The Pain of Silence

Chapter 15

"Run!"

That was all the girls needed to hear and Vanessa grabbed Brooke by the arm, pulling her towards the exit. "Come on!"

Both girls ran to Vanessa's car and got inside. She started the engine and drove off.

Brooke looked behind her to see if her father was following them. "I don't see him."

"Thank God!" Now Vanessa was able to relax. "I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure they'll be okay. My dad wouldn't be stupid enough to kill anyone. At least I hope not. I shouldn't have gotten anyone else involved!" Brooke was furious. "This is all my fault."

"Brooke, calm down. It'll be fine. They have dealt with more difficult cases and people than this," Vanessa assured her. "Let's get to my house and once we hear from them we'll leave. I'm sure Joe needs to go to the hospital, but I can see your father going there to see if we show up."

"Thank goodness he doesn't know where we're going. I don't want him finding us, especially when my mom is hurt."

"If he showed up at my house, I'd be scared," Vanessa admitted. "It's just the three of us. Come on, guys…call…" she said, waiting to hear from the Hardys.

Vanessa was almost home when she heard her phone ring. "Can you answer it?" She handed Brooke her phone.

"Hello?" Brooke greeted.

'Hey, it's Frank. We're on our way to your house to get you, and then I'm taking Joe to the hospital. We don't want to leave you all alone. We have no idea where your father went.'

"Is Tony okay?" Brooke asked.

'He'll be fine. Just a bloody nose. He'll get checked out too. We'll see you in a little bit."

"Thanks, Frank!" Brooke said goodbye and hung the phone up. "They're coming to get us and then we're heading to the hospital," she told Vanessa.

"Good," Vanessa replied and pulled into her driveway.

"My mother is gonna flip when she finds out what happened." Brooke got out of the car and the girls went inside the Benders' farmhouse.

They found Morgan leaving the kitchen, with a glass of water in hand. She placed it on the small table in the hallway. "Hey, that was fast. I thought you were—"

"Dad found us," Brooke said bluntly.

"What?!" Morgan exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Tony saw him and he came after us. He punched Tony and—" Brooked looked at Vanessa for help.

"The guys stayed back so we could get away," Vanessa added.

"Are they okay? Did you call the police?" Morgan asked.

"Yes we called the police. Joe—" Vanessa stopped when someone pulled in the driveway. "That was fast." She peered out the window and saw a pickup truck in the driveway. "Oh no!

"What?" Brooke looked outside and saw her father's truck outside. "No! Mom, get upstairs! Go! It's Dad!"

Morgan grabbed the house phone off the cradle and started dialing. "We need to hide. Or get out of here!"

"Mom! Come with me! Vanessa, hide!" Brooke grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her to the stairs. "The guys will be here any minute. We just need to hold him off!"

"Okay!" Vanessa went to hide as Morgan scurried upstairs and Brooke went towards the kitchen.

Vanessa opened the coat closet and slipped inside, closing the door. She heard the front door open and sat there, terrified.

Morgan closed her bedroom door, locking it and again tried dialing the police.

I can't believe I came up here alone! Someone answer!

Seconds later the emergency operator answered, and she told the woman the situation.

'Ma'am, I want you to stay on the phone with me until the police arrive. Can you do that?'

"Yes," Morgan replied.

Time went by slowly – and then Morgan heard a scream. She dropped the phone, unlocked the door and ran down the stairs.

Scott walked inside the house, and saw no sign of the girls. He started walking through the living room and made his way back around to the front of the house. He listened for any hint of where they could be and got his answer when he heard something fall inside a closet in the hallway. He walked over and grabbed the doorknob.

Vanessa moved back in the closet, hoping to cover herself with the jackets and clothes that filled it, just in case Scott Tyler opened the door. Just as she managed to conceal herself, she placed too much pressure on a jacket and it slipped off the hanger and fell to the floor. She swore silently as she heard footsteps coming towards the closet.

The door swung open and Scott was standing above her, glaring down. He reached down and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. "Where's my daughter?" he asked and pushed her against the wall.

"I don't know!" she lied, and her lips trembled in fear as she remembered he had shot Joe. She could only imagine what he'd do to her.

"Liar! Tell me where she is!" He loosened his grip for a moment, then tightened his hand around her neck and pushed. The back of her head bounced off the wall. "Are you gonna tell me?" He pulled the gun from his pocket and started to raise it.

"No!" Brooke came around the corner and tried to tackle her father, to pull him away from Vanessa, but he was too big for her. When she ran into him, it seemed like a small push rather than a tackle. "LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!" she yelled, each time punching her father as hard as she could.

Scott released his hold on Vanessa, who slumped to the closet floor, grabbing her neck. She watched in horror as he seized Brooke and shoved her away.

Brooke lost her balance and fell face-down on the floor, striking her head on the hall table as she fell.

Vanessa heard the loud crack as Brooke's head impacted the table. "NO!" She scrambled out of the closet and tried to go to Brooke's side but Scott pushed her away.

He aimed the gun at her. "Don't move!"

Vanessa saw blood trickling down Brooke's forehead and her eyes were closed. "She needs to go to the hospital!" Vanessa yelled at him.

"Shut up if you know what's good for you!" Scott yelled and turned to see Morgan running down the stairs.

Morgan saw her daughter lying on the floor. "You bastard!" She ran at him and tried to drag him away from Brooke. "Leave her alone! You've done enough!"

Scott raised his hand, and backhanded Morgan across the face. "I'm taking her with me!" he yelled and pointed the gun at Morgan.

"You wouldn't dare!" Morgan looked at the man she used to love. "How could you turn out this way? Doesn't she mean anything to you? You're gonna get her killed!"

Scott hit her once more, sending her to the floor. Her head pounded in pain. "Don't move!" he warned both Morgan and Vanessa. He bent down and picked Brooke up in his arms knowing he couldn't take them both. He strode to his truck, placed Brooke in the passenger seat and closed the door.

He got in the driver's side, started the engine and left.