Two weeks later

Rae

She drove up to her house and parked her car on the road outside, noticing that her mother's car was already parked in the driveway. Before entering the house she took a mint from her purse and started munching on it, so that it would disguise the smell of alcohol that was on her breath. That seemed to be all she'd done in the past two weeks, drink. It distracted her, made her numb.

When she opened the door to her house the first thing she noticed was how quiet it was. The television was on but there were none of the normal noises of chatting and people moving around.

She walked in slowly, the alcohol having made her slightly tipsy and slightly incoherent.

She was about to call out her mothers name but something stopped her. Whether it was the thought of being caught smelling of alcohol, or the feeling that was something was wrong she did not know, but either way doing this might have saved her life although she did not know this yet.

She threw her jacket on the sofa and turned off the television which seemed too loud in the silence of the house. Slowly she looked around thinking that maybe they were out, but then she remembered that she had seen her mothers car, and she would not have been able to get anywhere without it. They lived too far out to be able to walk anywhere.

Walking over to the stairs, she heard a sound from above. A loud crash followed the sound. She proceeded cautiously up the stairs feeling the first feelings of doubt settle in her stomach. First she went over to her little sisters bedroom, expecting her to be sitting on the floor and playing with her dolls like she usually did but she wasn't there.

The light was on but there was nobody in.

She then went to her bedroom deciding that maybe they had gone out in her mother's car in a rush, and that was why all the lights were on, but deep down she knew that this was not the case. Then she heard the crash again.

She realised at this point that all of the sound was coming from her mother's bedroom. She heard a scream from within and took a quick step backwards just as the door came crashing open. The scream that was just about to come out of her mouth was stopped mid flow when she saw her mother being dragged out by a man in a baseball cap and dark clothing. He paused as he saw her and her mother looked up at her with frightened eyes. Her mother was covered in blood and Rae could tell that she was hurt by the way that she winced as he struggled with her. With a quick move of his fist he threw her to the side. She didn't get up again.

Rae's breath was coming out in short gasps now. She wanted to see if her mother was alright but she could not move.

She could not see the mans face as he walked towards her, as it was covered by shadow but then when he was almost in front of her he looked up and this time she managed a scream. She had to cover her mouth to hide the hysteria that was spreading through her.

His face was twisted and contorted in a mixture of love and anger, but all the same she could still recognise him. It was Richard Newman.

"Richard?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Rae! Oh I'm so glad you're here." He took a step towards her but she moved backwards.

"What are you doing?"

He looked down at her mother's unconscious form before looking up at her with a smile on his face. "I worked it out while you were gone."

She was confused. "Worked what out?"

"It's your family that's stopping you from being with me."
"My family? Richard, where's my little sister Louise?"

"Gone," he said simply and she felt her feet collapse from underneath her.

He ran towards her but she screamed at him to stop and he obeyed her. Her hands were shaking and she felt as if everything was falling around her. However no tears would fall because she was in shock. "Oh Richard," she sobbed.

"Rae, you're free without them. It can just be me and you, no baggage, nothing to get in our way."

"You silly, silly man."

"Don't call me silly," he shouted at her, stopping her tears.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, a plan forming in her head. She took several deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She had to be brave for her mother and sister. "I'll leave with you."

He stared at her, shocked. "You mean it."

She nodded. "You're right. I have nobody else. You're all I have left."

He smiled at her and reached forward to embrace her. If she hadn't been trying to fool him then she would have pushed him away but she needed to be convincing.

"I need to get some stuff from my room."

"Of course, of course." He grabbed her gently by her arms and pulled her to her feet.

He somehow already knew where her bedroom was and led her to it.

"Would you like me to get your suitcase?" he asked.

She was about to ask him how he knew where it was but realised that it would be pointless. She didn't care anymore. "Sure," she said.

While he went into her cupboard she reached underneath the bed and picked up the gun that lay there. The gun had once belonged to her father. Ever since Richard had first taken it, her mother had insisted that she kept the gun there, just in case he ever came back. She had thought it ridiculous at the time but now she realised that it might save her life.

Raising the gun to the back of Richards head, she was about to pull the trigger when he turned around and stared at her. She kept the gun raised but moved her finger away from the trigger.

"Rae?" he asked, shocked.

"I'm sorry Richard. I can't go with you."

His expression changed so quickly that it scared her. He stared down at her sadly. "I knew it Rae. I just knew it."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay. Go ahead, shoot me."

"I can't," she sobbed.

He walked towards her but she didn't lower the gun. He stood in front of her so that the gun was aimed at his chest. "Do it. Please. I can't live without you anyway."

"But I think I love you." Her hand was starting to shake.

His fingers brushed against her cheek, wiping away the tears. "I killed people Rae. I'm not right for you. I understand that. I think I always have but I just couldn't admit it, so I killed people, pretending that I was doing right."

Tears continued streaming down her face.

His face moved forwards and almost hesitantly he pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was full of fire and anger, but at the same time it was sweet and loving. It was so desperate that it made her heart ache. She could taste her salty tears on his lips and she loved it. She hadn't realised how badly she had wanted to kiss him.

As he pulled away from her, she was about to pull the gun away from his chest when she felt his finger on the trigger of the gun.

'Bang.'

She screamed, over and over, as he fell to the floor, blood gushing from the wound to his chest.

"Richard!" she screamed, leaning over him and holding tightly to him.

He looked up at her, his eyes filled with tears. "I love you Rae, never forget that. I did it all for you. I did it all for you my love." His eyes closed and she could feel a coldness start to spread through him as his heart stopped beating.

"No!" she screamed at his cold lifeless body. "Don't leave me! Please, Richard."

She didn't know how long she clung to his bloodied body, sobbing and screaming at the heavens.

From downstairs she heard the sound of a door being forced open but she didn't care. She just wanted Richard back.

After a while someone gripped onto her shoulders, trying to pull her away from Richard but she screamed at them and lashed out, clinging more tightly to Richard's body.

Slowly her senses started to come back to her and she heard people around her talking.

"Three... dead... screaming... called the police... who is he?"

"He's Richard," she answered to the last person who had talked. "He's the person that I loved."

Warm arms picked her up but she didn't fight them. She was so tired. "We'll look after you honey. You'll be okay," a kind voice said in her ear.

"I'll never be okay," she whispered, before closing her eyes and blocking out the rest of the world.

Oh, guys :') I only have one maybe two more chapters to write of this story. This last bit was so sad to write though. :) Hope you like. x