Hide and Seek

Someone was screaming when I opened my eyes in the dusty attic above my parent’s bedroom. I wondered at first if it were me, but soon banished the thought when I realized it was the man’s voice and not my light soprano.

And he was livid.

I know you’re in here.

I squeezed my eyes shut. It hadn’t been a dream. The late night ascent through my mother’s cluttered closet and into the dusty, spider overrun attic that made my nose tickle proved to be a wise idea. If I had stayed cuddled up in my own four poster bed, ignored the creak of a door below me and the twist in my stomach, just rolled over and drifted back to sleep… I’m not sure what would have transpired.

I jumped at the sound of a vase crashing to the floor downstairs.

I exhaled shakily in relief that he had not yet discovered my hiding place. But I knew I could not remain there forever. With the aid of the dawn’s light, a quick scan of the empty room proved it could not provide me with any sort of weapon, unless I wanted to smother him with a few plastic garbage bags of winter sweaters.

Maybe If I waited long enough, he’d leave.

Come out, come out wherever you are.

Unlikely.

Feeling helpless, I stared at the ugly floral patterned curtains framing the only window the room boasted, and considered for a moment climbing out of it. The drop might kill me, but I was certain so would the man stomping around in what sounded like my living room. I paused. Though, if I managed to get out the window and onto the roof… The thought was building. Then I could leap onto the neighbors’ roofs on and on until I was a safe distance away and could alert the owners to call the police.

If I made it to James’ house, he would know what to do. The problem was James lived across the street, and should be working right now.

I mourned the absence of my phone a few moments then cursed my tendency to lose it on a daily basis.

The muffled curses grew louder downstairs.

I couldn’t understand how he hadn’t woken up the neighbor’s yet, but I would take advantage of the noise.

Ready or not, here I come.

I shot up off the ground, ignoring my protesting joints- why were hardwood floors necessary in an unused attic? 

Fine, I thought back. Keep yelling while you’re at it, it’ll cover up the padding of my feet and the creak of the window opening.

Grimacing, I crossed the room and threw open the window. As the crisp air brought goose bumps to my skin while I was throwing a leg over the windowpane, the profanities stopped. As did my heartbeat.

I listened and heard nothing for what seemed like hours. A tightening in my calf and thigh muscles threatened to unbalance me, but I didn’t dare move. I knew it was a standoff, and I was not going to lose. So, I waited. And I deliberated. I’d never seen the man, only heard the click of his heels, his voice whispering and in the last couple minutes, screaming for me. I evaded him well enough that I never had the pleasure of meeting my pursuer, but now something was tickling at my memory. I knew this man. How and where though, I could not recall. I didn’t know many older men other than my friends’ fathers, and I knew their voices. So, where-

My musings were cut short by the squeak of the stairs leading to the floor below me.

Adrenalin shot though my veins.

I had to leave now.

But before I could attempt to throw another leg over the sill, I noticed a flash of movement out the window. My first thought was that my loud friend downstairs had an accomplice, momentarily deflating my heart of any hope of escape, but the glance was enough to prove that instead it was someone familiar. I lowered my leg off the sill and leaned out the window curiously. Holding a finger to his lips and then motioning for me to wait, James crouched in a hoodie and jeans ensemble behind an unfamiliar silver sedan on the street, his hands clenched into fists and his dark brown hair falling into his eyes. Hope flared again in my chest, but it was quickly replaced with worry and an upsurge of questions.

Another crashing noise sounded as something in my room collided with the wall.

I responded to his motions with my best get-out-of-here gesture- much like the one a dog owner would use. But he ignored me, narrowing his focus onto my house. What was he going to do, walk in there and punch the psychopath in the face? Why not just call the police like any rational person would do? Then suddenly, he sprinted across the lawn, over the purple rhododendron, up the wooden stairs, to the front door and out of sight.

My stomach churned as the sun rose over the rooftops across the street. Finches were beginning to sing atop the trees and suburban cookie cutter houses, as color was reemerging with the light. And James was inside the house with the man.

Goose bumps rose on my flesh again.

I should not be hearing finches right now.

My nails dug into the grain of the sill as I was greeted with silence.

A thousand scenarios sped through my head. All of them involving not only mine now, but James’ demise also. The sharp taste of blood trickled over my tongue. I ignored it. My attention was downstairs with James and the man.

Silence became my companion for the following minutes as I waited for something, anything to happen. I had memorized the pattern of the wood panels that framed the window and the fading off-white of the walls. I was going to see this room in my nightmares.

A deep laugh echoed into my ears.

I flinched. It was finally what I was waiting for, but nothing like what I expected.

I should have known…

I willed my feet to move, to help James in some way, but my feet were lead, my brain a tangled mess.

You deserve this.

There was another noise that sounded like a body smacking against a wall in my bedroom. I couldn’t keep track of each individual attack after that- it had become a brawl.

I dabbed the blood from my lip with the hem of my oversized green t-shirt, finally noticing I’d sliced it open with my teeth, as the fight continued below. Clenching my hands into fists, and cracking every knuckle in the process, I tried to come up with an idea, some sort of plan to help James.

My only option would be very stupid. Alerting the man to my position, and possibly not be enough of a distraction to help at all.

I felt torn.

If I had the chance to do something that could potentially help James, but didn’t do it and he suffered, I wouldn’t be able to live with that knowledge.

This was James. Memories flared before my eyes of building forts, stealing ice cream before dinner, sneaking into R rated movies, playing hide and seek... I remember adopting him as my brother when we were only five years old. These are some of the best memories I hold. I couldn’t just stand there while he fought my battle.

What the hell, I thought, pushing away from the window and stomping my bare feet in place like a toddler.

The result was almost instantaneous. A hush fell over the house before I heard a single blow given, knocking its target to the floor.

I didn’t’ hear him get back up.

As the other calmly walked to my parent’s room, a thought bloomed in my head.

What if my distraction worked…but for the wrong person?

Panic rose in my chest. My breath started coming in shorter bursts.

He would find me.

Stupid stupid stupid, I berated myself. How could I be so stupid?

I turned to the window again, wondering if I had time, wondering if it were too late, wondering the odds of James winning the fight.

My eyes flashed to the attic door creeping open, and my breathing stopped for the second time.

James was not coming through the door.

I was running out of time.

I raced for the window, but before I could lift a leg onto the sill, two arms clenched over my arms, pulling me back. His warm breath in my ear made my stomach turn. I attempted to make contact with his groin, but was rewarded with an arm around my neck.

“Where did you think you would go?” He growled in my ear.

Screaming became impossible with the tightening grip over my throat; all I could manage was a squeak. I brought my hands up in attempt to pull his arm away, but the answering pressure was even stronger.

He was suffocating me.

I kicked my legs in frustration, and then relaxed entirely, hoping to gain a bit of release or fool him into thinking I passed out. I closed my eyes. The pressure around my throat disappeared and, slowly, I was dragged toward the attic door.

I had a sudden picture of him dumping me through it.

Preoccupied by that visual, I didn’t hear the groan of the floorboards before I was knocked to the floor, cracking my head against the hardwood.

The room swam when I reopened my eyes, and James was before them.

“Steph…Are you alright?” He asked gingerly, his blue eyes full of concern.

I touched my head, and cringed. He took that as an answer.

“I’m going to take you to the hospital. I think you might have a concussion.”

As my focus returned I noticed a bruise blooming around his right eye.

“You better check yourself in while you’re at it,” I responded, and then more fervently, “What are you doing here anyway? And what happened? Why didn’t you call the police?”

My eyes fell on the man lying on the floor. My attacker.
“What did you do to him?” I added. “What if he wakes up?”

“Can you be quiet for one minute?” he retorted. Snarky as always.

He clenched his jaw. “Just calm down and let’s go. We’ll call the police when we’re out of here.”

But something had caught my attention. I carefully pulled myself up and moved closer to the man, taking in his dark brown hair and facial features that looked eerily similar to-

My eyes widened.

I turned to James in horror.

The look on his face was of shame.

“I don’t know how he found you Steph, but believe me I never even imagined this could happen,” He said quickly.

I knew how. After school two days ago, I was approached by a man in the crowded parking lot. Over the yelling of about ten football players he asked me if I knew where James was. I responded that he was pulling his car around now and if he waited he could talk to him, but the man only shook his head, thanked me, and walked away.

James continued through my silence, “I’m so sorry Steph, please believe I had nothing to do with this. I didn’t even know he was out before this morning. I received the call as I was leaving for work. Then I saw the car in front of your house. This shouldn’t have happened…”

I glanced again at the man unconscious on the floor, and then closed my eyes.

It was over.