her face, she's finding it hard to breathe.

I hold my hand out and start to slowly walk towards her, "Grace, you've done it. You hurt him and now you've got to let mummy take over. Don't be as bad as him, you're not like that"

"Lauren" Darren warns me as I'm getting closer and closer to Grace holding the gun in my direction.

"Mummy" she gasps.

"It's OK, I'm OK and we can leave now and never come back but you've got to let me take this gun" I reach out to the barrel.

"Am I like him?" she looks up through her swollen eyes.

"Never" I shake my head.

"But he's my dad" she wipes her eyes.

"He's not your dad, he never will be. It takes a man to be a father and Harry is not a man. He's a monster. Please Grace give me the gun" I wrap my hand around the gun as she slowly lossens her grip. I watch as she falls to the floor, "I'm naughty aren't I? Am I going to prison like daddy?" she holds her head in her hands.

I kneel down and lift her chin up, "No honey, I promise you"

I stand up and look at Darren, "Take her" I turn back around to face Harry.

"Lauren I've called the police, let's go" He reaches out and pulls me back.

"That means I haven't got much time, take her and go!" I whisper as I shrug him off me.

"Laur-"

"Go!" I scream.

"Mummy don't shout at me" Grace cries.

I hear Darren lift her up, "Come on darling, mummy will meet us upstairs" I hear as he takes her up the stairs and shuts the basement door.

"Get up" I use my foot to nudge Harry.

"I - I can't" He whimpers.

"Fuck you! Get the fuck up" I kick him in the stomach, pulling my foot out its covered in his blood.

He slowly gets to his knees and grabbing his stomach stands, hunched over.

"Your daughter just shot you! Your fucking daughter just tried to kill you, what's that say about you? Huh!? You're nothing to her! She hates you, she fucking hates you and wants nothing to do with you. She fucking played you! You dumb fuck! Out played by a five year old" I laugh as he looks up at me.

"Anything to say Harry? Tell me how that feels? How does it feel to have no one care about you? If I was to let you live you'd have no one, I'll always have my daughter and I'm grateful every damn fucking day for her. I've never met such a brave, strong and beautiful girl and that's because of me, because that's how I brought her up. Nothing to do with you, you've not been there since the day she was born" I spit.

"Yet she just tried to kill me, a true born killer-just like daddy" he laughs.

*BANG*

I get thrown back a little by the shot I've just fired, my hands shaking as I see Harry screaming in pain from the shot to his thigh.

"She is nothing like you, she was protecting me, defending her mummy! She wasn't doing it because she gets a trill out of causing someone else pain" I cry. How dare he say she's anything like him.

"Lauren just give it up, kill me go on" He kneels before me.

"Kill you? Now what fun would that be?" I quote Harry himself.

I use my free hand to swing my fist against his face, blood instantly spurts from his mouth as he spits to the floor.

"As much as I would love for you to suffer, I can't run the risk of you getting to us again. It's not only me I have to protect, I have my daughter and she's the most important being to me in this world" I push him down and stand over him.

"What? You're not going to fight back Harry?" I laugh, he is a far cry from the person he was an hour ago. Standing over him I can only dream about the things I could do to him, all the vile things. Our revenge, mine and Zara's. It's up to me now, it's time we got justice.

I sit on top of him and with everything I have I beat the shit out of him, with every grunt and cry in pain it sends my brain into over drive.

"This is for everything you've done to me!" my tears falling onto his bloody face. I wish he would fight back, I don't know why I just don't want him to give up that easily.

"Every. Fucking. Time. You. Hurt. Me" I scream, in between each word I hurl a fist around his face.

"Come one Harry boy! You can't say you don't want to fight me" I stand up brushing myself off. He moves around on the floor, coughing and spluttering.

I know I said he's a monster for getting a trill out of hurting someone but I've got to admit if I didn't say this was bringing me joy right now, I would be lying.

"So I guess I win?" I laugh as I use my foot to rest on his chest to indicate him to stop moving.

"Oh come on Harry don't be a sore loser" I press down with all my weight onto his battered body.

"You'll always remember me, you'll always have that tiny piece of me in your life, Grace. You'll never be rid of me, night after night I'll haunt you. Everytime you look at Grace she'll just remind you of me. Remember monsters live inside your head and that princess is where I'll stay" He let's out a weak chuckle.

I slam down on his chest, leg either side of him, I scream into his face.

"If I have to put up with you haunting me because of Grace, then that's something I will gladly deal with because she's worth it. You're nothing but a sperm donor, she's her own person. If there is one amazing thing that's come out of me and you it's her" I smile at his blood stained face.

I hear the police sirens quickly approaching, "Looks like our time is finally up" I use the gun to tilt Harry's head so he's facing me.

"Any last words?"

He smiles, "I always liked you on top"

I look down at him, "Fuck you"

I rest the gun to the side of his head, I watch as he finally opens his eyes and stares straight into mine. His green eyes dull and empty, I remember once how I dreamt of his emerald eyes.

I wipe the tears from my face, finally I'll be free.

"This is for Zara"

*BANG*

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