TEN
* * *
I lead Abby to the den, away from the front door, away from the living room, even as his hand, bloodied from the glass, finds its way to the deadbolt lock. I close and lock the sliding doors between the two rooms, but I know they won't hold for long. Vick is in the foyer now, yelling.
And Eric is sitting on the porch, strumming his guitar. Kevin has already ordered Simon, Roxanne and Cecilia to help him find Lucy.
I hear Vick again.
"Abby! Just come out! I won't do anything, I swear! I just want to talk!"
I look at her. She is trembling so badly she cannot stand, and she collapses to the couch, spilling the bowl of popcorn to the floor.
"Abby!"
A phone. I need a phone. I need to call 911.
I hear Vick's hands on the sliding door. I hear his shoulder against it.
I run as the lock tears from the thin wood under the force of his body.
Kevin has entered the church. Lucy and Reverend Hampton rise at his approach.
#
As I reach the kitchen I hear Abby scream. I hear him yelling over it.
"You ran! What did I tell you would happen if you ran?"
Her voice.
"Please, Vick .... I'm sorry, please ...."
"Bitch!"
I hear the sound of a fist connecting with flesh.
"I saw you, bitch! I saw you look at him! I know what you wanted to do, you whore! You're never leaving me, you understand?"
She screams. I hear his fist fall again and the scream dies, replaced by whimpers as he hits her.
The phone. I need to call the police, need to get them here, need to stop this before he kills her.
Because he will kill her. Somehow I know this. Somehow it is there, suddenly.
He will kill my best friend.
The phone is there, but I do not reach for it. No. No time. It's too late.
I look down and see that the largest of our kitchen knives has found its way into my hand.
* * *
I lead Abby to the den, away from the front door, away from the living room, even as his hand, bloodied from the glass, finds its way to the deadbolt lock. I close and lock the sliding doors between the two rooms, but I know they won't hold for long. Vick is in the foyer now, yelling.
And Eric is sitting on the porch, strumming his guitar. Kevin has already ordered Simon, Roxanne and Cecilia to help him find Lucy.
I hear Vick again.
"Abby! Just come out! I won't do anything, I swear! I just want to talk!"
I look at her. She is trembling so badly she cannot stand, and she collapses to the couch, spilling the bowl of popcorn to the floor.
"Abby!"
A phone. I need a phone. I need to call 911.
I hear Vick's hands on the sliding door. I hear his shoulder against it.
I run as the lock tears from the thin wood under the force of his body.
Kevin has entered the church. Lucy and Reverend Hampton rise at his approach.
#
As I reach the kitchen I hear Abby scream. I hear him yelling over it.
"You ran! What did I tell you would happen if you ran?"
Her voice.
"Please, Vick .... I'm sorry, please ...."
"Bitch!"
I hear the sound of a fist connecting with flesh.
"I saw you, bitch! I saw you look at him! I know what you wanted to do, you whore! You're never leaving me, you understand?"
She screams. I hear his fist fall again and the scream dies, replaced by whimpers as he hits her.
The phone. I need to call the police, need to get them here, need to stop this before he kills her.
Because he will kill her. Somehow I know this. Somehow it is there, suddenly.
He will kill my best friend.
The phone is there, but I do not reach for it. No. No time. It's too late.
I look down and see that the largest of our kitchen knives has found its way into my hand.