Disclaimer: I don't own them. If you say I own them and try to sue me, you
are going to lose.
Once again, the song belongs to Britney Spears, and I'm not her so I don't own it either.
However, I do own Callie, Renee, Andrea, Jenea, Shayne, Andrew, Peter, Josh, and Colandro, and Eliana. If you use them, I'll sue you.
Authors notes: Muses are finicky things. I can't guarentee when the next chapter will come out, but I'm hoping it turns out good like I'm HOPING this one will.
*********
After her encounter with the strange man in the club, Sarah opted to have Mike walk her. She wasn't actually thinking something might happen on the way out of the club, but she was still shaken by the words just spoken to her.
"Alright Sarah," Mike said, opening the door of the car for her. His voice jerked her out of her silent reverie and placed her back in real life. She looked up at him, relief automatically flooding her face.
"Thanks Mike," Sarah answered. "I appreciate it." Mike smiled and shut the door after her, gesturing for her to lock it, which she did. She waved her goodbyes and he allowed a smile to show on his face, which was only supposed to express hatred and cruelty, and of course that 'no-one-better- mess-with-me-or-my-girls-or-I-will-kill-you' look. Mike replaced his evil mask and strode back to the club.
**********
Once she was on the road, Sarah relaxed some more and turned on the radio. What luck, the first station she tried had 'Slave 4 U' playing, and that was the last song she wanted to hear. She flipped over to the classical station, and let the soothing sounds of Bach fill the small Taurus. She settled into her seat more as she pulled up to a stoplight, and once again, her thoughts drifted to the mysterious man at the club.
"'This is not the way...' What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sarah wondered out loud. Her mind silenced the music as she continued to ponder the words reverberating in her mind. 'Well.. its true,' She admitted thoughtfully, 'This isn't the way I wanted to go in my life, but... that has no connection. He was just some weirdo trying to freak me out. Let it go Sar--' Her thoughts were clipped short as she heard another car horn honking behind her. Casually glancing up to the stoplight, she realized it was now green. She stepped on the gas and continued on her unmerry little way.
***********
Sarah resided in a large antebellum home that was ten miles from the edges of town. It was palatial, but she only was free to move through some of it. The house was owned by a small elderly woman who's grandfather built the home at the end of the 18th century, in celebration of Great Britain's defeat. The landlady was very old and frail, and she had every intention of leaving the house to Sarah when she was gone, knowing that she would take good care of it. Mrs. Brumme was out of town visiting her sons for a few weeks, leaving Sarah in charge.
Sarah pulled into the long driveway of the small mansion and shut her car engine off. She stepped into the chilly night and walked up to the door, ready to crash after the long day at work. She pulled the key out from her pocket and inserted it into the door handle, twisting it counterclockwise, expecting to hear a faint 'click' as it unlocked. Surprisingly, their was no sound made, and ignoring her nervous instincts, she simply blamed it on one of the other kids who lived there. She had 9 more roomates, all college students from out of state. One of them was probably responsible for the door being unlocked, she reasoned. Sarah tossed her keys on the table and took her light jacket off, hanging it on one of the hooks mounted on the wall.
"JOSH!!" She yelled out, looking for the delinquit responsible for the lack of security on the nice home. Recieving no answer, she went on down the list of the others.
"RENEÉ!!" She called, knowing the calm one would be in her room reading, although she was normally very studious and cautious of her situations. With still no reply, Sarah tried again.
"CALLIE!" Callie was the partier, so Sarah knew it was pointless trying.
"PETER!!" Sarah began to get nervous, when she still recieved no reply.
"ANDREW! ANDREA!" She called, desperation entering her voice. Still no one answered her.
'It has to be a trick they are playing,' She thought, trying to find a reason for the uneasy silence around her.
"JENEA! SHAYNE! COLANDRO!" Sarah was plain scared now. She could do the math, One door unlocked plus 9 people missing, meant something was up. Swallowing any fear that had accumulated in her throat, Sarah ran up the stairs, silently praying that the thoughts she was having were the worst and not possibly true, hoping that some of them were home, just asleep or something. She reached the top of the staircase, and was standing directly in front of Reneé's door. It was open but no lights were on. The same went for all the other doors she passed, Jenea's, Andrew's, Colandro's, Andrea's, Shayne's, Peter's, her own, and Callie's. When she reached the end of the corridor and Josh's door, only then were her fears relieved. A note taped to the door explained everyone's disappearances.
sarah- i no ur gonna be worried and all but no need girl, all of us, (even renee) r at @ a frat party. we r all gonna spend the nite, (even renee) in a few of our friends dorms. ttyl guh, just breathe! josh.
Sarah took a deep breath and let out a laugh. She almost kicked herself for being so stupid as to believe that anything like that could happen around here. Although it didn't explain the door being unlocked, it was still a great burden lifted knowing where everyone was, even if they were probably doing something stupid. Shaking her head and dismissing all her thoughts, she began walking back to her room. She stopped short when she realized that, like all the others, her door was opened and no light was on. It would have made sense if that was the way she left it in the mornings, but she always had a light on and her door closed. The fear that had left her a moment ago was back full blast. Making a reckless decision, Sarah pushed the door open and turned the light on, expecting to be confronted by a robber with a gun pointed her direction. She opened her eyes and looked forward, and saw nothing but her room, which had clearly been ransacked. She had taken emergency classes before, and knew that in this situation, she should leave the house immediately, go somewhere safe and call the cops. Before she left, she quickly peered in all the others rooms, and they were all in order, so she got ready to leave when the thought hit her, there was nowhere safe to go. Sarah had no friends. The only place with anyone she knew was the Lucky Leopard, and that was the last place she wanted to be. Then it hit her. Karen.
********
Sarah knew it was a long shot, going to Karen for help. Her stepmother still hated her, and resented her even more than she had before, because David was dead. When Sarah's father was alive, Karen had to conceal her hatred towards Sarah, despising her because of her beauty and imagination, or else David would know and being the fair man he was, divorce Karen or force them into some sort of counseling group. Through the last 2 years Sarah lived there, Karen reminded her everyday that, basically, she had killed her own father.
*** *Flashback, 6 years earlier* It was a rainy night, only a few short months after her experience with the Labyrinth, and Sarah was babysitting her little brother again. She did it without complaining now, usually. She grew tired of constantly squabbling with her stepmother about the issue, and had taken the job tonight without a word. Toby had gone to sleep reasonably early, hugging onto Lancelot like a lifeline, his sweet, year old expression soft, almost smiling. Sarah couldn't help but smile as she smoothed his light red curls away from his face, as she turned off the light and closed the door behind her. Not 10 minutes later, the call came.
"What?" Sarah said, disbelieving, into the reciever. She shook her head, trying to clear it so everything could fit into place. "Yes Sir, Yes Sir I understand. I'll be there soon." She hung up the reciever and ran to wake Toby and go to the hospital. The man on the phone had said that her parents had been in an accident, and she needed to be there right away. She loaded the groggy and disoriented Toby into a spare carseat and sped to the Emergency Room.
A man dressed in scrubs from head to toe was there to greet her. He led her to a room that had a few sparse chairs, and a viewing glass to another room. She brushed past him and walked to the glass, rubbing Toby's back to calm him. The motions of her hands abruptly stopped as she took in the sight through the glass. Her father, badly bruised and cut was hooked up to many different machines, the heart monitor faintly ticking every few seconds. It was all Sarah could do to keep from dropping Toby, but somehow she managed. Seconds later, she was in one of the chairs, eyes closed, trying to convince herself it was all a dream, a nightmare. Once again, she was snapped from her attempted diversion by Toby being yanked out of her arms.
"NO!" She fairly screamed, holding onto him. She looked up to her adversary, and locked eyes with her stepmothers cold, unforgiving green eyes.
"Give him to me, murderer," She demanded quietly, the last word inaudible to anyone but herself and Sarah. Sarah's eyes narrowed and her comment and she prepared herself for an argument.
"What?" Sarah hissed at the evil woman, unsure of why she made the accusation she did but hating her for it anyway.
"You killed your father," Karen said, her voice at a menacing tone.
"What? I did not, and Daddy isn't dead...," She cast a glance in her fathers direction, "Just badly hurt." As if on cue, the heart monitor began blipping out the flatline noise, and the man in scrubs rushed in, followed by a herd of doctors. Sarah stood immediately, eyes wide and mouth agape in horror. She watched the team try and try to recessitate her fathers lifeless body, much to no avail. She fell back into the chair, and the tears began falling as realization set in.
"Don't pretend you care, heartless murderer," Karen muttered, removing Toby from Sarah's limp arms.
*End Flashback*
*Flashback, a few days after David's Funeral*
Things were returning to a semi-state of normalacy around the William's home. It had all been a blur from Sarah, after her father's death. Karen still regarded her in a cold manner, not the slightest bit sympathetic to her stepdaughter, as one would assume she should be. Instead she was cruel, muttering 'murderer' every second she could, with no explanation as of yet. Finally, when the last of the help was gone, Karen exploded at her.
"YOU STUPID BITCH!" She screamed, picking up a vase and hurling it at Sarah's weary form. She stood straight and tall, shocked by the noise of glass shattering. She was in her own little world before Karen's explosion, and had to figure out what had just happened. Her eyes grew wide and she prepared to defend herself against her psychotic stepmother.
"What did I DO?" She asked, trying to avoid a big confrontation.
"YOU KILLED YOUR FATHER YOU PIECE OF TRASH!" Karen yelled vindictivly, throwing a small piece of pottery at the girl again.
"HOW?!" Sarah screamed back, avoiding the flying artwork.
"IF YOU HAD JUST STAYED HOME WITH TOBY MORE.." Karen began, desperately searching for more things to throw.
"I STAYED HOME WITH TOBY! HOW IS IT MY FAULT THAT MY FATHER, THE FATHER I LOVE, IS DEAD?" Sarah hollered, picking up a book, ready to defend herself again. She took no notice of the little red, leatherbound novel, and seeing Karen was out of ammunition, she tossed the book down, showing peace.
"If you," Karen's voice broke, "If you stayed home with him more then we wouldn't have had to go to the party, the party we were at that night." It made no sense, but then again Karen didn't have to have a good reason to blame Sarah.
"Ok, Karen, I'm going to bed, and you need to do the same. We are both tired and neither of us mean what we are saying," Sarah reasoned, but that only angered Karen more, her stepdaughter telling her what to do.
"Oh no. I want you OUT. LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" Karen demanded, voice cold. Sarah looked down from the top of the landing and answered her sensibly.
"I can't. Not for another 2 years. Now just go and get some sleep, we are both weary and one of us has to be in a right mind to care for Toby, now goodnight," Sarah finished.
*End Flashback*
***
No matter what had happened, Karen would have to allow her in to take care of this. Sarah decided to go, so she rushed down the stairs and grabbed her jacket and keys. She headed back out to the Taurus, and without a second thought, drove off in the direction of her stepmother's house.
**********
"Yes, yes Officer, thats correct, a break-in. Yes, I can meet you at the house in 20 minutes. Okay, yes Sir," Sarah hung up the phone on the porch next door, thanked her old neighbors and walked towards her former home. Karen was sitting in the kitchen, on a raggedy old stool, sipping on her vodka, waiting for Sarah to return. Sarah went in the back door and told Karen that she was going to the house, and that she doubted she'd be back, not that Karen cared.
When Sarah got to the house, she cowered in the car a moment, then gathered her courage and went up to the porch. She knocked on the door and Karen came and answered it about five minutes later. She regarded Sarah with the utmost distaste, although one could hardly keep from disregarding Karen, as she smelled strongly of alcohol and bodily odors. Once Sarah had seen the condition of the rest of the house, she was glad Toby had been sent to boarding school. The house hadn't been cleaned in years, thick layers of dust had collected on everything except one worn out chair and the T.V. remote control. Karen wore a ratty old bathrobe, and carried a large glass of vodka, which only contributed to her unkempt appearence. Once she had permitted Sarah to use the phone and get a small drink of water did Sarah finally realize the terrible state of living Karen maintained. When she tried to get a glassful of water, nothing came out when she turned on the faucet. Karen probably hadn't paid the water bill in years, because not even a drip eminated from the rusty plumbing. Then, when Sarah picked up the phone, there was no dial tone, and despite dialing the numbers, nothing happened. She then realized Karen must not have paid the phone bill in a long time, either. It was a wonder that there was still electricity in the house, as it was an amenity you had to pay for. Defeated, Sarah went next door to use the phone, and her old neighbors were more than happy to see her, much less allow her to use the phone!
**********
When Sarah arrived back at the mansion, there were 3 police cars around the outside, their lights flashing. An officer approached her car as she put the parking brake on, and she stepped out to greet him.
"Officer?" Sarah asked nervously, not knowing what to expect.
"Miss.... Williams, it is?" The officer replied friendly.
"Yes," Sarah said, trembling slightly.
"Miss Williams, nothing appears to be missing, as you said, you had no jewelry and nothing of value in your room, and anything of value in the other rooms was untouched. Are the rooms typically kept this neat?" The officer questionned.
"Yes, Mrs. Brumme makes us all keep orderly rooms," Sarah replied robotically.
"I see, well ma'am, nothing appears to have been taken, as I've said, but you need to go somewhere else tonight, as all your roomates have done. Its not safe, because the case profiles someone who knew what they were doing. They were looking for YOU, Miss Williams, and with all these cases, most will not stop until they get it. Since this person is unaware of your not being there, they will come back and we will be able to take him or her into custody. You will need to call all your roomates and tell them not to come back to the house as well. Please take a moment to do that inside. I will escort you. I am Officer Michael's, and I will be the officer assigned to you. Do you understand all of this?" He said gently.
"Yes, I do, thank you officer. Can we call them now? I would like to get back to my step mothers and sleep," Sarah answered. Officer Michaels nodded, and he led her towards the house and the kitchen phone, where she called all her roomates and explained the situation, each in turn offering her haven with them. She ruefully rejected them all, explaining that she would be with her stepmother, all the while dreading it. When she was done, Officer Michael's asked a few more questions.
"Is there a number where I can reach you should anything turn up?" He asked.
She pressed her hand to her forehead. "Umm, not exactly. My stepmother hasn't paid her phone bill or water bill in quite some time and I probably should do something about it, but I'm not sure what... perhaps welfare?" She asked.
"I'll take care of it. What is the address?" He responded. Sarah gave him the address and got back in her car, and drove back to the hellhole known as Karen's.
********
Sarah knocked on the door again, expecting it to take another 5 minutes for Karen to come to, but she was shocked to see the door open within 10 seconds. Karen eyed her hatefully, but allowed her to come in and plea her case.
"Karen, I only need to be here a few nights. They are afraid the person is gonna come back and they don't want to risk it. It will probably only be a night," Sarah lied. But maybe Eliana could take her in.
"Why couldn't you just stay with some of your storybook characters?" Karen sneered, eyeing the little leather book still on the floor where it was left after the war 7 years ago. Sarah didn't even hear her, as she was going up the creaky stairs and to her room. As soon as Sarah was in the room, Karen picked up the novel. She flipped through the first couple of pages, and skimmed some of the words. Halfway down the page was a delicious little phrase, one that Karen wished might work.
'I wish the Goblins would come and take you away right now...' she read silently. 'Hmm.. its got a nice ring to it.....' She heard Sarah make a disgusted noise at the conditions of her room, and the words just rolled off her tongue.
"I WISH THE GOBLINS WOULD COME AND TAKE YOU AWAY!! RIGHT NOW!!!" Karen screamed.
********
Authors Notes: EE! Whats going to happen!?!?! Not even I know yet! *I'm lying, yes I do, I just don't know when I'm going to type it up... maybe tonight... maybe tomorrrow... tee hee hee*
Once again, the song belongs to Britney Spears, and I'm not her so I don't own it either.
However, I do own Callie, Renee, Andrea, Jenea, Shayne, Andrew, Peter, Josh, and Colandro, and Eliana. If you use them, I'll sue you.
Authors notes: Muses are finicky things. I can't guarentee when the next chapter will come out, but I'm hoping it turns out good like I'm HOPING this one will.
*********
After her encounter with the strange man in the club, Sarah opted to have Mike walk her. She wasn't actually thinking something might happen on the way out of the club, but she was still shaken by the words just spoken to her.
"Alright Sarah," Mike said, opening the door of the car for her. His voice jerked her out of her silent reverie and placed her back in real life. She looked up at him, relief automatically flooding her face.
"Thanks Mike," Sarah answered. "I appreciate it." Mike smiled and shut the door after her, gesturing for her to lock it, which she did. She waved her goodbyes and he allowed a smile to show on his face, which was only supposed to express hatred and cruelty, and of course that 'no-one-better- mess-with-me-or-my-girls-or-I-will-kill-you' look. Mike replaced his evil mask and strode back to the club.
**********
Once she was on the road, Sarah relaxed some more and turned on the radio. What luck, the first station she tried had 'Slave 4 U' playing, and that was the last song she wanted to hear. She flipped over to the classical station, and let the soothing sounds of Bach fill the small Taurus. She settled into her seat more as she pulled up to a stoplight, and once again, her thoughts drifted to the mysterious man at the club.
"'This is not the way...' What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sarah wondered out loud. Her mind silenced the music as she continued to ponder the words reverberating in her mind. 'Well.. its true,' She admitted thoughtfully, 'This isn't the way I wanted to go in my life, but... that has no connection. He was just some weirdo trying to freak me out. Let it go Sar--' Her thoughts were clipped short as she heard another car horn honking behind her. Casually glancing up to the stoplight, she realized it was now green. She stepped on the gas and continued on her unmerry little way.
***********
Sarah resided in a large antebellum home that was ten miles from the edges of town. It was palatial, but she only was free to move through some of it. The house was owned by a small elderly woman who's grandfather built the home at the end of the 18th century, in celebration of Great Britain's defeat. The landlady was very old and frail, and she had every intention of leaving the house to Sarah when she was gone, knowing that she would take good care of it. Mrs. Brumme was out of town visiting her sons for a few weeks, leaving Sarah in charge.
Sarah pulled into the long driveway of the small mansion and shut her car engine off. She stepped into the chilly night and walked up to the door, ready to crash after the long day at work. She pulled the key out from her pocket and inserted it into the door handle, twisting it counterclockwise, expecting to hear a faint 'click' as it unlocked. Surprisingly, their was no sound made, and ignoring her nervous instincts, she simply blamed it on one of the other kids who lived there. She had 9 more roomates, all college students from out of state. One of them was probably responsible for the door being unlocked, she reasoned. Sarah tossed her keys on the table and took her light jacket off, hanging it on one of the hooks mounted on the wall.
"JOSH!!" She yelled out, looking for the delinquit responsible for the lack of security on the nice home. Recieving no answer, she went on down the list of the others.
"RENEÉ!!" She called, knowing the calm one would be in her room reading, although she was normally very studious and cautious of her situations. With still no reply, Sarah tried again.
"CALLIE!" Callie was the partier, so Sarah knew it was pointless trying.
"PETER!!" Sarah began to get nervous, when she still recieved no reply.
"ANDREW! ANDREA!" She called, desperation entering her voice. Still no one answered her.
'It has to be a trick they are playing,' She thought, trying to find a reason for the uneasy silence around her.
"JENEA! SHAYNE! COLANDRO!" Sarah was plain scared now. She could do the math, One door unlocked plus 9 people missing, meant something was up. Swallowing any fear that had accumulated in her throat, Sarah ran up the stairs, silently praying that the thoughts she was having were the worst and not possibly true, hoping that some of them were home, just asleep or something. She reached the top of the staircase, and was standing directly in front of Reneé's door. It was open but no lights were on. The same went for all the other doors she passed, Jenea's, Andrew's, Colandro's, Andrea's, Shayne's, Peter's, her own, and Callie's. When she reached the end of the corridor and Josh's door, only then were her fears relieved. A note taped to the door explained everyone's disappearances.
sarah- i no ur gonna be worried and all but no need girl, all of us, (even renee) r at @ a frat party. we r all gonna spend the nite, (even renee) in a few of our friends dorms. ttyl guh, just breathe! josh.
Sarah took a deep breath and let out a laugh. She almost kicked herself for being so stupid as to believe that anything like that could happen around here. Although it didn't explain the door being unlocked, it was still a great burden lifted knowing where everyone was, even if they were probably doing something stupid. Shaking her head and dismissing all her thoughts, she began walking back to her room. She stopped short when she realized that, like all the others, her door was opened and no light was on. It would have made sense if that was the way she left it in the mornings, but she always had a light on and her door closed. The fear that had left her a moment ago was back full blast. Making a reckless decision, Sarah pushed the door open and turned the light on, expecting to be confronted by a robber with a gun pointed her direction. She opened her eyes and looked forward, and saw nothing but her room, which had clearly been ransacked. She had taken emergency classes before, and knew that in this situation, she should leave the house immediately, go somewhere safe and call the cops. Before she left, she quickly peered in all the others rooms, and they were all in order, so she got ready to leave when the thought hit her, there was nowhere safe to go. Sarah had no friends. The only place with anyone she knew was the Lucky Leopard, and that was the last place she wanted to be. Then it hit her. Karen.
********
Sarah knew it was a long shot, going to Karen for help. Her stepmother still hated her, and resented her even more than she had before, because David was dead. When Sarah's father was alive, Karen had to conceal her hatred towards Sarah, despising her because of her beauty and imagination, or else David would know and being the fair man he was, divorce Karen or force them into some sort of counseling group. Through the last 2 years Sarah lived there, Karen reminded her everyday that, basically, she had killed her own father.
*** *Flashback, 6 years earlier* It was a rainy night, only a few short months after her experience with the Labyrinth, and Sarah was babysitting her little brother again. She did it without complaining now, usually. She grew tired of constantly squabbling with her stepmother about the issue, and had taken the job tonight without a word. Toby had gone to sleep reasonably early, hugging onto Lancelot like a lifeline, his sweet, year old expression soft, almost smiling. Sarah couldn't help but smile as she smoothed his light red curls away from his face, as she turned off the light and closed the door behind her. Not 10 minutes later, the call came.
"What?" Sarah said, disbelieving, into the reciever. She shook her head, trying to clear it so everything could fit into place. "Yes Sir, Yes Sir I understand. I'll be there soon." She hung up the reciever and ran to wake Toby and go to the hospital. The man on the phone had said that her parents had been in an accident, and she needed to be there right away. She loaded the groggy and disoriented Toby into a spare carseat and sped to the Emergency Room.
A man dressed in scrubs from head to toe was there to greet her. He led her to a room that had a few sparse chairs, and a viewing glass to another room. She brushed past him and walked to the glass, rubbing Toby's back to calm him. The motions of her hands abruptly stopped as she took in the sight through the glass. Her father, badly bruised and cut was hooked up to many different machines, the heart monitor faintly ticking every few seconds. It was all Sarah could do to keep from dropping Toby, but somehow she managed. Seconds later, she was in one of the chairs, eyes closed, trying to convince herself it was all a dream, a nightmare. Once again, she was snapped from her attempted diversion by Toby being yanked out of her arms.
"NO!" She fairly screamed, holding onto him. She looked up to her adversary, and locked eyes with her stepmothers cold, unforgiving green eyes.
"Give him to me, murderer," She demanded quietly, the last word inaudible to anyone but herself and Sarah. Sarah's eyes narrowed and her comment and she prepared herself for an argument.
"What?" Sarah hissed at the evil woman, unsure of why she made the accusation she did but hating her for it anyway.
"You killed your father," Karen said, her voice at a menacing tone.
"What? I did not, and Daddy isn't dead...," She cast a glance in her fathers direction, "Just badly hurt." As if on cue, the heart monitor began blipping out the flatline noise, and the man in scrubs rushed in, followed by a herd of doctors. Sarah stood immediately, eyes wide and mouth agape in horror. She watched the team try and try to recessitate her fathers lifeless body, much to no avail. She fell back into the chair, and the tears began falling as realization set in.
"Don't pretend you care, heartless murderer," Karen muttered, removing Toby from Sarah's limp arms.
*End Flashback*
*Flashback, a few days after David's Funeral*
Things were returning to a semi-state of normalacy around the William's home. It had all been a blur from Sarah, after her father's death. Karen still regarded her in a cold manner, not the slightest bit sympathetic to her stepdaughter, as one would assume she should be. Instead she was cruel, muttering 'murderer' every second she could, with no explanation as of yet. Finally, when the last of the help was gone, Karen exploded at her.
"YOU STUPID BITCH!" She screamed, picking up a vase and hurling it at Sarah's weary form. She stood straight and tall, shocked by the noise of glass shattering. She was in her own little world before Karen's explosion, and had to figure out what had just happened. Her eyes grew wide and she prepared to defend herself against her psychotic stepmother.
"What did I DO?" She asked, trying to avoid a big confrontation.
"YOU KILLED YOUR FATHER YOU PIECE OF TRASH!" Karen yelled vindictivly, throwing a small piece of pottery at the girl again.
"HOW?!" Sarah screamed back, avoiding the flying artwork.
"IF YOU HAD JUST STAYED HOME WITH TOBY MORE.." Karen began, desperately searching for more things to throw.
"I STAYED HOME WITH TOBY! HOW IS IT MY FAULT THAT MY FATHER, THE FATHER I LOVE, IS DEAD?" Sarah hollered, picking up a book, ready to defend herself again. She took no notice of the little red, leatherbound novel, and seeing Karen was out of ammunition, she tossed the book down, showing peace.
"If you," Karen's voice broke, "If you stayed home with him more then we wouldn't have had to go to the party, the party we were at that night." It made no sense, but then again Karen didn't have to have a good reason to blame Sarah.
"Ok, Karen, I'm going to bed, and you need to do the same. We are both tired and neither of us mean what we are saying," Sarah reasoned, but that only angered Karen more, her stepdaughter telling her what to do.
"Oh no. I want you OUT. LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" Karen demanded, voice cold. Sarah looked down from the top of the landing and answered her sensibly.
"I can't. Not for another 2 years. Now just go and get some sleep, we are both weary and one of us has to be in a right mind to care for Toby, now goodnight," Sarah finished.
*End Flashback*
***
No matter what had happened, Karen would have to allow her in to take care of this. Sarah decided to go, so she rushed down the stairs and grabbed her jacket and keys. She headed back out to the Taurus, and without a second thought, drove off in the direction of her stepmother's house.
**********
"Yes, yes Officer, thats correct, a break-in. Yes, I can meet you at the house in 20 minutes. Okay, yes Sir," Sarah hung up the phone on the porch next door, thanked her old neighbors and walked towards her former home. Karen was sitting in the kitchen, on a raggedy old stool, sipping on her vodka, waiting for Sarah to return. Sarah went in the back door and told Karen that she was going to the house, and that she doubted she'd be back, not that Karen cared.
When Sarah got to the house, she cowered in the car a moment, then gathered her courage and went up to the porch. She knocked on the door and Karen came and answered it about five minutes later. She regarded Sarah with the utmost distaste, although one could hardly keep from disregarding Karen, as she smelled strongly of alcohol and bodily odors. Once Sarah had seen the condition of the rest of the house, she was glad Toby had been sent to boarding school. The house hadn't been cleaned in years, thick layers of dust had collected on everything except one worn out chair and the T.V. remote control. Karen wore a ratty old bathrobe, and carried a large glass of vodka, which only contributed to her unkempt appearence. Once she had permitted Sarah to use the phone and get a small drink of water did Sarah finally realize the terrible state of living Karen maintained. When she tried to get a glassful of water, nothing came out when she turned on the faucet. Karen probably hadn't paid the water bill in years, because not even a drip eminated from the rusty plumbing. Then, when Sarah picked up the phone, there was no dial tone, and despite dialing the numbers, nothing happened. She then realized Karen must not have paid the phone bill in a long time, either. It was a wonder that there was still electricity in the house, as it was an amenity you had to pay for. Defeated, Sarah went next door to use the phone, and her old neighbors were more than happy to see her, much less allow her to use the phone!
**********
When Sarah arrived back at the mansion, there were 3 police cars around the outside, their lights flashing. An officer approached her car as she put the parking brake on, and she stepped out to greet him.
"Officer?" Sarah asked nervously, not knowing what to expect.
"Miss.... Williams, it is?" The officer replied friendly.
"Yes," Sarah said, trembling slightly.
"Miss Williams, nothing appears to be missing, as you said, you had no jewelry and nothing of value in your room, and anything of value in the other rooms was untouched. Are the rooms typically kept this neat?" The officer questionned.
"Yes, Mrs. Brumme makes us all keep orderly rooms," Sarah replied robotically.
"I see, well ma'am, nothing appears to have been taken, as I've said, but you need to go somewhere else tonight, as all your roomates have done. Its not safe, because the case profiles someone who knew what they were doing. They were looking for YOU, Miss Williams, and with all these cases, most will not stop until they get it. Since this person is unaware of your not being there, they will come back and we will be able to take him or her into custody. You will need to call all your roomates and tell them not to come back to the house as well. Please take a moment to do that inside. I will escort you. I am Officer Michael's, and I will be the officer assigned to you. Do you understand all of this?" He said gently.
"Yes, I do, thank you officer. Can we call them now? I would like to get back to my step mothers and sleep," Sarah answered. Officer Michaels nodded, and he led her towards the house and the kitchen phone, where she called all her roomates and explained the situation, each in turn offering her haven with them. She ruefully rejected them all, explaining that she would be with her stepmother, all the while dreading it. When she was done, Officer Michael's asked a few more questions.
"Is there a number where I can reach you should anything turn up?" He asked.
She pressed her hand to her forehead. "Umm, not exactly. My stepmother hasn't paid her phone bill or water bill in quite some time and I probably should do something about it, but I'm not sure what... perhaps welfare?" She asked.
"I'll take care of it. What is the address?" He responded. Sarah gave him the address and got back in her car, and drove back to the hellhole known as Karen's.
********
Sarah knocked on the door again, expecting it to take another 5 minutes for Karen to come to, but she was shocked to see the door open within 10 seconds. Karen eyed her hatefully, but allowed her to come in and plea her case.
"Karen, I only need to be here a few nights. They are afraid the person is gonna come back and they don't want to risk it. It will probably only be a night," Sarah lied. But maybe Eliana could take her in.
"Why couldn't you just stay with some of your storybook characters?" Karen sneered, eyeing the little leather book still on the floor where it was left after the war 7 years ago. Sarah didn't even hear her, as she was going up the creaky stairs and to her room. As soon as Sarah was in the room, Karen picked up the novel. She flipped through the first couple of pages, and skimmed some of the words. Halfway down the page was a delicious little phrase, one that Karen wished might work.
'I wish the Goblins would come and take you away right now...' she read silently. 'Hmm.. its got a nice ring to it.....' She heard Sarah make a disgusted noise at the conditions of her room, and the words just rolled off her tongue.
"I WISH THE GOBLINS WOULD COME AND TAKE YOU AWAY!! RIGHT NOW!!!" Karen screamed.
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Authors Notes: EE! Whats going to happen!?!?! Not even I know yet! *I'm lying, yes I do, I just don't know when I'm going to type it up... maybe tonight... maybe tomorrrow... tee hee hee*