No amount of time could prepare me for what was in store on Saturday.
I woke up in pain, something that wasn't unfamiliar to me. I had gotten used to waking up wishing I was dead in the past month. But it wasn't just physical pain, it was emotional pain too. Everything just hurt. I contemplated just not getting up and never leaving my bed because every time I do something bad happens until my phone rang.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Good you're awake." Alex said.
"What time are we doing this?"
"Uh, around five? You said something about Mark having to go somewhere today, right?"
"Yeah," I said. Mark had mentioned something about having somewhere to go before dinner tonight. Where I didn't know, nor did I really care. "He'll be home around six."
"Alright, we should have enough time." Alex said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I answered.
"Are you sure?"
"I guess. I don't really know. It's all still processing."
"Call if you need anything at all okay? I'll be there in a heartbeat." He said. "I love you."
"I love you too." I said, loving the way it sounded. I hung up and dropped my head back down to the pillow. I didn't want today to happen.
I laid in bed for another hour or so before dragging myself into the shower. The hot water stung my semi fresh cuts so I sped through the motions. Just to kill time I straightened my hair and did my makeup. There was no point to it but it gave me something to do.
By one in the afternoon I was going stir crazy. I didn't want to go down stairs and converse with mom or Mark just in case I gave something away and the anticipation was killing me. Minutes dragged by like days. Eventually I grabbed my phone and dialed Alex's number.
"What's up?" He answered.
"I'm bored," I half whined.
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"You said to call if I needed anything and I do. I need entertainment." I grinned even though he couldn't see it.
"Well what did you have in mind?"
"Phone sex?" I joked.
"I don't know. I'm sitting right next to my mom. I think that would be slightly awkward." He chuckled.
"Well you're no fun." I sighed dramatically.
"BROOOOOOOKE!" I heard Mark yell.
"I have to go," I said quietly.
"I love you and stay safe," Alex said, the concern in his voice clear.
"I love you too and I'll try." I said hanging up and leaving my room.
I went to downstairs and found Mark in the kitchen.
"You called?" I said.
"Clean this house until it shines." He demanded before walking out.
I stood there slightly confused. So now what? I'm fucking Cinderella minus the ugly stepsisters. Does that make Alex my prince or my fairy God mother? I sighed and grabbed the cleaning products from underneath the skin. At least this gave me something to do to kill time.
I scrubbed and polished until everything in the house shined. My nerves were also frayed from constant worrying about what was going to happen.
Mark left at 4:30, just like he said. Mom was sitting on the couch watching TV absentmindedly like always. It seemed like she had turned into a zombie. I hadn't really had a real conversation with her since Mark moved in. I held her mainly responsible for what was going on since she turned a blind eye to it all.
By the time I was done cleaning and putting everything away, it was almost five.
"Do you mind if I have a friend over for a bit?" I asked mom.
"Yeah," She nodded, "Just make sure they're gone by six."
I nodded and went to pace in the kitchen until Alex showed up. He texted me telling me he was on his way and my heart started to pound.
A few minutes later the doorbell rang. I almost ran to the door, but was able to keep my composure. I opened the door and some of the stress and worry dissipated when I saw Alex standing there. I let him in and he pulled me into a hug.
When he let go I led him into the kitchen to get a drink and to prepare ourselves.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Nope, but it's now or never." I answered. He took my hand and we went back out into the living room.
"Hey mom, can we talk?" I asked.
She turned off the TV and gave me a confused look, "Yeah sure, about what?"
I sat down on the couch adjacent from her with Alex next to me.
"I really don't know how to tell you this but it really needs to be said." I started, not really sure how to tell her that her boyfriend was a monster. "But uh, I think you should end things with Mark."
"Why would I do something like that?" She asked, trying to maintain that calm exterior. "Mark is wonderful to us. I can't do something like that."
"Mom, you have to. Mark isn't a good person." It was like talking to a scared five year-old.
"Yes he is," She argued. I sighed and took the time to really look at her; her green eyes that matched mine that had walls so high – like she was trying to hide something from me. Her face suddenly had more wrinkles and worry lines than she had last month. Her entire cool and calm persona that she always had was now frazzled and on edge. Something was wrong with her.
I looked more closely at her face, trying to find a hint at what was going on. I realized then that she was wearing a lot more makeup that usual. Most of the time she just wore some mascara but today it with the full nine yards. Cover up and heavy eye makeup.
That's when it hit me so hard I almost fainted. I squeezed Alex's hand so hard I thought I was going to cut off the circulation.
I wasn't the only one being abused.
"Mom," I said quietly, looking into her eyes and seeing everything I hadn't before. "Does Mark hurt you too?"
"Too? What do you mean too?" She asked frantically. That was close enough to the answer.
I glanced over at Alex and pulled off the hoodie I was wearing to show her the bandages. She looked at me confused again and I unravelled some of it to show the deep cuts. She gasped.
"He said he wasn't going to hurt you." She said, almost crying.
"Mom, we need to do something now before it's too late." I said as the door opened. I jumped as Mark entered the living room.
"What the hell is going on here?" He demanded, looking between mom, Alex and I. "Who is that little fucker and why is he here again?"
"His name is Alex and he's my boyfriend." I stated. It felt nice to say that but then angry took over.
"What did I say about boys?"
I looked at mom who was cowering on the couch. It looked like I was going to have to do this myself.
"I don't care what you said about boys. You aren't my fucking father. You need to get the hell out of this house and our lives now. You are done hurting us." I said.
All Mark did was laugh. "You actually think I'm going to listen to you."
I pulled out my phone. "Get out or I call the cops and tell them everything. I'm sure the cuts on my body and left over bruises are enough proof to get you tossed in jail for a couple years."
"Don't even think about it." He said, lunging towards us. I flinched, waiting for him to grab me but instead he grabbed Alex and held his arms behind his back so he couldn't move without causing himself extreme pain. All my courage suddenly drained out of me and was replaced with fear.
"You are going to put that phone down right this second or I swear to God you're little boyfriend won't make it out of this one alive." He threatened. I knew he was probably crazy enough to mean what he said. I dropped my phone to the ground and the back fell off, the battery sliding across the room. Fuck.
"Mark, seriously don't do this." Mom started to beg. "Please just leave us alone."
"How do I know that once I'm gone you fuckers won't call the cops?"
"We swear we won't," I said, "Just please let Alex go."
Out of nowhere, Alex kicked Mark in the shin and brought his head back, slamming into Mark's nose. His grip loosened for a second and Alex managed to squirm out of his grasp.
"You're going to pay for that punk." Mark yelled and started towards us. Mom scrambled to intervene, but a single shove sent her flying into the glass coffee table. It shattered under the sudden impact of her body and I heard a crack as her head it the wooden frame.
"Mom!" I screamed when she didn't move. I went to run to her side but Mark grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground.
"Brooke!" Alex yelled. I got up despite the pain as Mark grabbed Alex again. I tried to push Mark away from him and everything was a blur of pushing and yelling until someone stumbled and both Alex and I fell to the ground.
I reached for my phone that was only a few inches away but Mark kicked me in the wrist. I felt it snap and screamed in pain. I saw Alex out of the corner of my eye getting up off the ground and hoped he could try to knock Mark out but Mark saw it too and turned around, punching Alex. He stumbled into the wall and slid down it.
Mark suddenly disappeared. I was confused but spared no time crawling over to Alex.
"Alex," I whispered desperately. He opened his eyes. "Alex, are you okay?"
"Get your phone." He said nodding. I raced across the room and scrambled to put it back together before Mark got back. I got the battery in place and waited for it to turn on.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry" I chanted. I blindly pressed one of the speed dials as Alex cried out.
"Brooke, look out!"
"Help please! Help!" I yelled into the phone as I turned to see Mark with a baseball bat in hand. I tried to move out of the way but I was too slow and it connected with my already injured arm. I screamed in pain again. Mark ripped the phone out of my hand, dropped it to the ground and smashed it with the baseball bat.
I went to get up but Mark swung again and got me in the legs, causing me to fall again. He raised the bat to bring it down on my head when Alex jumped onto his back, trying to wrestle it from him. I watched in horror as Mark tried to tear Alex from him, but when that didn't work, rammed himself into a wall backwards, slamming Alex into it. Alex let go and slid down slowly again as Mark swung, hitting Alex in the ribs.
This was going to end terribly if I didn't do something, and do it quickly.
-x-
Jack's POV
I laid in my bed, miserably thinking about yesterday's events. I hadn't bothered to move other than to shower and pee. I hadn't eaten at all.
All I could think about was how betrayed I felt. I wasn't even angry anymore, just sad. How could Brooke have done that to me? I wasn't even upset with Alex. I had expected some stab at me like that because it was just who Alex was. I don't know why I accepted it, but he was my best friend and I couldn't stay mad at him for more than a few days. I was just so shocked that Brooke had done something like that. I thought I knew her – I thought she was better than that, but I was so wrong.
Even in the midst of being miserable and upset, I still felt bad for saying I never wanted to speak to her again. I knew I wasn't over reacting, but there was a tiny sliver of me that wanted to work things out and still be friends. I was an idiot for wanting that but it's still what I wanted.
Somewhere between short naps and feeling sorry for myself, my phone vibrated from across the room. I crawled across the room, my joints aching from lack of movement, and picked it up. My stomach lurched when I saw Brooke's name across the screen.
I contemplated not answering it, but the sliver that wanted to fix it won and I answered.
"Hello?"
There was a moment of silence before someone who sounded like Alex yelled out, "Brooke, look out!" in the background. I was really confused as Brooke's voice rang out.
"Help! Please help!"
"Brooke? What's going on?" I yelled, bolting up. There was no answer other than a piercing scream of pain before the line went dead.
In a flash I was out of my bed and getting dressed, my mind spinning. What was going on? Could it have been a prank call? No, Brooke would never do that. But then again, I've been wrong about her before.
Before I could even start to think about what was going I was in my car and speeding towards Brooke's house. I got there in less than 10 minutes, breaking every speeding law on the way. I was getting out of the car before I had even turned it off.
I decided that after that phone call, knocking would be useless and threw the door open. The sight before me as I walked into the living room made my knees weak in the worst way possible.
The first thing I noticed was someone who I assumed to be Brooke's mom lying in a pile of shattered glass unconscious. Further down the hall, near the kitchen entrance was Brooke sprawled across the floor with Alex next to her. Her step father's unconscious body was just visible in the kitchen.
"Jack!" Alex cried, getting up and running over to me. He had a black eye and his lip was bleeding and looked terrified. There were few moments in my life I had ever seen Alex scared.
"What's going on?" I asked frantically.
"Do you have your phone?"
"Yeah why?"
"Call 911 now." He demanded. "Tell them there are two unconscious people and a psychopath that could wake up any minute."
Without asking and questions I dialed the number as fast as I could. The operator picked up and I blurted out all the information as fast as I could begging for help to be sent. I had no idea what was going on but if Alex was scared, I was too. As soon as she said she was sending help I hung up and went over to Alex and Brooke.
"What's going on?" I asked again.
"Mark's gone fucking psychotic and pushed her mom into the table and knocking her out and then took a bat to Brooke and I. Brooke got the worst of it. I tried to stop him, but he threatened to kill her." Alex said, tears spiking his eyes. "He basically made me watch him beat her with the bat until she stopped moving. He sat the bat down and went into the kitchen and while he was gone I grabbed it and hid behind the door. When he came out I hit him with it and knocked him out. And then two seconds later you walked in."
"I-Is she okay?" I asked, almost scared of the answer. I knew she was alive but taking into account the bruises and bleeding. He nodded slightly.
"I think so. I hope so. He hit her so many times." He said, a tear slipping down his cheek. "He found smashed all the phones, including mine when I tried to call for help. I didn't know what to do. I'm so glad you showed up when you did."
I squeezed his arm, trying to comfort him. He looked so distraught and worried about Brooke. That's when I realized that he loved her. The look on his face, the way he held her hand like it was the only thing keep him from breaking down, it all made sense. I had never seen Alex like this before. Usually he was the womanizer and only wanted girls for sex or entertainment. To see him this upset about a girl was different and almost shocking, but it made me realize that they should be together. At least then Alex would stop stealing girls from right under my nose. Instead of feeling jealous and hatred like I probably should for everything that had happened, I was almost happy for them.
Our few moments of silence were interrupted by a groan and Mark's body shifting. Alex went stiff as Mark slowly got off the ground and shook his head. He looked around groggily before his eyes landed on Alex and me.
"You," He growled angrily at Alex, who moved for the baseball bat that was a few feet away. At the same time Mark crossed the room to the huge wooden bookshelf cabinet type thing and ripped open the drawer. He turned around and my entire body froze.
In his hand was a .45 caliber handgun. I heard Alex gasp quietly stopping in his tracks in his rush to get the bat. Everything was still for a second until Alex tried to inch slightly towards the weapon. Mark pointed the gun at him but then moved his aim to Brooke.
"Make one more move towards that bat and I swear to God I'll shoot her." He threatened.
"Please," Alex tried to plea, "Don't hurt her anymore. Don't do this."
"Shut up," Mark barked. "Now this is what's going to happ—"
The door suddenly burst open as two cops entered and pulled out their guns at the sight of Mark's.
"Freeze!" One yelled.
"Put the gun down." The other commanded.
I heard sirens over the pounding of my heart and looked out the window to see two ambulances and two cop cars pulled up outside.
"Put the gun down," The cop repeated.
Mark stood there with a sadistic grin on his face, like this was all a joke to him. It made me want to get up and strangle him for everything he had done. One of the cops took a step forwards and Mark changed his aim from Brooke, pointing the gun at me. My heart nearly stopped.
"Take one more step and he won't make it out alive."
I could hear Alex whimper and I glanced over to see silent tears sliding down his face.
"Don't do this." The cop tried to coax him. "Just put the gun down and let them go."
Mark didn't move, the gun still pointed at me. I was terrified to the point of tears. How did this even end up happening?
A few agonizing moments passed and Mark slowly started to put the gun down. Relief flooded my body and I relaxed slightly. The cop, thinking the danger had passed, took another small step forward.
Before I even knew what was happening, Mark raised the gun again and two shots were fired.
-x-
Bam. The end.
There will be an epilogue of course. Don't think I'd leave you hanging like that, but I might wait a few days to post it just to make you guys squirm ;)