The End to our Beginning

4

Hey guys! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter because it's only getting more intense from here.

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I begin pacing faster at this point because the groans and twig snaps in the background seem endless. The trees surround me which gives me a small feeling of security but even that isn't enough to keep the paranoia away. 

At this point i've seen two road signs telling me i'm only a mile or so from St. Paul so if I keep at this pace I should reach my childhood home in no time. Everything will be fine, I keep telling myself.

My nerves are slowly taking over because I realize I have absolutely no way to protect myself. Anything could happen in a mile and at this point, I have no clue if i'll make it at all but all I have is hope. Hope that i'll see my family again. I know we'll be able to protect one another. If you can get there, my brain reminds me.

I let my mind drift to better times to soothe myself. Times where I didn't have to worry about getting cheated on, blown up, or attacked by a maniac. I think of the day my sisters were born, how happy new life could make a family. My sisters were born two weeks early so no one thought they'd survive. The doctors told us they would most likely go into heart failure or their lungs would collapse due to their immaturity. 

Naomi and Perrie said a big 'fuck you' to that doctor and prevailed on. That's what I need to do now, for them.

I'm getting closer now. I have full view of the welcome to St. Paul sign and the super market my mother used to drag me to every Sunday after church. I pick up my pace and step into the street, the scorching pavement burns my bare feet. 

Glancing around, I notice the abandoned cars and shopping carts lingering in the lot. There's no one in sight which worries me a little, but also brings a sense of calm due to my encounter earlier. 

The super market is about five minutes from my house and as I continue down my path, I see my street and turn. The houses seem normal but no ones out and about so I don't know what to gather from that. My mom wouldn't leave though, this I know for a fact. She wouldn't expose my sisters to this cruelness, chances are she just pulled them from school and their holding up in the house.

I turn when I see my house, marching up towards the porch. My feet are screaming out of happiness when they're finally off the hot pavement and onto cool deck. My hands feel a bit shaky when I bring them to the rusting door handle. This day has been an absolute nightmare but now it's finally ending and I could not be more relieved.

The door was unlocked, probably because my mom was expecting me hours ago. Walking through the foyer, I hear the television faintly in the background. The family pictures are hung neatly along the wall with familiar family trips and I can't help but admire them. As I reach the kitchen, I poke my head in expecting my mom to be in there but she's not. 

Huh, she's usually up making breakfast around this time. 

Worry starts to seep through me and my face falls. What if someone broke in here like they were saying on the news? With this, I run up the stairs to my moms bedroom as quickly as I can. When I turn the corner I can see the door is slightly cracked so I crack it more. A figure is bobbing up and down but I can't really make it out.

"Mom?" It comes out almost as a whisper but there's a small response when the figure rises slightly.

"Mom" I say a little more forceful this time, creaking the door open more and stepping in. I see red staining the carpet, the pillows are distraughtly thrown around the bed, and a woman wearing a blue flowery night gown is pinned on top of a small girl, picking through her torso forcefully.