Five
Men, A Kid, And A Baby
Story by Daisy
~~*Chapter Ten*~~
“Okay, Nick, their bedtime is eight—.”
“Nine!” Lexy protested.
“Okay, nine.” AJ said, laughing. “And you can just make some
Macaroni and Cheese or something. We’ll be home pretty late.”
“Oh!” Nick said knowingly, giving AJ a look. “A late night huh?”
“Come on, AJ!” Hope pulled on his arm and he waved good-bye to the
three of them, walking out the door with Hope.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
“That was so much fun!” Hope said as they walked up to AJ’s front door. She had insisted that she see the girl’s new room before leaving for home. AJ turned the key in the lock and flung the door open gently so it wouldn’t make any noise.
What he saw before him gave him chills. Everything in the room before him
lay overturned or disturbed. The TV was smashed in, his CDs were strewn
everywhere, the couch cushions lay scattered on the floor—and Nick was lying
unconscious in the middle of it.
“Nick!” AJ yelled, running over to his badly bruised friend. He
turned him over and saw a huge welt appearing across Nick’s cheek and a black
eye already beginning to form. Hope gasped.
“Who would do this?” She asked, horrified. AJ stood up and ran down
the hall to the girl’s bedroom. They were gone. He ran back out, screaming to
Hope.
“They’re gone!”
“Oh!” Nick moaned as he stirred awake. He sat up and rubbed at his
head, wincing when his hand brushed the welt on his cheek.
“Nick what happened?” AJ yelled, dropping down in front of him.
“Some man…”
“Who?”
“I don’t know who. They called him Joey.” AJ’s heart stopped. Joey,
the abusive boyfriend.
“Keep going.” Hope said.
“He just came through the back door and started beating on me. I tried
to protect the girls but he was really strong.” Tears were falling down
Nick’s cheeks now. “AJ, I’m so sorry. He took them!”
AJ nodded, his heart wrenching from the knowledge. Hope placed a hand on
his neck and squeezed gently. He reached behind him and she wrapped her hand
around his. He gave it a squeeze and stood up, searching for the phone. He saw
it and was about to pick it up.
“NO!” Nick screamed, jumping up and grabbing AJ. He fell over from
the dizziness of getting up so fast just after being hit in the head and AJ fell
with him.
“He put a bomb on the phone that’ll explode when it’s picked up.”
Nick explained, gasping for breath. There on the floor beside him lay a single
note. AJ picked it up and began to read.
“I have the girls. I killed their mother so don’t think I won’t
kill them or you. Don’t call anyone. No police. They’ll die the minute
authorities are warned.” He read. That was it. Nothing else. AJ’s hand shook
and the note dropped from his hand.
How can two little girls walk into my life and get taken out so
quickly and make such a huge impact?