Chapter Five
What really happened to Siren West
Day one
Amelia had been hanging up her dancing clothes when she heard her Mother scream.
Her ballet slippers dropped to the floor as she whirled around, her body going cold.
There was a boy standing behind her. He was tall, lanky, with broad shoulders and she thought that maybe he was about sixteen.
He was pointing a gun at her.
"You'd better get into the living room," he said quietly, but his voice was urgent.
Shaking Amelia, then thirteen, held up her hands in defence and followed the sound of her Mother's strained voice to the living area.
There was an older man pacing up and down. He was tall and lanky too, with long, dirty hair, greased back. His face was clammy, beads of sweat on his forehead, all wide eyed, his thin lips pressed into a grimace. He stared hard at Amelia and pointed his gun to the seat next to Siren on the couch. Confused Amelia scooted in next to her Mother, who immediately wrapped an arm around her.
She could smell her Mother's perfume, feel her warmth and felt calmer.
"It's alright baby," she whispered into Amelia's blonde hair.
"Call your old man," The older man barked at Siren West and Amelia felt her stiffen.
"Mom, it's alright…just call Daddy," she whimpered.
Siren shook her head. "You won't get any money from husband. He doesn't believe in giving in to terrorism!"
Harold Napier came towards her.
"Call him, now," he said quietly his face leering close to Siren and she recoiled in distaste.
"You're wasting your time," Siren protested, her voice calm.
Napier was across the room in seconds. He twisted his dirty hands in Amelia's long blonde hair and dragged her off the couch onto the floor.
Amelia cried out in pain and Siren screamed. Napier took the barrel of the gun and forced it through Amelia's clenched lips. Amelia gagged in terror and pain from having the cold metal forced into her mouth.
"Dad!" the boy's voice sounded across the room and Napier's head snapped up.
"What now?" he growled.
"There's a police car outside…one of the neighbours must have heard her screaming,"
Napier withdrew the gun to Amelia's relief and released her hair. She scrambled back over to the couch, where her mother was holding out her arms.
"Baby, I'm sorry," she whispered.
Napier turned and smiled at the two women.
"Well looks like we've got our audience ladies," he clapped his hands together.
Napier was still pacing the room frantically after two hours on the phone with the police.
Siren stared at him hatefully from her unchanged position on the couch.
"I told you…my husband wont pay you a dime," she said in a low voice.
Amelia wished she wouldn't keep talking to him; it only seemed to make him more agitated. She noticed the way he kept flicking his tongue out to lick his lips and dragging his dirty hands through his matted hair.
The boy sat on the floor in the corner by the Stereo cabinet, his back pressed up against it. Amelia noticed he kept staring at her.
Once when he was looking in the other direction she looked at him.
He was much larger than boys his age that were at her school. His face was angular, his hair a dirty blonde. She watched his hands holding the gun, the way he threw it from hand to hand, idly, as if he were bored.
He could be nice looking she thought, hardly able to believe she was thinking those thoughts after having a gun shoved down her throat.
Her lip was still weeping blood from where he'd caught it.
She looked up at her Mother.
"Mom…I'm tired, can I go to my room?"
Siren locked her steel blue eyes with Amelia's and kissed her forehead.
"My daughter wants to lie down…if you're going to keep this up; you should let her rest,"
Napier looked at the younger girl, who was so similar to the movie star sitting with her arms around her.
His plan was not going well. He hadn't bargained for this, he had been sure that Abbott West and been a sure thing. What man wouldn't pay the earth to rescue the two most precious things in his life? He decided he was feeling generous and he wanted to keep the women sweet if they were going to be here a while.
"Sure…you go and have a nice lie down sweetheart…while you're at it; Mommy can make us all a nice dinner, if she knows how to cook, that is!"
Siren flushed and Amelia straightened up.
She stood shakily and ignored the boy watching her.
She was at the living room door when she heard Napier behind her.
"Jackie will come with you, keep you company…don't get up to anything naughty though!"
Amelia went rigid as the boy stood up and followed her.
She heard her Mother say, "If that boy touches her…"
"Well teenagers will be teen agers, Mrs West!"
"I mean it; I'll kill him if he lays a finger on her!" she shrieked, suddenly more afraid than of her daughter being alone with a boy than of Napier and his gun.
"Relax woman!" Napier cried, "He's only been sixteen two weeks…he wouldn't know what to do with a girl if one jumped on him!"
Amelia folded her arms around her body as they walked into her bedroom.
She was painfully aware of how young she must look standing in the middle of it.
Everything from the curtains to the bed linen was pink. She had various film star posters on the wall and teddies on her bed.
He was looking down at her ballet shoes and she picked them up hurriedly, shoving them in a draw.
Their eyes met and he gave her a look that was so much older than his years.
"You…you can sit there," she motioned to her fluffy pink armchair that was strewn with clothes, mostly her school uniform.
He was wearing a long duffle coat and he let it slip easily off his shoulders. He discarded it on the floor and fell into the chair.
He folded his arms across his chest and glanced at her standing there.
"Well…you came here to sleep didn't you?" he said.
"I can't sleep with you staring at me," she perched on the edge of the bed.
"Have you got something I can read then?"
She raised an eyebrow. She pointed at the book shelf behind him.
He stood up and scanned the row of books behind him and she stared at the width of his back.
"Have you got anything that doesn't include fairies, witches and princesses?" he mocked her.
She blushed. "I like those stories,"
"Wait what's this? The brave tin soldier? Does it have guns in it?"
Amelia swallowed. "It's a kid's book,"
"That'll do… there you go!" he threw her the book and to her surprise she caught it.
"What's this for?"
"Well if you're not gonna sleep, you can read it to me,"
Day Two
Amelia had woken in the night in a start. She rubbed her eyes in the dark and saw the boy sleeping in the chair.
Sitting up quietly she moved gently across the room to the bathroom.
She was surprised to see that lights were still on in the living room. She splashed cold water on her face and combed her hair. Her lip was still swollen from where Napier had brutally forced the gun in her mouth.
She stepped outside the bathroom, closing the door quietly.
Her feet silent on the cold wooden floor, she heard breathing coming from her parents bedroom. She peeked her head around the door and was shocked to see her Mother asleep on the bed. Napier must have let her go to sleep.
As she turned, a scream formed in her throat but it was cut off by the boy's hand. He dragged her back into her bedroom and forced her back down on the bed.
Amelia wriggled but his eyes were on hers intently.
"Don't scream!" he hissed at her, "Are you insane, walking around alone?"
She shook her head, tears starting to form and he rolled his eyes.
"Don't start crying again," he whispered, "If I take my hand away, you promise not to scream?"
She nodded and he released her, still sitting on her waist, he pointed a finger at her.
"The only reason you're in here asleep is because I'm here…you go walking around alone and he finds you….I cant stop him if he goes into a rage,"
Amelia was bright red. "Get off me!" she shot angrily.
He held up his hands and slipped off of her.
"Don't blame me if you get shot in the head!"
"Do you think this is funny?" she whispered heatedly.
"Do I look like I'm laughing?" he replied dryly, moving back to the chair.
Amelia burst into tears and he groaned.
"Look soon you'll dad'll pay up and you can go back to your normal happy life, until then you're stuck with me,"
She wiped her eyes, wondering at his tone.
"Do you always go with him?" she whispered, "It can't be much of a life,"
He jumped off the bed abruptly. Amelia could see that his mood had switched almost instantly.
"Well Princeton was too boring for me, I prefer to get my hands dirty, and when the job opening came up I jumped straight in!" he snapped sarcastically.
"How old are you?" she ignored him, intrigued by his sudden annoyance.
"Look, just go back to sleep Ballerina," he shot at her.
She pulled a face at him and climbed back under the covers, knowing he was watching her as she fell asleep.
It was eight in the morning when Amelia next woke. Police cars still surrounded their apartment building. She could see them milling backwards and forwards, pointing up at the building, their expressions tense.
There was an awful sick feeling growing in the pit of her stomach as she stood by the window.
"Why are you crying again?" came his irritated voice behind her from the chair.
"I'm not going to get to play Odette in the school play," she answered honestly, knowing how pathetic she sounded. She had been thinking lots of strange thoughts since this whole thing started. One thing she couldn't get out of her head was him.
She was nearly fourteen and her hormones were playing terrible games with her lately.
"What's an Odette?" he asked.
"It's Swan Lake, you idiot!" she snapped, wiping her eyes, "I'm playing Odette!"
"Hmm..let me guess, the swan?" she heard him chuckle, which was new.
"What do you care?"
"Uhh…I don't!" he tried to laugh but then saw her shoulders drop, "Look, you're not going to die!"
"My dad wont pay!" she sobbed, "You don't get it!"
"You're Mom is on the phone to him right now,"
Amelia spun around. "She is?"
He didn't know why it relieved him when she smiled. She ran out into the hall way.
"Mom…can I speak to Daddy?" she called.
"Wait!" he was behind her fast, but Napier was faster.
He pointed a gun at her head.
"Thought I told you to keep this one under control Jackie?" he sneered.
"Sorry…Dad, she just ran out, I'll keep a closer eye on her,"
"Take her back in there!" he shouted scratching his head hard, "Don't want any more distractions,"
Amelia locked eyes with her Mother and mirrored her frightened expression.
In that brief second Amelia could see the change in her. Her eyes looked different, they were empty. Like a light had gone out.
Amelia noticed with revulsion the developing bruises on her Mother's wrists.
Siren nodded at her to go back in the room with Jack, but gave her a soft, comforting smile.
Jack's hands were on her shoulders and Amelia jolted. He pulled her back into the bedroom.
Before she closed the door, she swore she could hear her mother's voice in the hallway.
"Abbott…darling please….he's got a gun…"