C10 Angels And Nightmares

Annabelle made her breath as normal as she could.

She needed to fool them all.

She forced her body not to go rigid as Judith wiped her face and covered her body with the sheet.

“Her vitals are fine, and she should be awake by now. I guess the trauma of what happened earlier is keeping her under. Poor girl,”

She had heard the doctor saying to someone earlier.

She had no idea who he was talking to. Tad?

Then at another time, she heard Judith saying; “I will just stay with her tonight, sir. She might wake up during the night.”

She almost screamed in frustration.

Judith staying in the room was so not what she wanted.

Annabelle couldn’t believe that her plans for several months had ended in vain.

The memory rush was so overwhelming that she almost cried out when she woke up earlier.

Then understanding dawned on her.

How did Tad do it?

How was he able to send someone after her so soon after she knocked him out?

Jose, that liar!

As much as she was relieved that she was not a murderer after all, a part of her blamed her for not stabbing him hard enough.

How did he know those dangerous men?

But then she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he would have connections to men who move about with guns without blinking.

Her mother had been such a fool.

Tad came into their lives a few years after their father left. Her mother was still beating herself up for being the reason why he disappeared from them suddenly.

Then Tad had come like an angel.

“He is such a great man.”

“He is the best father I can wish for you girls.”

“He makes me feel beautiful.”

Her mother had repeated those words in the ears of her daughters back then, so much that Annabelle could recite them.

Then he moved in.

Her mom didn’t waste time in making them use his name. Even though it was not done officially, Mauve never failed to remind them that they were Whitakers now.

He was always trying to make them do things together.

Always reminding her mother of how they looked good together and were a match made from heaven.

Even back then, Annabelle didn’t trust him.

Even though she did not understand it back then, she didn’t trust the look in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

She would always try to get out of his father-daughters' arrangements.

Soon enough, she realised that her instincts were right after all.

Sweet Cathy had no idea the kind of monster their stepfather could be.

He was a chameleon who could change his attitude easily depending on who he was dealing with and what he wanted.

“Oh, Cathy. I am so sorry.” Annabelle thought as tears squeezed out of her eyes.

It took her a moment to realise everything was quiet in the room.

She lay still and perked her ears to pick up any sound she could.

Everywhere was quiet. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head gently.

The movement caused her pain and the fresh bruise on her neck smarted.

She really should have killed him. She thought in anger as she gritted her teeth against the pain.

She looked towards one of the beds where Judith lay curled up with her face turned away.

At another time, she might have been touched by the nurse’s concern, but at the moment, it was a nuisance to her.

Cathy.

Annabelle refused to allow her tumbling thoughts to stop her from doing what she needed to do.

Even though Judith was nice to her, everyone here was the enemy.

If Tad found her here to finish what he started, that meant they were keeping her here for him.

They knocked her down without care, then nursed her back to life just for Tad to take her back. Bastards.

She didn’t remember much about the past. Hell, she had no idea how many days she had lain like a dummy there.

She could remember Judith’s name. Those scary men’s faces. The man with the gun. She remembered that her stepfather strangled her.

She had no idea why he didn’t finish what he started, but she wouldn’t stay there for him to come back.

Cathy depended on her.

Fear made her limbs tremble as she pulled the IV out of her hand.

She got lightheaded for a moment but gritted her teeth against the feeling until it passed.

“Wait for me, Cathy,” she prayed as she pressed her palm against the opening on her flesh and set her feet on the floor.

Her scruffy shoes lay close to the bed. she quickly tucked her feet into them.

For every movement she made, she would look over at Judith’s bed.

When she was able to stand straight, she looked towards the high window.

She was prepared to do anything to get to Cathy, but that included not dying either.

She had wasted a lot of time already.

Jose’s sister will be gone by now. Did she take Cathy with her? How would she know where they were?

Even as all these thoughts went through her, she looked towards the door.

She had to try.

Praying so hard that the men at the door would have gone to sleep also, she tiptoed towards the door.

She almost peed her pants when she suddenly heard a low sound beyond the door.

Then something that sounded like footsteps.

She couldn’t run back to bed because of her weakness, so she stood with random thoughts popping into her head about the excuses she could give.

Nothing would matter anyway if it was Tad. She was sure he would kill her this time.

Annabelle couldn’t believe it when she didn’t see anyone coming through the door.

There was no sound either.

She wondered if she had imagined the sound earlier.

Without waiting to find out, the adrenaline from her scare made her move fast towards the door, ignoring her pain.

She held the doorknob tightly and looked back at Judith as she slowly turned the knob.

It opened!

The rush of relief she felt was dizzying, and she tightened her hand around the cold handle of the knob.

She opened the door and saw that she was on the main floor.

Scents of pinewood, stale sweat and something homey assaulted her nose and tickled her nose in contrast to the medicine smell her nose had adjusted to.

Annabelle didn’t pay attention to that as she almost hooted in joy.

There was no one anywhere.

Not at the door or even downstairs.

Though she found it odd that the lights were blazing everywhere at such a time of night, she didn’t wait to think of the reason.

She ran towards the stairs and soon found her way to the main door.

She panicked as she walked towards the door. How would she get out? She wondered.

“Why are all the windows so high?” she wondered in despair as she passed the arch windows.

She vowed not to let that stop her even as she headed towards the door to check if her luck would continue to hold.

She couldn’t believe it when she wrapped her hand around the handle and it opened smoothly.

Her mind fired a warning alarm as she stepped through the door.

She quickly closed the door behind her and turned to squint at the large expanse of land around her.

She could see another building that the main driveway led through.

The main house? She wondered idly as she turned away from it.

The plan was to walk as far away from the main house as possible till she could get to the main gate.

Maybe the men she saw with guns earlier were just her imagination, she wondered as she turned to leave.

“Where the fuck do you think you are going?”

Annabelle yelled as the sound made her twirl so fast that she fell hard against the concrete floor.

Like a nightmare, he stepped out of the shadowy side of the building she had just come out of.